Dayspa

JUL 2014

DAYSPA is the magazine of spa management. Spa owners and spa managers turn to DAYSPA for spa management trends, spa management tips and more.

Issue link: https://dayspamagazine.epubxp.com/i/329661

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 13 of 107

re you one of those people who needs to have your smart phone surgically removed at the end of the day? You're certainly not alone. Our devices have become lifelines of sorts, the near- sacred objects we rely upon to inform and amuse us, not to mention keep us connected to our friends, semi-friends, families, co-workers, clients, neighbors, acquaintances, semi-acquaintances and, well, all those other people. Is it overwhelming sometimes? Sure—but you wouldn't dare go without those lifelines. Perhaps the very idea sends you into a panic. That's OK; it's only human to become dependent on things that improve our lives. The problem is, those very same devices that bring us speedy information and streamline our everyday personal and professional business, are also having a questionable effect on our psyches. "[Our digital devices] can overwhelm us with a constant barrage of sounds, images, texts, emails, games and videos," says Carol Krucoff, a yoga therapist at Duke Integrative Medicine in Durham, North Carolina, and author of Yoga Sparks (New Harbinger Publications, 2013). "In our wired world, technology addiction is emerging as a major stressor, as we stare at screens instead of people, text instead of talk and focus on personal devices while sitting in a room full of friends." Krucoff is among the growing list of wellness practitioners who advocate for "unplugging", or taking regular, extended breaks from smart phones, laptops, tablets and the like. So is Kate Johnson, a Buddhist teacher with The Interdependence Project (theidproject.org), who tested her own ability to unplug by attending a three-month meditation retreat at which all techno-devices were forbidden. Not surprisingly, it was an uncomfortable exercise—but it yielded some fascinating fi ndings. "Sometimes when I had the desire to share [via a device], it was out of a genuine desire to connect," Johnson notes, "but sometimes it was because I wanted to 'change the channel' on my experience. I was uncomfortable or didn't know what was going to happen, or I had a gap in my day and wanted to fi ll it up... By not engaging that habit, not scratching that itch, my capacity to be with my experience as it was really grew." DAYSPA's special Wellness Issue is designed to reinforce that "be here now" philosophy. Our "A Spectrum of Energy" feature (page 28) presents the many energy-based options available to spa practitioners who'd like to help their clients clear and balance their chi. This month's Mind-Body Health column (page 66) explains how internal energy arts such as tai chi and qigong can do the same. And to ensure that the physical body is also supporting this balancing act, check out "The Detox Discussion" on page 42. Now for the big question: as a hardworking, driven businessperson, could you advise spa clients to unplug—and then practice what you preach? Before you balk, read the remarks of Wayne Muller, author of Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest (Bantam Books, 1999): "Our relentless emphasis on success and productivity has become a form of violence. We have lost the necessary rhythm of life, the balance between effort and rest, doing and not doing." So, if a weekly mini-vacation from your digital devices can restore that rhythm, maybe it's worth missing an occasional Tweet or two. Linda Kossoff Executive Editor Dare to Unplug EDITOR'S PAGE 12 DAYSPA | JULY 2014 Wellness experts preach the value of taking extended breaks from our digital devices. E d i t o r s P a g e . i n d d 1 2 Editors Page.indd 12 6 / 3 / 1 4 1 1 : 2 4 A M 6/3/14 11:24 AM

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Dayspa - JUL 2014