At Hanalei Day Spa, we consider ourselves to be relaxation consultants. As we help folks every day to choose the spa services to help our guest’s needs. We see people come in one way, then leave looking and feeling completely different! I love my job! Each year thousands of people come to us to help them. Help them; relax, unwind, remove the knots, and basically de-stress with our spa services while they are on vacation.
We schedule folks, then greet you with our special brand of aloha after that, we introduce you to your massage therapist.
I have to confess, what comes after that is sometimes remarkable to witness!
We just reopened and in the last month. I have had the privilege to greet many of you personally. Did you know that frequently, you look completely different AFTER your massage? Quite a metamorphosis in just 50, 80 or 110 minutes! So much so, that I keep thinking I should take before and after pictures to show you.
Do you know why you look different after a massage?
Have you ever fallen asleep during a massage? Or felt dramatically different just after a 50-minute massage? Do you know that during a massage, along with the muscles, our nervous systems relax, releasing built-up stress?
However, in our daily life, we are exposed to many different avenues and amounts of stress, which then trigger our fight or flight response AKA the sympathetic nervous system.
Did you know that almost every TV show nowadays triggers our fight or flight response? With gory visuals, abrupt automobile accidents, and shocking scenes. Did you know that our unconscious mind cannot differentiate between real and imagined or “watched” stressors? In addition, frequent stressors of schedules, deadlines, and relationship conflict. A subtle disagreement can cause internal strife. Being in traffic, loud and numerous layered sounds in the environment. When we are in this traffic, we may ask ourselves “do you know how to relax?”
Even caffeine or slight alterations in routines can all trigger our fight or flight response.
What happens is that we are exposed to so much stimulation in our daily lives that our nervous system becomes hyperactive. We don’t even notice it! Then, over time, this stress compound and ages us. While taking a serious toll on our mental, emotional and physical health. Read on to find out how to reverse this.
Studies show that stress shrinks the brain!
Bruce McEwen, a neuroscientist at Rockefeller University in New York says that “Stress causes neurons (brain cells) to shrink or grow,” he goes on to say that “The wear and tear on the body from lots of stress changes the nervous system.”
Moreover “particularly worrying in the developing brain, which appears to be programmed by early stressful experience”.
While on vacation, we can reset our nervous systems. See Hanalei Day Spa’s Reset Retreat below.
Keep on reading because I’ll share 5 tips to reduce stress, anxiety, and pain! Here’s some of what I have learned in my almost 3 decades as a massage therapist and practitioner of Ayurvedic Medicine. Plus 16 years as the owner of Hanalei Day Spa.
What can we do?
Well, don’t worry, because remember, stress shrinks your brain. There is a lot that we can do to help our bodies be at their optimum! A regular routine with daily exercise, adequate sleep and relaxation, nourishing and healthy meals can all go a long way towards providing a healthy foundation. In addition, we can self-regulate our nervous system with practices. We can also co-regulate with another human being. Which is actually easier, and I provide suggestions below.
In an article in Psychology Today by called “Wired to Connect”: Our Nervous System Notices Harm First by Carol A. Lambert, MSW. “It’s our nervous system that conveys signs and searches for signs of either safety or danger in our environment. At the same time, we regulate—fixing or adjusting—our nervous system, often unknowingly but necessary to our sense of wellbeing. Regulating our nervous system happens in two ways: we co-regulate with another person and we self-regulate. “
Did you know that activities such as receiving massage, talking, hugging, holding a baby or a pet help calm down stress (relaxation)?
In their book Five-Minute Relationship Repair, Quickly Heal Upsets, Deepen Intimacy, and Use Differences to Strengthen Love. Drs. Susan Campbell and John Gray, explore how the simple act of co-regulating our nervous system with another human being, can help us with relaxation, to diffuse stress and conflict and unwind everyday stress levels to even more traumatic and challenging events. Simple activities such as; holding hands, skin on skin contact, hugging, looking into each other’s eyes, hearing a soothing tone of voice, or even intentionally breathing together help couples and individuals to quickly feel better.
Studies show that relaxation Massage Therapy markedly reduces stress, pain, and anxiety.
Massage reduces high blood pressure, 1, 8lowers oxygen consumption, blood pressure, and cortisol/stress levels studies show.2, 3, 4Click on the numbers to read the studies.
Markedly lowers stress, depression and anxiety.1, 3, the Perceived Stress Scale 5,6, the POMS Depression Scale 4,5, and the Anxiety State Scale.4
Ultimately we want to get good at preventing stress but we also want to be adept at quickly eliminating stress before it accumulates!
5 tips to reduce stress, anxiety, and pain.
- Do this I am Calm Meditation with me.
- Massage and spa treatments are a great way to reduce stress, anxiety, and pain. Can’t go to a spa, that’s fine, even giving and receiving massage with loved ones helps too! Start with something simple, like shoulders or a foot rub.
- Don’t let little things build up in your relationships. Periodically take time to clear the air; do this Couple’s Communication Ritual with me.
- 8-12 Hugs a day keeps the doctor away. Did you know that giving and receiving hugs reduces stress, chances of illness, increases feel-good hormone oxytocin? Family therapist Virginia Satir once said, “We need four hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth.”
- Schedule a 3-5 day Reset Retreat with us. Reset Retreats are popular during life transitions, or when we realize that we have been too stressed out and require “unplugging.” These highly personalized retreats goal is relaxation, rejuvenation, and cleansing. The retreat begins with a consultation to determine specific needs. Then participants receive 2-3 hours of treatments daily. Including guidance for self-directed practices such as meditation, a Sugar & Gluten Cleanse, and other rejuvenation and stress management practices. Reset Retreats are approximately $300-$400 per day. Begin here with this consultation to assess your needs.
In conclusion
As we have seen, stress comes in many forms. And can be cumulative, but there are solutions! It took a little while to accumulate, yet with just a little time, you can reduce your stress hormones and increase your feel-good hormones thereby supporting your overall well-being. Remember, we are here for you, we are your relaxation consultants!
In the very next issue, I share a consolidated version of some of my best information with you. Gained from my 27 years of providing health consultations, some favorite insider Kauai beach activities, there’s also the BIG giveaway soon! Thank you for visiting us, reading this and taking the time and sweet attention to relax and rejuvenate and nourish yourself! Please let me know how you are doing. I am looking forward to seeing you on your next in-person visit or online health consultation.
With warm aloha,
Darci Frankel
Hanalei Day Spa owner, Darci Frankel, is a relaxation, cleansing, and rejuvenation expert.
Darci Frankel has had a lifelong involvement in the healing arts. She is a seasoned practitioner of Ayurvedic Medicine. A long-time massage therapist and yoga teacher. She began studying yoga as a young girl with family practice sessions. Then, went on to do comparative yoga studies with a multitude of methods and teachers.
Darci Frankel began her Ayurvedic study in 1992. Then interned with America’s foremost expert of Ayurveda, Dr. Vasant Lad, at the Ayurvedic Institute in New Mexico. She has been practicing Ayurvedic Medicine and providing cleansing and rejuvenation programs since 1994. Darci is a national Ayurveda educator, she also served as an advisor for High-Health, Inc. In addition, Darci was invited to head up the Ayurvedic Medicine department on the Complimentary Medicine team of Miami’s prestigious Mt. Sinai Hospital.
Darci has been the managing owner of Hanalei Day Spa on Kauai for 16 years. Offering cleansing and rejuvenation retreats, Pancha Karma and using her holistic business model she helps other Day Spas up-level their culture and business.
Some of her notable clients have included; Gloria Estefan, John Oats, Mickey Rourke, Dr. Brad Blanton, and Pierce Brosnan.
Darci has a strong commitment to healing and transformation which she expresses through her wisdom in Ayurveda.
Deepak Chopra
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