A Spa Night’s Rest
Call us the sleepless nation. An estimated 40 million Americans suffer from slumber disorders including sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, and plain old tossing and turning. Insomnia increases our risk of high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack, and injury. Frequent fliers may be the worst sleepers of all. Which is why the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort and Spa in Indian Wells, California, decided to partner with sleep visionary Robert deStefano to introduce a “Sleep Wellness Program” catering to tired travelers and sleepless spa-goers.
deStefano, founder of The Sleep Garden, a sleep-education program that also produces audio and video sleep aids, says that deep sleep comes only when we release the “Seven binds of protection and performance”: the belly, the lower and upper back, the neck, the jaw, the temples, and the “third eye” (the point in the middle of your forehead that reportedly opens straight into the mind). “Unfortunately, high-stress lifestyles have become status markers in our society, and we undervalue the art of relaxation,” he says. deStefano himself abandoned a successful career in advertising to devote himself full-time to tackling the great American sleep crisis.
Based in the Bay Area, he now makes quarterly trips to the Esmeralda Resort and Spa to teach fifty-minute courses in sleep therapy. The class, in which each participant is aided by a massage therapist, incorporates components of yoga, bodywork, aromatherapy, and sound. “We teach skills for letting go on conscious and unconscious levels,” says deStefano. “With each night, sleep comes a little easier, confidence grows, and the grip of insomnia is broken.”
Clients can also opt for the deeply relaxing Moonlight Massage at the Spa Esmeralda. The massage incorporates aromatherapy products developed by deStefano such as the Sleep Bliss Blend, a compound of such botanical and essential oils as lavender, valerian, hops, California poppy, and St. John’s Wort. deStefano is also developing a Sleep Wellness brochure for Esmeralda, offering “Tips for Better Sleep,” to be placed in every room. Travelers can also order a Sleep Wellness amenity kit that includes aromatherapy Dream Mist and ZMusic, a CD of sleep-inducing sounds, to be delivered by specially designated Sleep Butlers. Now that sounds like a dream come true. For more information visit www.renaissanceesmeralda.com, or www.sleepgarden.com
—Katherine Stewart
Jan/Feb 2008
