Spa Origins Co., Ltd.Spa China magazine have just released their most recent version of their carbon neutral Spa China Digital Magazine, which includes details of the upcoming SpaChina Summit, and Spa China Awards.
For more details: http://www.spachina.com/Emag/May-June-2010/
On 30th March, Lavandula Lavender Farm at Daylesford a small country town in country Victoria, 45 minutes northwest of Melbourne, hosted a Massage en Masse with 263 qualified massage therapists & 263 volunteer “massagees” in the history making event. Guinness Book of Records adjudicator Chris Sheedy said the event was an historic moment for Daylesford with abundant enthusiasm from local spa &massage therapists. Tourism Victoria’s Don Richter said setting the new world record confirms that Daylesford is the nation’s leading spa &wellbeing destination.
More details: http://www.daylesfordrecord.com.au/, http://www.lavandula.com.au/ or http://www.aspaassociation.com.au/displaycommon.cfm?an=6
How climate change will impact the Asia region, and the Climate Warrior possible impacts on wellness.
The presentation for Asia-Pacific Spa & Wellness Coalition (APSWC) Strategic Planning Forum 2010 at the Shangri-la Hotel, Bangkok on March 25 to 26 by Stuart Scott www.TheClimateSummit.org
As the spa industry moves forward, arguably, one of the greatest challenges is the protection of the traditional knowledge. The World Intellectual Property Organisation (www.wipo.com) has two PDF files for download that are of relevance to the spa industry and should be reviewed by both operators and product manufacturers. As stated in the WIPO website, the “innovations and creative expressions of indigenous and local communities are also IP, yet because they are ‘traditional’ they may not be fully protected by existing IP systems. Access to, and equitable benefit-sharing in, genetic resources also raise IP questions. Normative and capacity-building programs are underway at WIPO to develop balanced and appropriate legal and practical responses to these issues.”
For more information, refer to:
IP and Traditional Knowledge - http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/freepublications/en/tk/920/wipo_pub_920.pdf
IP and Traditional Cultural Expressions/Folklore - http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/freepublications/en/tk/913/wipo_pub_913.pdf
The presentation for Asia-Pacific Spa & Wellness Coalition (APSWC) Strategic Planning Forum 2010 at the Shangri-la Hotel, Bangkok on March 25 to 26 by Apichai Sakulsureeyadej (President, Tourism Technology Association - www.tourismtechnology.net).
The fifth British International Spa Association Conference will take place in the Hungarian Capital, Budapest. From the 3–6 June 2010, BISA members and spa professionals from around the globe will meet on Margaret Island to discuss joint programmes and push forward common standards.
The four day conference will be hosted by the Margitsziget Health Spa Resort and neighbouring Danubius Grand Hotel Margitsziget. The conference venue, a BISA member spa and a Royal Spa of Europe, has a long tradition: it was the first metropolitan spa hotel in the world to offer a wide range of spa services.
For more details or to register: www.internationalspa.org
From cotton towels and sheets in guest rooms, to food in the restaurant and wood used for furniture and fittings, the products of biodiversity are everywhere inside hotels. Outside, plants and animals make a hotel’s public spaces and gardens attractive for guests, while beyond the hotel gates, parks, green spaces, coasts and natural habitats provide guests with opportunities for recreation and enjoyment. Restaurant chefs, spa managers, interior designers and shopkeepers all have a role to play. Their seafood choices in the menus, selection of medicinal and aromatic plants for the spas, use of live animals and plants in hotel grounds, selection of wildlife-based souvenirs, offers of excursions, all contribute to the overall impact on biodiversity.
To address these challenges, IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), in partnership with Accor, has developed an introductory video about the relevance of biodiversity to the hotel sector.
The video’s mainly addressed to hotel managers and owners all around the world who are unknowingly dealing on a daily basis with biodiversity conservation decisions. View the video (English) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB3LdZKIw08 or http://www.youtube.com/iucn#p/a/u/0/aWP9TTIdNAQ (French)
Good food starts with the food you eat. Amazingly, at a time when we have never known more about health, fitness and nutrition, the health of various nations continues to decline as more and more people succumb to degenerative conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
At present, an ‘allopathic’ approach to health dominates today’s nutrition landscape. Treating all symptoms under one prescription-based umbrella, this approach groups people with similar outward characteristics together, prescribing generic treatments to the masses. Nutrition-wise, it encourages the public to follow the general guidelines of the food pyramid, without taking into consideration a person’s individual bio-chemical makeup and dietary imbalances.
METABOLIC TYPING EXPLAINED
The idea of customized nutrition is not new. The great classical medical traditions, from the Indians, Egyptian, Greeks, Romans, to the Chinese, all acknowledged physiological individuality as far back as 2,000 years ago. Expressed through China’s five ‘elements’ and India’s Ayurvedic system, each concept was based on the ancient Roman philosophy “one man’s food is another man’s poison.”
One of the core philosophies of metabolic typing is that every body (literally) needs its own specific ratio of ‘macro-nutrients’ (carbohydrates, proteins and fats) to meet its bio-chemical needs. Since no two individuals are alike on a biochemical or physiological level, our diets shouldn’t be either. In other words, a one fits-all approach to nutrition has no place in metabolic typing, rather, the trick is to discover what kinds of foods yours individual metabolism thrives on.
ANCEDTRAL HERITAGE
Standardised nutritional approaches fail to recognize that, for genetic reasons, people are all very different from one another on a bio-chemical or metabolic level. Due to widely varying hereditary influences, we all process or utilize foods and nutrients very differently. Consequently, the very same nutritional protocol that enables one person to lead a long healthy life can cause serious illness in someone else.
In metabolic typing there are no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ foods, except in terms of foods that are right or wrong for your genetic makeup. A person’s ancestral heritage plays a big part in determining their nutrient requirements and to prove the point we only need to look at the Eskimo (or ‘lnuit’) diet, which largely consists of a high protein/fat combination, and the Masai of Africa who live long healthy lives on a high fat, low fibre diet of beef and milk. Neither culture has high rates of heart disease, yet cardiovascular disease is one of the most prominent illness in the United States and many other Western countries – a fact that can only be attributed to genetics.
In short. There is no such thing as a standard ‘healthy diet’. The only healthy diet is that one that meets one’s genetically-based requirements.
BALANCING BODY CHEMISTRY
Rather than focus on symptoms, metabolic typing looks at the cause of disease at its point of origin. Bypassing standardised therapeutic approaches, it builds health through specific, targeted nutritional intervention.
Most importantly, it balances the chemistry in the body’s executive command centres’- namely the Autonomic Nervous System and the Cellular Oxidative System – which in turn produces a health inducing ‘domino effect’ on all the body’s systems, leading to the elimination of multiple symptoms at the same time.
INDIVIDUAL NEEDS
We all need a full spectrum of nutrients, but people have varying requirements for different nutrients. This explains why a certain nutrients can make one person feel good, have no effect on another, and cause a third person to feel worse.
Similarly, just as the same food may cause different patterns of metabolic balance (or imbalance) in different people, two people displaying similar disease symptoms may need distinctly different diets to return to health. For example, two women might both have high cholesterol, yet depending on their metabolic type, will follow distinctly different customised diets back to health. While one woman may resolve her high cholesterol with a low fat, low protein, high carbohydrate diet, the other may follow a low carbohydrate, high protein, high fat diet. The result? Lowered cholesterol in both women due to the fact that each has matched her nutritional needs to her individual imbalances.
IGNORING YOUR METABOLIC TYPE
Not following your metabolic nutrient requirements can lead to a gradual bio-chemical erosion of energy production. This is particularly noticeable in times of stress, or even when there is a change in the weather. How often has it happened when there is a sharp change in weather, that people start coughing, or start getting colds? The insidious development of chronic disease is the result of a continuous biochemical imbalance in the body which left unchecked leads to illness.
LONG TERM GOOD HEALTH
As pioneering nutritionist, Dr. Roger Williams once pointed out, “Even individual organism that has a distinctive genetic background also has distinctive nutritional needs which must be met for optimal wellbeing.” Unlike other methods of determining dietary individuality, such as blood typing or body typing, metabolic typing is a dynamic, comprehensive system that encourages people to better understand their personal nutrition needs. The direct result of this is better health for longer.
Exert from; Eat Right for Your Metabolic Type, AsiaSpa March – April 2010 page 135, written by Miles Price
The idea of fragrances and perfumes in our homes is not new to India. The use of flowers and incense sticks in rituals to create fragrant, pleasant and peaceful ambience is well entrenched in our culture. Today, there are some key drivers of changes in lifestyle which have resulted in a need for new forms of dissipating fragrances. The increase in air conditioned spaces which may create malodour in living spaces. De-stressing and maintaining harmony are our prime concerns. Home fragrance plays a big role in creating a soothing ambience. A fragrant home connotes a fresh, clean and happy home and the choice of fragrance can go a long way in creating a lasting memory, both for the family members and the guests.
The different fragrances widely used in homes are floral, citrus, fruity, spicy, earthy, and herbal among others. The smell of flowers such as jasmine, rose and geranium are also sought-after and has been used from a long time. Floral fragrances reflect feminine, delicate and sensual characters and are perfect for bedrooms and bathrooms.
Citrus fragrances impart a clean, invigourating and fresh appeal. Choose from orange blossom, lemon, lemongrass, lime, grapefruit and bergamot. Citrus fragrances are gender neutral, and are well suited for office, bathroom, and even cars. It will keep you fresh throughout the day. Green fragrances are gender neutral and include rosemary, chamomile and eucalyptus. These fragrances and herbs make a relaxing bath and is a good choice for soaps, bath salts and lotions. Spicy fragrances warm up a room giving a cosy feeling. cinnamon, ginger, myrrh and frankincense are spicy fragrances. These are strong, and are good for winters.
Earthy odours are resinous and can be used in bath products for both men and women. Fragrances that fall into this category include sandalwood, rosewood, musk, cedar wood and patchouli.
Exert from; The Aroma Touch, AsiaSpa India January–February 2010 page 88-89, written by Kiran Ranga
The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) has joined the Water Footprint Network as its hundredth partner. Partners of the network subscribe to the need to have a globally shared water footprint standard. A shared standard is crucial given the rapidly growing interest in companies and governments to use water footprint assessments as a basis for formulating sustainable water strategies and policies. The Water Footprint Network has produced the Water Footprint Manual as the current standard. The manual is freely available at the www.waterfootprint.org website.
End 2010, the Water Footprint Network will present the Water Footprint Manual version 2010 to serve as the updated standard for Water Footprint Assessment. In the process of developing the Water Footprint Manual 2010, the Water Footprint Network closely collaborates with a wide variety of stakeholders from six continents and spanning international institutions, civil society organisations, government, different business sectors and academia.
For more information please contact derk.kuiper@waterfootprint.org