Water Works

The centuries-old use of H2O to heal and soothe is alive and well in Morris and Essex. Book a treatment today to indulge in the healing power of water.

Historians aren’t sure whether the word “spa” comes from the Latin phrase salus per aqua, which means “healing through water,” or derives from the town of Spa, Belgium, where, centuries ago, a health resort built on the area’s natural mineral springs became internationally renowned. In either case, water therapy was historically a spa’s raison d’être, the lure for treating everything from leprosy and rheumatism to indigestion and sore feet. And it’s no wonder.

Hydrotherapy, which the International Spa Association says is “any treatment that incorporates water for therapeutic purposes,” makes us feel so good. Among other things, it increases our red and white blood-cell circulation and endorphin production. This in turn strengthens the immune system, reduces inflammation, decreases stress and gives us energy. Warm-water soaks and massaging showers are not only relaxing, they can also detoxify through vasodilation (expanding the blood vessels), bringing blood to the body’s surface and releasing toxins.

Saunas and steam rooms help to open airways by sending white blood cells to areas in need of healing, thereby increasing respiration. While today’s spas mostly do massages and facials, quite a few in our area have stayed true to their roots by offering hydrotherapy treatments that detoxify, beautify and destress-ify you. Check out these popular water treatments designed to soothe your cares away. Then read on to see what your local spas are offering.

Herbal and Mineral Soaks and Baths

For centuries, spa-goers have flocked to the earth’s mineral springs to treat arthritis, joint pain and other ailments. Mineral springs contain elements such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium and iron. Different springs bring forth different minerals, and each works well for various maladies. A soak in the naturally carbonated waters of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., for instance, can aid in circulation, open skin pores and relieve tension. Even though there aren’t any natural springs in our immediate area, local spas and bathhouses have done a great job mimicking them with special mineral and herbal soaks. An herbal soaking treatment might include magnesium and potassium to relax tired muscles or rosemary and eucalyptus to detoxify.

Vichy Shower

Vichy, France, is famous for its geothermal mineral springs, which have been used to treat arthritis, rheumatism, gout and digestive complaints, among other ailments. Vichy continues to be worldrenowned for its spa therapies, and it is from here that the Vichy shower originated. What is a Vichy shower? Imagine lying face down on a comfortable massage table, only this table allows water to drain. Water rains down from a hinged arm above the table, which contains five to seven shower heads. A therapist controls the flow, pulse and temperature of the water. The cascading shower helps improve blood circulation and skin elasticity. It often follows other body treatments such as scrubs and wraps, replacing a stand-up shower.

Watsu

Watsu gets its name from combining the words “water” and “Shiatsu.” Shiatsu employs stretching and pressure techniques to relieve stress. And water here means a secluded pool at body temperature, about waist-deep. In a Watsu session, a massage therapist holds you as you float in the pool, guiding you through a series of gentle, flowing stretches and twists. Because you are in water, you can move your body, especially your spinal column, in ways that you can’t on land. This allows for a deeply relaxing experience. Trust and connection are big components of Watsu. You must be led by the Watsuer while the Watsuer learns to move you based on your breathing rhythms. In this way, it is profoundly soothing both emotionally and physically.

Circuits

Who says a spa experience can’t be exciting? Try doing a hydrotherapy circuit, which involves alternating hot and cold water treatments, such as going from a hot tub to a quick plunge in a cold pool to a sauna. Alternating heat and cold increases white blood-cell activity, which improves circulation and reduces inflammation. It also detoxifies: Heat makes our muscles expand, while cold makes them contract. This squeezing pushes out toxins. Circuits are used to treat skin disease, arthritis and circulatory problems. They are also downright exhilarating. Some of the biggest spas in the country (the likes of Qua Baths & Spa at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas) incorporate snow rooms and cold-water steam sprays. Try it—if you dare! Water treatments close to home

Taking a break from a harried deadline season to test the healing potency of H2O, I went out in search of hydrotherapy experiences around Morris and Essex. Here’s what I found:

DePasquale Spa

Treat yourself to hydrotherapy, DePasquale style. The Experience is 80 glorious minutes that start in the Japanese steeping tub of warm water infused with essential oils. Goodbye, stress. Follow that with a rinse under an Italian rainforest shower, and you will be relaxed and ready for a massage of your choosing: European, warm-stone, deep-tissue or warm-bamboo (actual bamboo is heated and rolled on the body for a deep massage). $180. For a longer getaway, try the Deep Sea Escape. The two-and-a-half-hour treatment starts with a long soak, followed by a seaweed body wrap and sea salt exfoliation, and closes with a massaging rinse under the Vichy shower. Stacey Catalogna, a director at the spa, says the Escape “detoxes the body, energizes the spirit and sloughs away what you don’t need.” Who couldn’t use that? $295.

DePasquale Spa, 51 Gibraltar Dr., Morris Plains, 973.538.3811, depasqualethespa.com

Charles Behm Massage and Holistic Services

When you want to be (literally) in the hands of a professional for whatever ails you—tension, stress, muscle stiffness, pain—enjoy a Watsu session with Charles Behm. A massage therapist since 1975, Behm has studied rehabilitative techniques with leading practitioners, served as president of the American Massage Therapy Association’s New Jersey chapter and is currently chair of its National Grievance Commission. He is particularly fond of Watsu, having practiced it since 1999. “It hasn’t really caught on on the East Coast. I have always loved it, though, and wish it were more available here,” he says. Whether in the warm water of his backyard pool or one he finds to rent if you’re not close by, he will cradle you with one hand while massaging and leading you through a series of gentle stretches, turns and arches with the other. Deeply restorative. $100/hour.

Charles Behm Massage and Holistic Services, Morristown, 973.656.0210, charlesbehm.com

Bangz Salon and Wellness Spa

Here’s a modern sanctuary in an old building. You know when you walk through the door of this 19th century church-recently-turned-spa that you’re in the hands of people who can restore. The hydrotherapy offerings here are divine. Try one of the b-Well Herbal Soaks: rosemary leaf, eucalyptus leaf and spice berry for detoxification; sage leaf, rose petal and juniper berry for rejuvenation; chamomile, lavender and strawberry flowers for soothing relaxation. $60. Or enjoy the Hydro Massage in the spectacular tub (it closes over you!) and its 75 underwater jets. Follow that with a 25-minute Your Way massage of your neck, lower back, feet or scalp—you choose. You’ll be born again. $100.

Bangz Salon and Wellness Spa, 23 S. Fullerton Ave., Montclair, 973.746.8426, bangz.net

Flic Spa

This little spa has a reputation for quality in a big wei (wei meaning “water” in Hawaiian). Flic gets rave reviews for its Royal Pacific Raindance Therapies, which massage therapist Tiffany Bizub describes as “soothing and great for softening the skin.” Guests get a rose flower foot bath and tea before their treatment begins, then a full body South Pacific–style massage. Choose a Balinese Jamu (deep and powerful), a Hawaiian Lomi-Lomi (fluid and wavelike) or a Philippine Hilot-Hilod (soothing and decompressing). Then feel the warmth of the islands in your private sauna, and relax with a full-body exfoliation. End your tropical tryst under a waterfall: Warm buckets of water are poured over you while you feel the rain dancing down from the Vichy shower above. Laule’a (peaceful in Hawaiian). Two hours; $260.

Flic Spa, 388 Broad St., Bloomfield, 973.429.3542, flicspa.com

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