Spa on the Cheap: A weekend to soothe your mind, body & soul Sep 6, 2002 – By Carol Givner
Would you like to turn your home into an expensive private spa for 96 cents?
With a few natural ingredients you probably already have in the pantry and a
free weekend, you can relax and rejuvenate for less than one dollar.
I've culled the secrets and routines from some of the most luxurious spas in
the country. They are surprisingly simple and fun. Give them a try. You have
nothing to lose except a few pounds and that grumpy look, and everything to
gain.
First, set the mood. Tune your radio to the classical station, or plan ahead
and record Vivaldi from your local FM airways. The rhythm of his music mimics
the beat of the human heart. Vivaldi may not have been wealthy, but only
others called him baroque. (Sorry, it won't happen again.)
If eating the right food can prolong your life and make you laugh with
radiant health, then it belongs in your spa weekend to nourish you inside and
out.
Plan to follow a vegan diet from Friday at noon until Monday at noon. Those
72 hours of consuming only life-giving food will invigorate and inspire you
to go lightly on or give up animal products entirely.
Next, set aside the following ingredients to be used for face and body scrubs
and facials for each spa day. Did you know that each of these excellent
ingredients is found in minute quantities in wildly expensive cosmetics,
where the amount is too negligible to do any good? Of course, the chemical
preservatives in the most costly potions are abundant and are absorbed
directly through the skin where your overtaxed liver and kidneys grumble,
"Now what are we supposed to do with THIS?"
When I calculate the cost of these ingredients, my cash outlay would be 96
cents, since I have these staples already on hand:
1-3 spoons of granulated sugar
2 spoons oatmeal, not quick cooking.
1 egg white (refrigerate for use during entire weekend)
1 egg yolk (store in refrigerator, too)
½ tsp. oil (olive, sunflower, avocado, almond)
1 spoon soy milk
1 spoon honey
The routine for healthy skin:
Moisten fingertips and dip in sugar. Use sugar for a gentle face and neck
scrub. Let the granules do the work. Avoid the eye area. The best part about
using food for your complexion is the total safety. Allergies are uncommon if
you personally can safely ingest the ingredient, and you have zero risk of
contaminating your body or even the food you'll eat for your spa weekend with
any health-robbing synthetic chemicals and preservatives.
Rinse off sugar, and add a few drops of pure water to a spoon of oatmeal.
Apply in gentle circles to your face and neck. Leave on for 30 minutes.
During this time take a walk. Privately. Clear a path and stroll round your
house or apartment. Clothes optional, but be sure to draw the shades. Some
people find oatmeal offensive.
Call up your imagination. Travel is expensive, but being there in your mind's
eye is cost-free and hassle-free. What images does Vivaldi conjure up for
you? Are you at Cannes or in the Caribbean? Are you a rock star or on the
stage at the Met?
And as the deed follows the thought, even before the proven-positive
direction of guided imagery, some day you might be.
With your walk over and your mind cleared, time to change the oatmeal for the
egg, yolk first. Mix 1/3 or it with the oil, and spread it on your face and
neck.
During the next 30 minutes, you're going to work out with free weights in the
form of 12-18 ounce water bottles, depending on your grip. You can recycle
ones you've emptied with tap water, which you should never drink, or pick up
new ones from the market.
Hopefully, exercise is part of your lifestyle, and you either have a tape
you've recorded from television or a book with a free weight routine. The
internet is an unbelievable wealth of information when it comes to everything
in the world, exercise included. Search for a free- weight site, and follow
their lead.
Be sure to stretch first by standing straight and reaching with your hands
over your head, fingertips to the ceiling. Picture yourself as the hands of a
clock, and stretch gently, no bouncing on cold muscles, to each of the
numbers on the face. One o'clock, two....etc. for side stretches, four
o'clock to eight for front stretches, and then back to side ones until you're
vertical again.
Rinse off the yolk with cold water, or else you'll be sorry, and spread 1/3
of the white over your face and neck. The albumen is pure protein and will be
the collagen of your dreams. This will tighten quickly, but since you've
moisturized with the yolk and oil first, you shouldn't lose consciousness.
Leave on for 30 minutes. No talking or it will crack.
Do some aerobics. Your lover will thank you.
Rinse off the egg white and apply the spoon of soy milk. You couldn't find a
better way to rejuvenate. All excess hormones on your skin will be
neutralized.
Now's the perfect time for firming exercises. Don't miss a spot. Start with
your toes, tighten them, hold for the count of ten and release. Next your
calves, but be sure to point with your heels or you'll cramp up and that
wouldn't be nice. Thighs next, and then you're on your own until you get to
your tummy, arms and shoulders. Be sure to pay extra attention to your abs.
Tighten and work those for at least 20 reps. So many problems can be solved
by firming tummy muscles, including back problems and being able to fit into
the clothes you wore in that hostel in Europe with your college friends who
never planned ahead and had to sleep in the park.
Rinse off the soy.
Moisten your skin and fingertips with pure water and spread honey all over
your face and neck. Keep on eye on things while the water evaporates to
redirect any errant honey.
Lie down and cool down for an hour.
To sleep, perchance to dream.
Rinse off the honey.
Look in the mirror.
And smile.
96 cents, and you look like a million dollars!
Carol Givner is the best-selling author of six books, two of which have
been nominated for the Frankfurt Award. She's been in Time Magazine, and she
was a front cover story for Wired Magazine. The Standing Committee on
Canadian Heritage credits her with changing the book business when her
romantic comedy, BING, BANG, BOOM, was the first ebook to make the crossover
to brick and mortar stores at Barnes and Noble, Borders, Bookstar, and
Dalton's. Her mystery, KISS AND DON'T TELL, will be released in paperback in
January 2003. Her website is www.goldduets.com.
Spa on the Cheap: A weekend to soothe your mind, body & soul
