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Looking at New Day Spa’s exterior, you might never guess the level of calm within, kind of like looking at an unopened rosebud. New Day, which opened in December 2002, sits at the far end of a row of unassuming storefronts. Whether or not it calls attention to itself from the outside, the spa door ushers you into a welcoming environment that puts the outside world immediately at bay.
The experience begins in the lounge, where spa co-manager Chaya says she wants clients to feel pampered even before meeting their massage therapist. Chaya, originally from Switzerland and a Sedona resident for eight years, has been doing massage since 1984. Her co-manager, Maneesha, worked for two years at Mii amo. Greeted in the lounge, the guest is offered a warm or cool “neck wrap” (it looks a little like an upholstered sofa arm rest), which is draped around the shoulders. The warm wrap has an invigorating aroma, like a pleasant herbal tea.
The treatment aims to engage all the senses, and New Day makes an effort to provide a pleasing visual presentation. The guest is presented with three graceful bottles of soothing colors _ yellow/green, rose and lavendar _ holding oils. You’re invited to smell each and select one, which will be used in your treatment. Instinct rules _ your nose knows _ but each aroma has particular properties and meanings, which the therapist will explain after you’ve made a choice, and you’ve had a chance to discuss any concerns and goals before moving into the session room.
The sugar, warmed in a crockpot, is an exfoliating scrub to remove dead skin cells and prime the skin for moisturizing, including aloe vera and the oil chosen in the lounge.
After a shower, the massage begins. New Day uses organic essential oils produced by cold extraction, which Chaya says preserves beneficial qualities.
The post-massage floral wrap, using calendula flowers and rose petals on an herbal sheet, is like a tea bag _ the flowers don’t touch the skin _ that leaves the guest “cocooned in warmth,” for deep absorption, says Chaya. It lasts for 10 minutes, accompanied by soft music and a head massage.
“The flower is a symbol of beauty, and inspires beauty in everyday life,” Chaya says. The treatment is not therapeutic, but rather to make the recipient “feel like a king or queen.” Given life’s occasional thorns, it seems like a cool way to try to nip anxiety in the bud.
Sedona Desert Forest Mud Wrap
The Oasis Spa
Sedona is one of the few places on earth where it’s not a bad thing to say “your name is mud.” The red dirt has long held fascination for its healing properties, and while you can leave it to the scientists to debate if there’s a chemical basis for those claims, the emotional attachment to Sedona mud treatments, and the anecdotal testimonials, remains strong.
The purpose of mud treatment is to draw toxins from the skin. At Oasis Health Spa, connected to Sedona Racquet Club, the Desert Forest Mud Wrap combines oils and a special blend of sterilized mud with juniper and cypress for a invigorating scent.
