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Energy therapies might lend a new dimension to your treatment menu. By Andrea Renskoff Energy therapies migh t Energy A of © OLEKSIY MAKSYMENKO/GETTY Life force transferred from the hands of the practitioner into the body of the client? Enveloping someone in the color orange to treat irritable bowel syndrome? Fingers tapping on collarbones to liberate emotional trauma? Marching in place and swinging arms to regulate hormones? These might not sound like staples on your treatment menu, but spas around the world are incorporating energy therapies such as these into their offerings, all under their "total wellness" umbrella. Energy therapies, mostly rooted in traditional medicine as practiced in ancient times around the world, can be a fi rst, or last, stop on a client's journey of transformation. These therapies can put a signature stamp on your spa, and perhaps even provide a chance for you to bring in a local practitioner who's doing exciting work. As with any atypical spa service, success in incorporating energy therapy hinges on the client's level of understanding. Start with the more familiar: the stress-reducing massage treatments you already offer are, in some ways, energy work. Clients who are familiar with some forms of bodywork might be able to envision how a reiki master's hands promote healing without ever directly touching the body. But to the client accustomed to a deep- tissue massage, this isn't going to be an easy sell. She's likely to think, "Spend an hour and $100 to remain fully clothed and not have those knots kneaded out of my back?" So, education is key. Spa professionals and clients need to know that with energy work, the focus isn't on simple tension release. These therapies are meant for people with physical, emotional and psychogenic challenges, issues that may be impacting their lives in huge or subtle ways. Such clients may have already gone the Western medicine route without success and now need to widen their horizons as to what defi nes healing. Your spa can be the place to which they turn. 28 DAYSPA | JULY 2014 E n e r g y F e a t u r e . i n d d 2 8 Energy Feature.indd 28 6 / 3 / 1 4 1 1 : 2 9 A M 6/3/14 11:29 AM