Topping Arizona’s list of best spas, Alvadora Spa located at Royal Palms Resort and Spa in Phoenix is exploring the therapeutic and age-old benefits of salt and sound therapies with two new treatments. Alvadora, steeped in Mediterranean traditions, is introducing the Himalayan Salt Stone Massage by Saltability ($170, 50 minutes) and a series of monthly Gong Bath™ experiences ($20, one-hour group session).
Salt therapy, also known as halotherapy, dates back to when ancient healers and philosophers would recommend salt inhalation for the respiratory system and health problems. Since then, it has remained a venerable treatment in Europe and Asia, and in the past couple of years it has made its way to U.S. spas by way of salt caves, salt saunas, salt beds and salt stones.
Using organic salt stones from Saltability, Alvadora’s Himalayan Salt Stone Massage balances the central nervous system and nourishes depleted cells in the body. The treatment features a warmed salt stone massaged over the body using a specific sequence of massage to balance the body’s meridians, or energy channels. Drawing upon traditional Chinese medicine therapy, the massage grounds and balances the body’s electromagnetic field, and the pressure, motion and thermal effects used during the treatment work to replenish nutrients in the connective tissue while creating deep relaxation. This treatment is designed to be eco-friendly and uses no chemicals. With 84 naturally occurring minerals and elements, Saltability’s pure Himalayan salts benefits the body by stimulating circulation, detoxifying, improving sleep, reducing inflammation, calming the nervous system and reducing signs of aging.
Additionally, Alvadora will offer Gong Baths, in partnership with Metta Yoga, that entails one-hour sessions in a group setting offered monthly. The term “gong bath” refers to participants being bathed in sound waves, not actual water. Participants lie on yoga mats while the sound instructor begins with a variety of small movements to open the body. Designed to bring about healing through brainwave stimulation, the Gong Bath™ is a form of sound therapy where the gong plays softly, increasing in volume as the session progresses.
The techniques used allow participants to quickly achieve both the brainwave frequencies that occur when you daydream and during deep sleep and meditation. The gong sound changes frequently so there is no fixed rhythm, resulting in entrainment, or the changing of brainwave frequencies. Alpha brainwave state is achieved very quickly followed by Theta. Alpha waves are defined as brainwave frequencies between eight and 12 hertz and are often associated with daydreaming, imaginations, associative thinking and a state of relaxation. Theta waves occur during dreaming sleep – or REM (rapid eye movement) sleep – although they also occur during deep meditation. Participants of a Gong Bath™ most often enter Theta brainwaves as a result of a dreamlike, deep meditative state. Theta is an ideal state of consciousness for healing to occur. After 50 minutes of gong play, the sound instructor winds down and plays very gently for ten minutes fading away to silence.
Sound therapy is believed to have originated as early as 4000 B.C. by Egyptians and Greeks, according to the International Sound Therapy Association.
Alvadora Spa boasts Mediterranean-inspired treatments featuring warm-weather elements like citrus, eucalyptus, juniper and lavender. The spa’s signature scent of neroli, an essential oil distilled from the blossom of the orange tree, is sweet and honeyed. The scent permeates from the adjacent orange grove and throughout the spa with many treatments celebrating the invigorating benefits of citrus.
Intimate and tranquil, Alvadora Spa has eight treatment rooms, each completely different from the next, and many have serene, private indoor-outdoor courtyards and patios. The two-story spa’s lavish signature Acqua Dolce Suite has stone walls, side-by-side custom stone heated treatment tables with Vichy showers, an oversized soaking tub fit for two, an outdoor watsu pool, an 8-foot waterfall shower, an outdoor raindrop shower a private garden patio and a fireplace reminiscent of an Italian villa.
As one of the newest additions to The Unbound Collection by Hyatt™, Royal Palms is located on nine breathtaking acres at the foot of the iconic Camelback Mountain. The historic resort combines the graciousness and sophistication of a storied Mediterranean villa with the intimacy and privacy of a secluded retreat, leaving a lasting impression on all who visit. Winding stone paths transport guests past a grove of orange trees, trickling fountains in courtyards, roaring outdoor fireplaces, 100-year-old rustic doorways and hand-painted tiles, and lush gardens filled with magenta bougainvillea, exotic plants and desert flowers. A true destination for lovers, the resort was originally built as a private mansion in 1929 as a grand gesture of love by financier Delos Willard Cooke for his wife Florence. Guests feel right at home while the heritage and heartbeat of the Royal Palms lives on.
Royal Palms is preparing to unveil a multi-million-dollar renovation next month that touched all 119 guestrooms, including the Presidential Suite, as well as select meeting and event spaces, the pool area, event lawns and the lush landscaping.
To book a spa experience or for more information on Royal Palms Resort and Spa visit http://www.royalpalmshotel.com/ or call 602-883-1234.
