Beijing Beauty Secrets From Ancient to Contemporary Times
Dateline: 11/06/98
Madelyn Miller is back from China and can't wait to tell us about her newest discoveries as this week's guest writer.
Julie Register
Spa Guide
BEIJING BEAUTY SECRETS
From Ancient to Contemporary Times
by Madelyn Miller
Before the dawn of the Last Emperor, the Empress Dowager CIXI ruled China with an iron-hand. The Empress may have been known more for her immense power than for her beauty, but being a lady, she must have had the best health advisors with regard to her skin and health care.
One of the items that she is said to have used
to keep her face looking healthy until the end of her days is a Jade face-roller. Working
on the basis of Reflexology, this face-roller is supposed to help keep the blood
circulation moving, thus maintaining a healthy outlook. And being made out of Jade, it
adds a cooling effect to the massage treatment.
What a simple luxury that we can still use today. These face rollers are available all over Beijing for less than $10 US. And another benefit is that in humid clients, the cooling effect of the jade is very soothing. For me, it is more effective and elegant than a fan.
It's also a great conversation piece as well. The interest in these face-rollers has increased significantly since President Jiang Zemin of China brought these on his overseas trips as gifts.
But Beijing has much
more than ancient beauty secrets. At China World Hotel Beijing,
one of the most beautiful hotels in all of China, I found the shape of the future. (Not
just my fantasy body, but a revolutionary treatment) While staying there I experienced the
Alpha™ Health Environment Capsule, a revolutionary controlled environment that begins
you on an inner journey to another place, to a new time. The cares, the concerns, the
stressful pressures of life quickly fade.
This capsule is not a new miracle drug. It is total sensory experience inside an egg-shaped capsule that is a cross between a sauna, an aromatherapy treatment, and a massage. It might be the best bargain I've ever experienced at $10 US for 30 minutes. And as a world-class hedonist, this is one of the most unique experiences I've ever had in my eternal search for relaxation and pleasure. It is the ultimate spa.
Ancient Greek, Roman and Asian cultures explored the harmony of body and mind that today is Alpha. They exercised and stimulated the body for fitness. They discovered stress relief through massage. They learned the value of thermal therapy with their elaborate baths. They practiced mediation for calm and mental clarity. They discovered natural aromatic oils whose fragrance added to these moments.
It was their quest to make life better by searching for beauty. pleasure and health.
Now centuries later, the Sybaritic
Company has engineered and built the Alpha
™ Health Environment Capsule. The name is a derivative of the name of the ancient
Greek city, Sybarites founded in 720 B.C. Its natives were called Sybarites, people
devoted to health, pleasure and luxurious living. And this is the philosophy behind the
Alpha Environment capsule experience.
How does it work?
The capsule features combine to produce a state of profound relaxation that relieves mental and physical stress. The brain and body functions are gently guided to the relaxed alpha and theta states through the use of special lightshielded glasses and headphones that produce synchronized lights and sounds at predetermined wavelengths. They say you are supposed to experience enhanced levels of concentration, creativity, or meditation. But I was so relaxed, I did not notice if this was true.
This relaxation creates the only possible
problem with the whole experience. The user controls all functions of the therapy
experience from within the capsule with the aid of a computerized control panel. I can
barely program my car radio. In a blissful state, I could hardly make the necessary
choices. (Not that it mattered, it all felt good) If you have the mental acuity, you can
choose dry sauna temperature, intensity of massage vibration, face air speed, stereo sound
level and aroma selection. It is easy to do, a touch pad adjusts your selection. You can
choose relaxation, weight loss, fitness, energy, creativity, romantic/sensual,
beauty/skin, sleep, superlearning, or stop smoking. I just wish it had an "all of the
above" button.
The experience is a bit hypnotic. Your mind responds to the soothing sensations of your body. Your body follows your relaxing mind. You feel like you control your destiny.
Within minutes you feel the balance and harmony among your senses. The gentle massaging vibrations beneath the contour bed gradually release the tension. Warm, dry air circulates and bathes the body while a light aroma-filled breeze crosses your face and enters your nose with clean, purified air.
The warmth within may be mindful of the womb. The aromatic fragrance may be mindful of a field of flowers or the crisp air of an ocean breeze or mountain top.
Stereophonic sounds entering your ears lead your mind to a deepening tranquillity. The lightshielded glasses produce tiny dots of synchronized light that guide you to relaxed alpha and theta states of consciousness.
Now the sensory pleasures become one.
Face roller and hotel photos courtesy of
Madelyn Miller
Alpha Health Environment Capsule photos courtesy of
Sybaritic Company
800-445-8418
CHINA WORLD HOTEL
No. 1 Jianguomenwai Avenue
Da Bei Yao,Beijing 100004 China
(86-10) 6505 2266
Shangri-la Hotels
http://www.shangri-la.com
800-942-5050
-Madelyn Miller
Reprinted with permission by Madelyn Miller,The Travel Lady
copyright 1998,
all rights reserved.
photo courtesy of Madelyn Miller
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