[News Boquete] News from Spa Boquete

Dear Friends, Neighbors, and Clients:

A huge thank-you to all who wrote reviews for Trip Advisor this past year!  Spa Boquete has received a Certificate of Excellence for 2014, just as in 2013, with a five-star rating, based on 117 client reviews.  Reading the comments posted on Trip Advisor's website will give you a good idea of what Spa Boquete has to offer that is unique in spirit and style among the many spa services now available in Boquete.  

I'm also very grateful that July 1 marks the start of my third year in the spacious, tranquil, and convenient Coral House across the street from the Oasis Hotel & Restaurant, 8 1/2 years of professional practice in Boquete, the perfect location for the style of spa services I most enjoy offering, and 16 years of massage training and experience.  I continue to maintain my U.S. National Certification in Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork through spa work and accredited courses, the most recent of which were Tom Myers' two webinars, Fascia in Movement and Myofascial Soft Tissue Release.  As one Trip Advisor reviewer recently noted, my deep tissue work is not the "hard and deep type," but rather, a focused and gentle treatment to unblock and relax contracted deep structures.   I owe this mainly to Tom and to my favorite deep tissue teacher in Boston, Mary Gail Sullivan, who used to tell her students, "Trick a muscle; don't force it."  

Spa Boquete remains a one-person boutique spa, at which I attend to all clients personally, and with unique sessions that draw not only on my massage training but also on many of my other lifelong loves:  music, dance, exercise, and study of spiritual traditions and energy healing techniques.  What does this mean for spa clients?

Here are a few examples:

Recent - and ongoing - classes in Argentine tango in Buenos Aires with Pablo Alvarez, Aurora Lúbiz and Claude Murga, among others, continue to teach me the art of awareness, understanding and participating in a physical and energetic dialogue, in which each moment and each movement has its meaning and its beauty.  In terms of massage, whatever its style, this translates as a challenge to listen and respond, to the best of my ability, to the explicit and subtle messages sent by the body and spirit of a client.

Spa facials enhanced with therapeutic complements, such as manual lymph drainage of throat and face, relaxing cranial-sacral techniques for the head, or the gentle release of tight neck muscles or foot fascia during the time the facial masque is doing its work.

The brief, original "pu'ule" (blessing) that begins a massage session and invites positive results from the work. Hawaiian practitioners and the late Irish poet and philosopher John O'Donohue have had plenty to say about the importance of this small detail. 

Music selected to complement the overall purpose of the session.  For me, music is a "third partner" in therapeutic activity, just as it is in dance.  Current client favorites include:  Dr. Jeffrey Thompson's music with embedded alpha (relaxation) and theta (meditation) brainwave pulses; piano and instrumental albums by Nadama; the recordings of sound healers Sylvia Nakkach, Tom Kenyon, and overtone master David Hykes; the Tibetan bamboo flute and mantra chants of Nawang Khechog; traditional and modern Hawaiian chants ("mele") to accompany LomiLomi massage; the Celtic meditation music of harpist Aine Minogue and vocalist Nóirín Ní Riain; sounds of nature (birds, ocean, dolphins, rainforest); or, for those who prefer, no audible music at all, just the subtle rhythms of the body.

Spa products of the highest quality, because what goes onto your skin also goes into your body:

For massage, pure organic Jojoba extract, which is a plant ester, not an oil, and excellent for skin.  And some new products:  a Shea Terra Organics massage preparation for sore muscles, made with shea butter and eucalyptus and African buchu leaf essential oils; shea butter and almond lotion; and a mint and shea butter cream for tired, sore feet.  I also use the jojoba extract as a "carrier" or base for aromatherapy massage with organic fragrances.

For spa facials, my favorite products for both men and women also come from Shea Terra Organics, a U.S.-based company which uses minimal chemicals and no parabens in its products and does most of its business with women's cooperatives in Africa:  Nigerian black soap cleanser and masque; a new facial masque custom-mixed with baobab and coconut water; a velvet face scrub with Moroccan argan nut, lava clay, and rose hips; kigelia and licorice face cream for natural skin firming; argan and green coffee oil for around the eyes; and their array of organic and natural face oils and creams:  argan, marula, tamanu, desert date, and baobab.  For clients who prefer locally available products, I also have some of L'Erbolario's skin care products from Italy, sold in David and Panama City.

Finally, I offer affordable and consistent prices which haven't increased in 7 1/2 years.  They're listed, along with descriptions of the techniques and services offered, a map, and contact information, on the Spa's website, in both English and Spanish:  www.spaboquete.com.

With gratitude and thanks,

Kitzie McKinney

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