Spa supplier and operator ESPA has launched a series of mindfulness and sleep therapies at its flagship spa, ESPA Life at Corinthia London, with the intention of rolling some of the treatments out across its global portfolio at a later date.

The six therapies are based on yoga breathing and visualisation techniques and include a massage and facial lasting 90 minutes which are priced at £190 (US$280, €247).

ESPA founder Sue Harmsworth said at a launch party: “One of the reasons we’ve introduced these treatments is because we see people coming into our city spa who are so stressed and their body is holding so much tension that they’re not getting the benefits they should from their treatment. They’ll ask for a deep tissue massage, but you need to relax the muscles first before you can give an effective treatment.”

The two-hour, tailor-made Mindful Sleep session – offered to day spa customers or residential guests in their bedrooms – includes a soothing scalp massage, hot stone therapy, mindful breathing techniques and a personalised yoga nidra session. Yoga nidra (or yogic sleep) is a form of guided visualisation that comes from ancient yoga and meditation practices. It’s been compared to hypnotherapy because it promotes deep relaxation and a sleep-like state. The residential spa Mindful Sleep session is the most expensive out of all the treatments, and starts at £600 (US$885, €781) based on single occupancy.

The series also includes a Mindful Breathing and Meditation treatment, as well as Mindful Fitness, which combines two outdoor activities followed by yoga nidra.

Harmsworth and Laura Vallati, the spa director at ESPA Life at Corinthia, have been working on the treatments for the past six months. Vallati, who’s worked for ESPA for a number of years – including at the company’s Asian flagship spa at Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore – also has an impressive background as a yoga teacher. She holds two diplomas: one as a sattavana yoga teacher and one in kundalini yoga.

At the start of the launch, Vallati took guests through a five-minute mindful session before presentations.

“We’re very excited about these treatments,” she said. “There’s now so much scientific research coming to light which shows how simple, slow breathing has a powerful effect on the central nervous system and a very soothing, calming effect.

“We start our treatments by developing awareness of the breath and educating about the muscles involved in respiration. We then go more deeply into the techniques and give guests simple tools so they can integrate breath into their life to help calm them down and focus.”

To complement the treatments, Vallati and Harmsworth have worked with Corinthia food and beverage director Stefan Hogan to create a ‘sleep menu’ for spa and residential guests. The dishes incorporate specific ingredients that are easily digestible, cooling and calming and which help to promote sleep.

In other news, Harmsworth announced that ESPA Life at Corinthia has teamed up with non-profit organisation Wellness for Cancer to develop a range of Nurture and Support treatments for cancer sufferers or people who are very emotionally upset or bereaved. These will be launching at the facility “very soon,” she said.

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