By Nora Heston Tarte
Heading to your local spa for a Valentine’s Day rub down? Consider forgoing your usual treatments—hot stones, aromatherapy, and sugar scrubs—for something a little, well, unusual. Luxury spas are sweetening the pot with offbeat menu items that might have you scratching your head. You don’t have to embrace animal droppings and slithering snakes (yes, high end spas offer treatments with these uncommon extras) to enjoy a different sort of spa experience. Instead, crank the dial up just a couple notches and take pleasure in treatment accessories, unique techniques and massage-adjacent services created for full-body wellness.
The Spa at Wine & Roses
The Spa at Wine & Roses focuses on organic treatments and green products to give guests a rejuvenating experience. Not only is the spa itself surrounded by towering trees, the facility also incorporates nature’s beauty into its treatments. New to the menu is a sticks and stones massage, a deep rub with sculpted basalt stones, handmade Birchwood massagers, and natural oils, to soothe body and soul. The tactile and mechanical stimuli offered by these natural accessories combine with the warm, flowing massage movements of the stones to support tissue purification, tension relief, and metabolism stimulation (perfect for your post-holidays health regimen). 2505 W. Turner Rd., Lodi (209) 334-6988, WineRose.com
Tranquility Day Spa & Bodywork Center
Sometimes the magic is in the method. While traditional massage has been linked to muscle relief, improved circulation, and stress reduction, employing different strokes offers more health benefits for those looking to unwind. The raindrop technique—used at Tranquility Day Spa in Stockton—refers to placing drops of oil along the spine to promote nervous system health including energy alignment, stress relief, reduced spinal inflammation, and removal of toxins and bacteria along the spinal column. 1955 Lucile Ave., Stockton (209) 957-2224, TdsBc.com
Reiki Mind Body
Reiki is gaining popularity amongst spa enthusiasts. Focused on improving mental health, the hands-off treatment has been linked to removing mental blocks, boosting moods, and offering a non-invasive way to improve spiritual wellbeing. Perhaps the most unusual part of this body treatment is that it doesn’t necessarily involve touch (some practices employ light touch). Instead, the treatments can be hands-free and applied to people fully clothed. Not only does Reiki assert many of the same benefits of traditional massage, including pain and stress relief, without physical manipulation, it has also been linked to positive mental health and personal growth. Locations in Modesto and Sonora, ReikiMindBody.com