
Destination spas give you the tools for leading a healthier, happier life. Find out how to choose the right one for you.

Fall is just around the corner, and it's the perfect time to take care of your skin with a facial, body scrub, and hydrating wrap. You can also give yourself a gentle body exfoliation at home with skin brushing, which helps get rid of cellulite.
But what about the spa? With 15 treatment rooms, it's big, but not too big, and incorporates the outdoors with pools, fountains, courtyards, and outdoor garden soaking tubs and showers. There's plenty of room in the 1,200-square-foot Fitness Center and 800 square-foot movement studio for yoga, Pilates and meditation. Its treatments are inspired by local talent, like the creator of "Life Impressions Bodywork." This unique modality uses gentle non-invasive techniques "to safely release historic imprints held in our bodies from stress or repetitive patterns." (I wonder how many treatments it would it take to get my left shoulder to finally relax.)
Regionally inspired treatments include Mountain Spirit Purification, which begins with a smudging ceremony, followed by adobe clay body mask and wrap with scalp and foot massage, rain shower rinse and a juniper-sage massage using hot stones. There's also a menu of Ayurvedic treatments inspired by Dr. Vasant Lad, director of the Ayurvedic Institute in nearby Albuquerque. And it wouldn't be New Mexico without some chili peppers, so treatments begin with a Chili Pepper Foot Warmer Ritual incorporating tea tree oil, honey and chili peppers.
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