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Massage is the manipulation of the body's soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet, or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pain. In European countries, a person professionally trained to give massages is traditionally known as a masseur (male) or masseuse (female). In the United States, these individuals are often referred to as massage therapists, because they must be certified and licensed as "Licensed Massage Therapists".
Vichy is a city in the Allier department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, located in the historical province of Bourbonnais.
A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa. Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. The word spa is derived from the name of Spa, a town in Belgium.
A shower is a place in which a person bathes under a spray of typically warm or hot water. Indoors, there is a drain in the floor. Most showers have temperature, spray pressure and adjustable showerhead nozzle. The simplest showers have a swivelling nozzle aiming down on the user, while more complex showers have a showerhead connected to a hose that has a mounting bracket. This allows the showerer to hold the showerhead by hand to spray the water onto different parts of their body. A shower can be installed in a small shower stall or bathtub with a plastic shower curtain or door. Showering is common in Western culture due to the efficiency of using it compared with a bathtub. Its use in hygiene is, therefore, common practice.
Bathing is the washing of the body with a liquid, usually water or an aqueous solution, or the immersion of the body in water. It may be practiced for personal hygiene, religious ritual or therapeutic purposes. By analogy, especially as a recreational activity, the term is also applied to sun bathing and sea bathing.
Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy and also called water cure, is a branch of alternative medicine, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy, that involves the use of water for pain relief and treatment. The term encompasses a broad range of approaches and therapeutic methods that take advantage of the physical properties of water, such as temperature and pressure, to stimulate blood circulation, and treat the symptoms of certain diseases.
A massage parlor or massage parlour is a place where massage services are provided for a fee. In the 19th century, the term began to be used in English as a euphemism for a brothel.
Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other criteria. In addition to their hygienic function, public baths have also been social meeting places. They have included saunas, massages, and other relaxation therapies, as are found in modern day spas. As the percentage of dwellings containing private bathrooms has increased in some societies, the need for public baths has diminished, and they are now almost exclusively used recreationally.
A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters goes back to prehistoric times. Such practices have been popular worldwide, but are especially widespread in Europe and Japan. Day spas and medspas are also quite popular, and offer various personal care treatments.
Băile Tușnad is a town in Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania.
A hot tub is a large tub full of water used for hydrotherapy, relaxation or pleasure. Some have powerful jets for massage purposes. Hot tubs are sometimes also known as "spas" or by the trade name Jacuzzi.
Balneotherapy is a method of treating diseases by bathing, a traditional medicine technique usually practiced at spas. While it is considered distinct from hydrotherapy, there are some overlaps in practice and in underlying principles. Balneotherapy may involve hot or cold water, massage through moving water, relaxation, or stimulation. Many mineral waters at spas are rich in particular minerals such as silica, sulfur, selenium, and radium. Medicinal clays are also widely used, a practice known as 'fangotherapy'.
Steamboat Springs is a small volcanic field of rhyolitic lava domes and flows in western Nevada, located south of Reno. There is extensive geothermal activity in the area, including numerous hot springs, steam vents, and fumaroles. The residential portions of this area, located mostly east of Steamboat Creek and south of modern-day SR 341, are now known simply as Steamboat.
A day spa is a business that provides a variety of services for the purpose of improving health, beauty, and relaxation through personal care treatments such as massages and facials. The number of day spas in the US almost doubled in the two years from 2002 to 2004, to 8,734, according to the International Spa Association, and by 2020 there were 21,560 spas across the United States, according to Statista.
A destination spa is a resort centered on a spa, such as a mineral spa. Historically, many such spas were developed at the location of natural hot springs or mineral springs; in the era before modern biochemical knowledge and pharmacotherapy, "taking the waters" was often believed to have great medicinal powers. Even without such mystic powers, however, the stress relief and health education of spas also often has some degree of positive effect on health. Typically, over a seven-day stay, such facilities provide a comprehensive program that includes spa services, physical fitness activities, wellness education, healthy cuisine, and special interest programming.
Vichy is a town in Auvergne, France.
Bathing played a major part in ancient Roman culture and society. It was one of the most common daily activities and was practiced across a wide variety of social classes. Though many contemporary cultures see bathing as a very private activity conducted in the home, bathing in Rome was a communal activity. While the extremely wealthy could afford bathing facilities in their homes, private baths were very uncommon, and most people bathed in the communal baths (thermae). In some ways, these resembled modern-day destination spas as there were facilities for a variety of activities from exercising to sunbathing to swimming and massage.
Vichy Pastilles, less often pastilles of Vichy, are a French confectionery produced in the spa town of Vichy in central France. They were invented in 1825. They are recognizable as a white, octagonal type of candy pastille bearing the word "Vichy" in all-caps.
Bílina is a town in Teplice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 17,000 inhabitants. It is known for its spas and as a source of the strongly mineralized water, Bílinská kyselka. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.
References
- ↑ Mernagh-Ward, Dawn; Cartwright, Jennifer (2004). Health and Beauty Therapy: A Practical Approach for NVQ. ISBN 9780748790357.
- ↑ Williams, Anne (2007). Spa Bodywork: A Guide for Massage Therapists. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. ISBN 9780781755788.
- ↑ Brown, Anitra. "What Is A Vichy Shower?". about travel. About.com. Retrieved 2015-09-24.
- ↑ Miller, Erica T. (1996). SalonOvations' Day Spa Techniques. Cengage Learning. ISBN 1562532618.
- ↑ Whitney, Nicole. "What Are the Benefits of a Vichy Shower?". LEAFtv. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
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