Farris Bad, Norway

Norwegian spa resort Farris Bad has opened a 64sq m (689sq ft) sauna with a capacity for 100 people to host entertaining aufguss sauna rituals and major sauna competitions, such as the Sauna Herbal Cup in June.

The sauna, designed in collaboration with DS Light and Sound and B+S Finland Sauna, features state-of-the-art light and sound and a full tonne of Norwegian sauna stones.

Farris Bad development manager Lasse Eriksen says: “We can [now] go full-throttle, with a Top Gun-style aufguss show for a more fun and crazy experience.

“It’s like sitting on the stage during a show – you’re in the centre of where the energy is created, and with the mix of heat, water, ice, herbs and essential oils, the sauna masters guide you on this amazing journey.”

The new events sauna, with atmospheric light and sound technology, will be used for entertaining rituals and competitions

The new events sauna, with atmospheric light and sound technology, will be used for entertaining rituals and competitions

Farris Bad’s development manager Lasse Eriksen describes the sauna’s high energy aufguss show as a ‘fun and crazy experience’

Rudding Park in Harrogate, UK has introduced a Sunlight Therapy Room to help spa-goers tackle sunlight deprivation in the winter. Guests can relax on heated, sculpted loungers under ‘sunlight simulators’ that replicate natural sunlight without harmful UV rays.

A 20-minute session is recommended as part of the spa experience to reduce Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) which is believed to cause irritability, low moods, difficulty waking up, lethargy in the day, carbohydrate cravings, weight gain and more. Nearly a third of Brits and around a quarter of Americans are affected by SAD according to research.

A 20-minute sunlight therapy session is recommended to help those who suffer from SAD

Patrizia Bortolin and Stefano Battaglia, known for their psycho-emotional approach to wellbeing, have created a health and happiness retreat for healing hotels and destination spas.

Glowing Flow offers a range of ‘life enhancing’ activities to aid spiritual and physical healing, “reigniting the hidden spark within, revealing an inner glow”.

The concept features a considered mix of mindfulness, meditation, trauma healing, psycho-aromatherapy, colour tests and yoga nidra sessions.

Bortolin and Battaglia have 50 years combined wellness experience, working for leading spas such as Borgo Egnazia in Italy and Euphoria Retreat in Greece.

Bortolin is an award-winning spa director with a passion for developing transformational spa concepts. Battaglia – a shaman – is a multi-talented bodywork therapist and integrative healer.

Battaglia (left) and Bortolin (right) have worked at leading spas

Dr Jan Stritzke

Lanserhof has applied its medical health expertise to a science-based spa experience to optimise sleep quality.

The LANS Better Sleep Programme 2.0 includes a detailed sleep medical analysis, where neurotransmitters uncover wakefulness and sleep drivers. A micronutrient analysis is also performed to identify vital deficiencies which may trigger poor sleep.

The results form the basis of an individualised, multidimensional sleep programme covering everything from respiratory muscle training, craniosacral therapy and chronotherapy – based on the sleep-awake rhythm – to light therapy, self-awareness training and evening meditations. White-noise reduction and a mouthguard to minimise snoring are also used.

“The reasons for bad sleep are individual,” says Dr Jan Stritzke, deputy medical director at Lanserhof Tegernsee. “We get to the bottom of the triggers and provide our patients with a multifaceted therapeutic approach, in which they lay the foundation for a healthier and more balanced life at Lanserhof.”

During the programme, guests stay in one of two Better Sleep Suites, which have been specifically created to promote sleep.

Better Sleep Programme guests undergo a detailed medical sleep analysis using neurotransmitters

The gloves offer greater motion

Dermalogica is set to give its facials a boost with its new Conductive Gloves that use microcurrent technology.

Therapists will be able to use the gloves to perform skin lifting and firming techniques, while also enhancing product penetration, improving circulation and aiding lymphatic drainage.

The gloves, made by Bio-Therapeutic, allow for greater motion and versatility than traditional probes and enable therapists to maintain a physical connection with their client.

Bio-Therapeutic was founded in Seattle, Washington in 1974 by Boeing electrical engineer James Suzuki.

The artist session is designed to encourage the flow of creativity CREDIT:©The Current, Baha Mar

An interactive session with a local Bahamian artist, to allow creativity to flourish, forms part of a Sense Spa journey at the newly opened Rosewood Baha Mar.

Sense of Art – Body Canvas begins by taking guests outside of the mega resort to tour the local area with the artist to learn about colourful Bahamian art history, and is followed by the creativity session. The journey concludes with an 90-minute customised massage drawing on a range of techniques in a signature spa suite.

Most artists are sourced from The Current, Baha Mar’s onsite gallery.

Glen Ivy Hot Springs is one of the first spas in California to offer hemp-based wellness by teaming up with beauty skincare line CBD Care Garden.

Guests can experience CBD oil or lotion for an additional US$25 (€22, £19) as an enhancement to its signature Aromasoul Elements Massage.

The non-psychoactive products are infused with organic hemp oil, which are designed to optimise body and cell function.

The move follows the announcement that president Donald Trump is to legalise the use of hemp, a form of cannabis, in the US.

Products are non-psychoactive and infused with organic hemp oil

Yoga takes place at sunset in a tranquil horse pasture

Four Seasons Lanai in Hawaii has won ISPA’s Innovation of the Year award for its Zen Horse Sunset Yoga experience.

The voting was open to all ISPA members, who include more than 3,000 spa professionals worldwide, and the experience received 31 per cent of the votes in its category.

The outdoor meditation and yoga session, led by instructor Rajanish Govind, takes place at sunset alongside horses in their pine-ringed pasture. It provides humans and horses with a chance to interact with “no agenda other than to share moments of deep presence, curiosity and connection from the heart”.

Spa director Shaw Cote says the experience “weaves in aspects of our secluded paradise for a richer visit.”

Most recently, the resort has combined the horse yoga with a guided horseback ride, golf, tennis and other activities to create a Zen Sports Wellness programme. To find out more about how spas are tapping into the intuitive spirit of horses, read our equine therapy article on p70.

Spa operator LivNordic is collaborating with Sauna from Finland to encourage spas and consumers to discover the importance of authentic sauna practice.

The company says lack of understanding means spa-goers outside of Finland rarely receive the experience the sauna was created for.

LivNordic will be promoting the stress-reducing and sleep-enhancing qualities of saunas and highlight them as the perfect place for rest and relaxation. It will also bring attention to Sauna from Finland’s rating system which judges the sauna experience based on authenticity, multi-sensuality, presence, relaxation, cleanliness and the spa-goer’s wellbeing.

Sauna from Finland is a network of 200 sauna-based companies. The LivNordic concept, created by spa consultancy Raison d’Etre, focuses on Nordic wellness practices.

Saunas also offer stress-reducing, sleep-enhancing benefits for users