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Welcome and thank you for subscribing to Spa Index News, a free newsletter brought to you by the team at SpaIndex.Com. We are excited to be developing this website for our visitors and appreciate your interest. Please remember, this is your newsletter. It's written for you and about you, so we'd like to hear your questions, comments, and suggestions. Remember, we welcome you to forward our newsletter to those you feel may be interested, but we love it when your friends and family members sign up for their own copy. Every valid subscriber to our newsletter will be entered in our Gift Certificate Giveaway. The lucky winner gets a generous gift certificate to a participating spa! Watch this newsletter for more details on this exciting giveaway. -- The Spa Index Team READER QUESTIONS / TREATMENT EDUCATION. Are you curious as to the meaning of the various terms you see used in the spa brochures and articles you read? In each issue we spotlight a specific treatment as requested by our subscribers. We’ve also added a comprehensive Glossary of Terms at the home page so be sure to check that out, too! "What is Water Walking and how does that differ from just water aerobics? I am a senior and I like to exercise in the pool at my gym but can’t always make it to the class. I’m curious anytime I hear about something aquatic that I can do in a pool by myself." Claire Hodges, La Jolla, CA. Dear Claire: Thank you for writing. Water exercise, like Aquarobics, is an excellent form of exercising for seniors, the disabled, expectant or new mothers, and those just beginning an exercise program. Water Walking is also an incredibly easy, yet effective form of aquatic exercise that can be done any time you are in a reasonably large body of water. Water Walking requires no special equipment, can be done by just about anyone, and yet, is a lot more strenuous than you may think. At a brisk pace, it provides an aerobic workout that burns between 300 and 500 calories per hour. I’ve gathered some tips for you from Mary Beth Pappas Gaines, M.Ed., a Health Education Coordinator for Kaiser Permanente, and a certified personal fitness trainer. She is the author of Fantastic Water Workouts/Low-Impact Water Exercises for Health and Fitness. Find a pool, lake, ocean, or other relatively large body of water. The water temperature should be cool to warm - 78 to 88 degrees F. If you are just starting an exercise program, begin gradually with five minutes of slow walking, preferably waist deep in an uncrowded body of water. Over several weeks, build up to at least 20 minutes per session, raising your speed, and lengthening by just a few minutes at a time. Starting Position: Stand with your abdominal muscles firm, tailbone pointed toward the floor, buttocks tucked somewhat to brace your spine in position, shoulders back, and chest lifted (neutral position). Stride or jog forward eight steps, then back four steps. Maintain the neutral position throughout the exercise. Push relatively straight arms forward and back at your sides as you walk. Turn your hands each time so that the palms press against the water. Use your arms in opposition to your legs. When you step forward with your right leg, bring your left arm forward, and vice versa. Walk as you would on land, placing your heel down first. Keep your back straight and stomach muscles taut. Lifting your knees higher will increase the intensity of the exercise. When you are ready to increase intensity, stride by taking very large, controlled steps or bound by pushing off with your back foot to bounce up off the pool floor between strides. When circling, be sure to turn around midway and circle in the other direction to balance the physical demands on your body. Just as you would with any exercise, start with a mild warm-up and finish with a similar cool-down. Stretching after you are warmed up is easy and soothing in water. Drink plenty of fluid: without it, you are likely to become dehydrated even though you’re surrounded by water, and if you are outside, please remember your sunscreen. "Do you know of any spa facilities that cater to expectant mothers? My daughter is pregnant and I’d like to surprise her with a spa visit, but I’ve heard you really need to be careful what treatments you seek out." Bev Januk, Seattle, WA Dear Bev: We’ve done some checking for you. If you telephone Nina Ummel, who calls
herself the "Chief Visionary Officer" of Ummelina Day Spa in Seattle,
at 206.624.1370, or visit her website at – The Spa Index Team For the rest of our readers outside of the Seattle area, visit our home page within the next few days for our new feature, Theme Spas. You’ll find our list of spas throughout the the United States which offer pre and post-natal spa treatments. In our next issue, we’ll answer a reader’s search question about weight-loss and stop-smoking spas, also to be posted our theme page. Send your treatment or other questions to newsletter@spaindex.com. We’ll try to answer questions of broad interest to our readers, as quickly as we can. THE ROMANCE FACTOR. Santa Baby, hand me the loofah! What couple doesn’t need a weekend away to recapture romance and intimacy, or, for the road weary, a spa weekend at home? We’ve got information for both. In this issue, creating a Home Spa Experience. In our next issue, Romantic Weekend Getaways for Two. Tips for a Home Day Spa Experience You’ve already decided to devote a weekend to one another. Set aside one
full day for him, and one full day for her, or split a day in two so that you
each get the benefit of the Royal Treatment. Do what works best for you. You may
even like taking a spa treatment for two together, taking turns with the
pampering. Go to bed early the night before your spa weekend. Don’t wake up too tired to pamper one another. Eliminate outside interference. Turn off the televisions, pagers, telephones, and computers. Don’t answer the door. Hide from the world. On your Spa Day, wake up naturally, not to an alarm. Wash or shower with water only and warm up with slow stretches. Have some fruit, or fruit juice. Avoid the coffee and tea for just now. Take a energized walk together, taking a new route, or a favorite scenic route. Avoid your neighbors, vendors, the paper boy, or anyone who might stop you for conversation. When you return, fix a low fat breakfast to nourish the mind and body, or eat a plate of fresh fruit. After breakfast, spa treatment begins. Here are some easy ideas: Prepare a natural hair conditioning treatment, and with your loved one seated before you, massage the treatment into their hair, rubbing the scalp and temples gently. Ask them to tell you funny secrets or embarrassing moments that will make you both giggle. After the hair conditioning treatment is applied, fill a basin with warm water and fragrant oils or fizzing bath bombs, and place it at their feet for a long foot soak. Bring them a magazine, to read, or, the book of poetry you’ve noticed them reading at night. Or, with a favorite handcream, sit on a low stool and massage each hand with the cream, working it into each finger, the palm, the forearm, and then the elbow. Go slowly. Talk like Gomez and Morticia. Kiss the spot on the inside of the elbow. Have the bathroom prepared and thoroughly clean. Draw a long bubble bath and have it ready, pulling out candles you’ve secretly stashed behind the blinds. Tealights on every surface are fun, easy, and inexpensive. Make certain you have on hand and within arm’s reach of the tub, a washcloth, razor and new blade, a scrubbing body puff, body wash, fragrant soaps or gels (surprise him or her with a scent you’d like to smell on their skin). Mix in a nice bowl a facial mask, and with your loved one reclining, apply the mask to their face, telling them how exquisite they look in green (or yellow, or red). You know each other best. Pamper one another in every way you can think of, and if you need additional ideas, check out these resources: The works of Jyl Steinbeck (some of these tips are hers) and her Fat Free Living Cookbook and Spa Series at The Home Spa: Creating a Personal Sanctuary, by Carol Endler Sterbenz. FOOD FACTS, RECIPES, AND HEALTHY EATING. Pumpkin contains high concentrations of the antioxidant beta carotene, the carotenoid that helps your body fight the effects of cell-damaging free radicals, which potentially could lead to cancer. Two more carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin, give pumpkin even more cancer-fighting power, and also help prevent your eyes from developing cataracts. In our last issue, we shared a recipe for low-fat pumpkin muffins. In this issue, a fat-free pumpkin dessert large enough to feed 16 dinner guests, just in time for Thanksgiving. Thank you to for: Fat-Free Pumpkin-Spice Ring 1 1/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In medium bowl, with fork, mix flour, cinnamon, salt, ginger, nutmeg, and 1 cup confectioners' sugar; set aside. In large bowl, with mixer at high speed, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form; beat in vanilla. Beating at high speed, sprinkle in 1 cup confectioners' sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating until sugar dissolves and whites stand in stiff peaks. Remove 1 cup beaten egg-white mixture to medium bowl; fold in pumpkin. With rubber spatula or wire whisk, fold flour mixture into beaten egg whites in large bowl just until flour disappears. Then, gently fold in pumpkin mixture. Do not overmix. Pour batter into ungreased 10-inch tube pan. Bake 35 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Invert cake in pan on funnel or bottle; cool completely in pan. Loosen cake from pan; place on cake plate. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Preparation Time: 3 hours / Serves: 16 / Per Serving · Calories: 100 · Calories From Fat: 0 Carbohydrates: 0 Fat: 0 g Monounsaturated Fat: N/A Polyunsaturated Fat: N/A Sodium: 150 mg . Cholesterol: 0 mg ·Protein: 0.
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