#morethanskin

As we navigate the familiar but also the not so familiar territory of lockdown, we are all about accessible practices and rituals to support your wellbeing.  There is nothing more accessible than our minds. A simple practice to induce a wellbeing boost is the act of positive anticipation.  

Positive Psychology endorses this and understands the mental and physiological benefits that come from looking forward to something, including a drop in cortisol and lower stress levels.

In his book The Happiness Advantage, Shawn Achor references a study whereby people who just thought about watching their favourite movies actually raised their endorphin levels by 27%. He states, "Anticipating future rewards can light up the pleasure centres in your brain as much as the actual reward will."  

The mindfulness case of being present and in the now still reigns true in every sense. However, there is a beautiful quote by Esther and Jerry Hicks which applies perfectly, "Feel happy with what is, and eagerness for what is to come."

So, amongst the daily to-do's of life, we encourage you to find a moment of peace to anticipate, to think “ahhh soon I will be there and all will be well”. To look to the horizon of time whenever you need a boost. Do you have anything on your calendar down the track? Perhaps it's the promise of waking up on a sunny day with no lockdown, a vacation when we reach the other side or imagining a self-care experience, massage or wellbeing treatment.  

Isn't it funny how the closer we get to the end of the year, the faster time seems to tick? One minute it's a fine spring morning in October, and the next, you're in a zorb tumbling towards December. And while your to-do list should be getting slimmer, it feels like it is accumulating tasks at speed - present shopping, Christmas day planning, what to cook, where to go and who to visit. We are here to help by encouraging you to take a moment of tranquility. A break? Will that really help? Yes it will and here’s why.  

A moment of tranquility is one of transition. Slowing down from an unsustainable pace and into presence. Allowing yourself time to rest and recover. Because as much as we're capable of, we need to remember that we are the vessel. We’re not supposed to “do it all”. And the saying "you can't pour from an empty cup" couldn't be more accurate. By making space for yourself and taking a moment - you open up to receiving. 

There are many ways to cultivate a moment of tranquility, but one of our favourites is through self-care. A beauty treatment might seem like it's only taking care of the outside, but it also allows us to connect internally. To close down the eyes, breathe and contemplate how magical it is to simply be in your body. 

As part of our birthday celebrations this month, we have been gifting a Joyce Blok Sugar Scrub with online purchases over $250. This week we were delighted to have been asked to extend these delicious treats to friends of our MTS family. The art of gifting, especially a surprise gift, is such an uplifting experience. Studies have shown that people who give gifts feel happier and better about their lives. We see this each time we wrap a gift or put together a voucher for one of our clients in Spa. They are literally glowing with pleasure as they anticipate how treasured the moment of delivery will be.

We also get enormous pleasure in wrapping gifts as part of our online service. Gifting improves our mood and state of mind. There is no way you can have a negative thought as you are giving someone you love something to enjoy. As it turns out, the act of giving is a gift in itself.

Sometimes the choice of gift reflects what we perhaps cannot communicate verbally. We may feel too shy, too sad or too overwhelmed, yet the art of giving somehow does the job for us. For example, a living plant can be gifted and nurtured for months after it has been received. Every day the person who was gifted the plant is reminded of how loved they are.

Some say the greatest gift you can give is time. We say the greatest gift you can give is touch – but we are perhaps a little biased. Whatever your preference, we hope you enjoy the art of giving over the coming weeks and months. A tradition that never gets old.

Here’s to us, here’s to you and here’s to ageing well.

Happy weekend MTS beauties ♥

This is an extra special one as we re-opened our doors! The Spa was dressed for the occasion and we loved seeing you again and providing pampering treatments after over 100 days in lockdown!  Look out for loads of Christmas goodies and treats when you visit.

The forecast this weekend has a little bit of everything in store. But hey, doesn't four seasons in one day make Auckland what it is? Regardless of the weather though, we hope you remember that sunscreen is for every day. We promise your youthful, healthy skin will thank you for it in years to come.

Why every day?

UV radiation can penetrate through cloud cover. So while you might let your guard down because it's an overcast day, anywhere up to 80% of the sun's rays can still be absorbed by your skin. Without sun protection, all those micro doses of sunlight from fleeting moments outdoors can accumulate and cause skin damage later in life.  

Are there easy everyday sunscreen alternatives for the face?

At MTS, we're serious about skincare, but we're also big fans of making things easy. That's why we are such huge fans of New Zealand brand Joyce Blok’s skin saviour, the BB Cream Broad Spectrum SPF 30. Not only does it protect against damaging UV rays, it also evens skin tone, hydrates, promotes collagen, cover imperfections and brings luminosity with a universal tint that warms to your skin tone. Yep, all in one product and now in a bigger 60ml size! Use alongside a bronzer like our moisturising Joyce Blok Auto Bronzing Cream, to bask in the beauty of a golden tan without over-exposure to sunlight.

Have a gorgeous weekend lovelies, and we hope we've inspired you to protect that beautiful skin of yours as the days get brighter and the evenings warmer.

Our Annual Think Pink Campaign for Breast Cancer Cure has got us thinking. Every donation driven purchase of our Joyce Blok Classic Facial or Face & Body Exfoliant is so much more than a self care treat, it’s a small but significant act of kindness.

Whilst acts of kindness benefit the receiver, they also benefit the giver - often in equal measure.

Physiologically kindness has an instantaneous effect on our wellbeing. Whatever that kindness looks like, whether it’s an action, compliment or the giving of time, tapping into empathy releases a flood of hormones, namely; oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins leading to a happier, more serene state of mind.  

The release of oxytocin protects the heart by lowering blood pressure, interesting this is the same chemical that makes us feel connected to one another and is the same chemical that's released during a hug. A rise in serotonin, otherwise known as ‘the feel-good hormone’, regulates our central nervous system, stabilizing mood. Endorphins are also released, just like those we receive after a walk outdoors or a workout. While this fabulous rush occurs, a welcomed depletion is also in action - a drop in cortisol or ‘stress hormones’.

Triggered by a news story recently, I popped on to Givealittle, an online donation platform to give a simple $10 to a family in need. But how could I ignore the family next to this? I thought, who as a non-celebrity story with a lower public profile, had received less overall but whose plight was just as worthy. Fifty dollars and five families later, I was left with a flurry of warmth and peace. My unexpected fundraising frenzy that evening was what I’d typically spend on a cheeky Uber dinner for two, but I was flying high. And this, is the power of kindness.  

Our Think Pink campaign is just one way you can deliver an immediate act of kindness. See here for details.   

If you love a good quote as much as we do, here’s one of our favourites, “Vent about your joy. Not just your problems”. What could be more beautiful than to be so joyful that it can't be contained and it spills into our everyday conversations with others? You might be thinking, how can we be so brazen as to encourage joy when reality sees most of us struggling with the challenges of everyday life at the moment. As we touched on in our newsletter, one step in the right direction might be to reframe things.

Today we’re choosing to reframe the concept of ‘loosing our minds’ with that of ‘finding it’. Seeing the time we’ve been given as a gift, not a hindrance. A gift to take stock, to rest, repair and recalibrate. After all, there is nothing more valuable than time. Using it to centre and support ourselves might be the very gift we didn’t know we needed.

Beyond the benefits of mindfully flipping the script, as always, we encourage self care. As such, this week’s newsletter includes our latest nurturing edit. Our way of supporting you from afar. Wishing you all a beautiful long weekend!

Birthdays (yes, we’re still riding our birthday train) are all about celebration, and in this week’s blog, we celebrate the body. The body that carries our hopes and dreams, the body that enables us to get from A to B, to achieve our goals, to carry out small acts of kindness and make big things happen.

If I had to name the biggest nemesis of the body, it would be stress. Stress runs riot in the body and if left ignored or unattended, can have debilitating effects physically, mentally and emotionally.

Every day our body communicates with us, offering indicators of how much stress we’re under. It speaks up with skin issues such as; break-outs, acne flare-ups, scars that never seem to heal, eczema, dullness, the list is too long to continue. Physical touch and full body massage are one of the greatest tools available to combat stress and bring the body back into balance.

Most massages focus on relaxation alone, but deep tissue massage falls beautifully into both physical and mental wellbeing camps in terms of its benefits. It helps the body by; expediting healing by stimulating blood flow and reducing inflammation, lowering blood pressure, improving flexibility and offering pain relief. Full body massage also works to amplify the release of feel-good chemicals like dopamine, serotonin and endorphins, delivering the ultimate in relaxation.

AT MTS, we’ll forever be advocates of fully embracing our bodies and treating ourselves with kindness. Deep tissue massage is offered in our 60-minute wellness experience (which also includes an Indian Scalp Massage, Nourishing Hair Treatment, Crystal Healing, and Aromatherapy).

What’s in a name? SPA as we know it today is actually an acronym, gifted to us by Latin ‘Salus per Aquam’ and translates directly to ‘health from water’. 

How beautiful to think that something now so accessible to us, was once inscribed across the walls of ancient roman baths.

The therapeutic benefits of water were well understood by the ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptians, with bathing once a shared experience and a cornerstone of society, where people would meet to socialise, soak, and emerge restored.

They knew, as we do now, that the act of immersing your entire body in hot water works almost instantly to undo tension, release toxins and stimulate healing.