Amethyst Crystals, Essential Oils and an Evening of Self-Love at the Mandarin Spa

A lexsential that I certainly can not afford but had the luxury of enjoying...an evening at the Spa at the Mandarin Hotel. 

I find it very difficult to find peace and relaxation in the bustling city of NY. I think every day about how I am not made to live here. It's too fast for me, it smells like garbage, and there are WAY too many people...it's so not zen! BUT I have made the decision to be here, so I need to accept it best I can. Yoga, meditation and other outlets that help me relax are how I survive in this city. A Friday evening spent at the Mandarin brought my level of relaxation to a whole new level. If this is something you ever have access to, I recommend it 1000%. There were a lot of girls there with their moms (some were very pregnant getting the pre-natal massage and others were brides-to-be). It's definitely a special occasion experience and here is was you can expect...

My experience:

They treat you like your Beyonce. Literally, they take your shoes from you as soon as you walk through the door and carry them away on a tray (I believe this is a Oriental tradition) and also greet you with a shot glass (yes it is that small but you can refill once you get in the spa) of amazing herbal tea (caffeine free of course to help you zen out). They give you a tour of the facilities starting with the locker room where the floors are heated and the softest robe is waiting for you. Everything is of course perfectly clean, and you immediately feel relaxed with the warm lighting, the tranquil and serene decor, the buddha statues, and the oriental music. 

The facilities: 

• Amethyst Crystal Steam Room: a circular steam room that blends heat and water with a soft lit large Amethyst, a crystal that's known to open the crown chakra. I used this room after my massage and meditated under the Amethyst. I'm starting to get into crystals and want to buy some of my own to meditate with but need to do a little more research on what crystals are best for me. As an intro experience to crystals, this was top notch. I don't think that any I purchase will be this big...I'm pretty sure they are smaller stones that you hold in your hands. Does the bigger the stone mean more drastic effects? I don't know but I do know that I was zen AF in this room

• The Experience Shower: color therapy + varying water pressure and temperature. One of the settings was "light rain" which felt great after coming out of the hot steam room
• The Vitality Pool: a hot tub with massaging hydrotherapy body jets and oxygen-intensified water. Luckily I was able to enjoy the pool by myself. I l floated on top of the hydrotherapy jets and it was heaven.

• The Relaxation Room: they described this as where you can "float back to reality" after your massage. This room had stunning views of the city with large comfy beds that you could adjust to your comfort. I came here before and after my massage to meditate

The massage that I got was the 80 minute "Calm Mind" designed to ease stress and balance the yin and yang energies. Andy picked this specific massage out...apparently I'm not too great at hiding my stress at work!  It focused mostly on the spine, shoulders, neck and face but also included a warm wrap for the hands and feet. I really enjoyed the face massage part, probably because it's something that is usually ignored in standard massages. Being a big fan of essential oils, I loved how they incorporated oils into the massage and let you pick your own at the beginning based on whether you wanted to be energized, relaxed, etc. I picked a citrus blend with patchouli oil which is supposed to soothe inflammation and removed toxins from the body. Somehow I ended up in the couples suite which was very romantic and made me which Bry was there.

Overall the experience was amazing and true to how they describe it: time stands still. After coming from a busy week at work and rushing over on the crowded subway, I stepped into a place where everything that stresses me out was left outside (work, wedding planning, life etc.). I didn't feel as if I had to do anything other than just be there and take it all in. I do think that self-love is extremely important and that every now and then we should treat ourselves to experiences that help us relax and make us happy. Does that mean I'll be going back to the Mandarin on the reg on Friday nights? Hells no. But it did make me realize that I should make a conscious effort to to add more moments like this into my life to slow down and reset the stress levels. Some more budget friendly options that might help give me a similar sense of calm are something as simple as a bath with my favorite candle after a long week, a massage once in awhile (at a more affordable place), or reading a book with my favorite cup of tea. 

BIG thanks to my awesome coworker Andy who treated me to this uhhhhmazing experience.