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Astrum's new spa aims to rejuvinate body and mind
Patrick Keller
Lakeside Leader
You could be forgiven for thinking that far infrared rays, negative ions and a composite bed made of germanium, feldspar, tourmalin, and zeolite are weapons and furniture on board the Starship Enterprise. In fact, these are all part of the modern gym/spa’s arsenal.
The healing properties of all of these elements have apparently been known for eons, but have recently become the rage in health and wellness circles.
Just ask gym and spa owner, fitness guru Leslie Tanasiuk.
Tanasiuk runs Astrum II Fitness and Wellness Gym, located on Main St. above The Brick.
A personal trainer and fitness buff, even Tanasiuk says she is entering new waters with this new yet ancient ‘technology’, but she is jumping in with both feet.
“Wellness is really about the whole person,” said Tanasiuk, as she led us from the gym to the new Spa. “I’m really just learning about all the different processes. A truly healthy person is healthy on the inside and out.” She is talking about fitness and diet, body and mind. When combined correctly, the end result should be wellness.
This holistic approach to well being gets a lot of lip service these days, and for good reason.
It turns out that today’s hectic lifestyle may not be the best recipe for health. We don’t exercise enough, we spend hours around machines that emit harmful electromagnetic waves; we eat processed foods devoid of real nutrition and feed our minds a constant barrage of insipid information (see reality TV.)
Fighting back against any one of these enemies of health can’t be bad, but it may not be enough.
For example, pumping iron all night in the gym has its benefits, but it is more effective when combined with the right diet. Eating right has obvious merits, but that alone might not be enough either.
The key, it seems, is balance, and that is where Tanasiuk’s spa comes in. The gym is one element; the popular evening yoga classes another. Tanasiuk hopes to round out the offerings with the newly opened spa.
The spa is located down the hall from the gym, right past the new, $20,000 tanning salon.
Just beyond a faceless office door, down a seldom-used hallway, visitors enter the spa. All traces of the former dull office space have been erased and transformed into the equivalent of a swanky city apartment. Brand new hardwood floors and colourful paint enclose nearly $50,000 worth of wellness-inspired equipment.
There is the acupuncture inspired thermal massage bed. More than just an automatic massage table, this one comes complete with jade rollers that emit negative ions when heated by helium filled bulbs, thus making your old Sealy Posturepedic look like a torture rack.
In the main room, a walled lined with mirrors helps aspiring yogi’s maintain their cool and hold their pose, while watching a high definition yoga lesson on DVD. There is filtered water on tap and even gourmet drinks. There are a handful of other, cool gadgets too, all designed to get you running at your peak. They include an infrared, negative ion emitting ‘Skinfive’ machine, which the manufacturer claims alleviates the pain of arthritis and leaves your skin silky smooth.
We tested the unit during our visit to the spa and can verify the latter claim. There are also ion emitting matts and a state of the art elliptical machine in the spa’s main room.
But the spa’s coup de grace is a machine called the Proellixe. The Proellixe is $15,000 worth of butt-jiggling, lymph-node draining, core-toning technology mounted on a high-tech see through Plexiglas base.
It is used by NHL clubs and serious fitness hounds as a way to a complete workout in just minutes.
And, it looks like a Segway personal transport vehicle ready to go to the disco. Another Plexiglas wraparound handle supports the user while a five-inch square light show plays out in front of you. The lights apparently help diminish the effects of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), while the powerful vibrating base helps get toxins moving around and out of your system.
But does it really work? Absolutely, says Tanasiuk, who sounds as surprised as we look.
“I have a customer that was suffering from serious arthritis. She had trouble getting up the stairs at first. Within a couple weeks of using the Proellixe, she can practically run up them. She was so impressed that she bought a machine herself.”
Above all, says Tanasiuk, the real benefit of a spa is the chance to unwind and pamper yourself.
The pampering is for both men and women, but is inspired by the latter.
“We noticed that some women don’t like the vibe of a gym,” she said. Having a spa right down the hall enables them to get all the benefits of a gym, and the health-giving benefits that come with relaxing or working out in the spa.
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