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Spas of America Lists Best Canadian Spas

 

Top 50 Canadian Spas

Top 50 Canadian Spas

 

We’re pleased to announce that Mountain Trek was one of the Top 50 Spas in Canada for 2012, as rated by Spas of America, an online spa and retreat finder.

“Spas offering escape, rejuvenation and wellness in beautiful outdoor settings continue to prove popular with spa consumers,” says Spas of America, Relationship Manager, Dagmar White.

Well, we’re happy to offer all of these, and there’s no shortage of beautiful outdoor settings in our neighbourhood. We’re honoured to be in such strong company.

Why Snowshoeing is the Ultimate Winter Workout

SnowshoeingWhat better way to see out the old, and ring in the New Year than walking on top of the snow, breathing fresh air in a winter wonderland, while melting off inches from holiday indulgence?

Our popular Winter Snowshoe Program is a fun and adventurous way to burn an average of 450 to 550 calories per hour without even knowing it.  If you can walk, you can snowshoe, and unlike cross country skiing, the skills and coordination required are minimal, along with the risk of injury.

Dating back thousands of years, snowshoes were an invention of necessity for travelling by foot by ancient people in Central Asia and the indigenous people of North America, and were then happily adopted by fur traders and trappers. Today’s modern designs employ light weight, high-tech materials and revolutionary binding systems for better control and stability.

Burn Calories…the Fun Way

Along with ski or hiking poles, snowshoeing generates heat like few other activities, and boosts metabolism into a higher fat burning gear. Snowshoeing builds strength and endurance, and enhances cardiovascular capacity. Most importantly, the soft snow absorbs impact, giving your joints a break and reducing repetitive-motion injury.

As in running and walking, snowshoeing primarily strengthens quadriceps, hip flexors, and extensors; and as if that’s not enough, it also works gluteals, hamstrings, calf muscles, and abdominals. The resistance of the snow builds lower-body strength and forces your body to burn more calories. Your metabolism is also boosted because you work several muscle groups simultaneously. Along with trekking poles, your upper body is engaged (triceps, pecs & deltoids) which contributes to the ultimate full body winter-workout.

Let it Snow

Here in the middle of high peak Canadian mountain ranges, we make the most of our natural surroundings all year! We offer the ultimate winter getaway for guests from all over the world who want to end the year right, and start the New Year rested, pampered, rejuvenated, and several pounds lighter than they were. Snowshoers get a chance to smell the pines, get in touch with nature, and play in the great outdoors while rapidly losing weight. 

Snowshoeing is a great way to keep up a winter fitness program and an excellent alternative to going to the gym. It offers something for everyone by conditioning the body, feeding the soul, and providing a way to experience nature up close. Escape this winter to the snow!

Meditation: It’s Not Just About Sitting Still

Meditation
Meditation isn’t about sitting cross-legged and staring off into space. At our health spa we use it as a tool to help drop the body into a state of deep rest or calm allowing for self-repair, alignment of hormone levels, and balance your metabolic state. Blood pressure normalizes, adrenal glands produce less cortisol, and the immune system functions better. The mind clears and creativity increases.

As a follow-up to the post Cortisol: The Stress Hormone, we want to offer some tips on the different kinds of meditation you can practice. If you recall, cortisol is created when our unconscious deems it necessary to fight, fly or freeze for survival. It’s also a hormone whose production increases aging in our bodies. By introducing periods of relaxation, we can prevent the harmful effects of cortisol and gain from its benefits.

Here are some helpful examples of ways to meditate:

Focused Meditation

Concentrate on an object or sound. Even the rhythm of your own breath. Stay conscious in the present moment, while letting the steady stream of thoughts in your mind fall away. And creating space and a state of an empty mind.

Activity Oriented Meditation

This is great for those who have a hard time sitting still. By engaging in a repetitive activity (like hiking)  we get into a “zone” of movement and feel a state of “flow” that is uninterrupted by conscious thought. It allows for one to be in the present, in our body, with the mind focused, rather than interrupted with thoughts of past or future doings.

Spiritual Meditation

Although not specific to any one religion, meditation has been used for Millennia as a space to receive guidance. By focusing on a question once the mind is quiet, we can receive inner guidance or access our own true wisdom. Some practitioners believe that prayer is speaking to God, or the Divine, while meditation is listening.

No matter which technique, know that repetition brings ease and improvements just like weight lifting. A good way to begin is to think of yourself as the observer of your thoughts and notice what the narrative voice in your head says without engaging in the content. As thoughts materialize (which they naturally do all the time), do your best to let them go and come back to concentrating, focusing, or witnessing. Meditation is like taking your mind to the gym. The benefits to health are increased vitality, reduced stress levels, and peace of mind.

What is Mountain Trek?

Mountain Trek is the health reset you’ve been looking for. Our award-winning health retreat, immersed in the lush nature of British Columbia and featuring daily sunrise yoga and night-time restorative yoga, will help you unplug, recharge, and roll back years of stress, anxiety, and unhealthy habits. To learn more about the retreat, and how we can help you reset your health, please email us at info@mountaintrek.com or reach out below:

Spa Magazine

Diary of a Weight-Loss Boot Camp

Writer Margaret Pierpont of Spa Magazine visits Mountain Trek, where she loses weight, gains determination, and finds her edge.

Read the full article…