Many factors affect our natural body balance, but the basic ones include our care and treatment of our physical body. This feature looks into the possible therapies available through Chiva-Som’s wide range of therapeutic retreats that assists in correcting our postural and anatomical alignment, balancing our diet and nutritional lifestyle as well as implementing healthy fitness habits into our daily lives.

The Destination:
CHIVA-SOM is an exquisite beachfront health resort with focus on greater well-being and vitality. Offering extensive fitness, spa and holistic health facilities, the medical and complementary therapies and facilities allow full attention to be given to the mind, body and spirit to help guests achieve overall health and wellness. Personalised programmes and treatments are available for everyone from weight management and stress reduction to skin rejuvenation and anti-ageing regimens.

Health & Wellness
More than 150 treatments and activities (include Spa, Holistic, Fitness, and Physiotherapy)

Treatment Rooms
70

Therapists
Over 85 qualified therapists

Specialist Consultants
6 consultants (qualified natural health practitioners)

Accommodations
57 rooms and suites surrounded by tropical gardens, lakes and waterfalls.

Health Facilities
Separate male and female wet areas (including sauna, steam room, Jacuzzi, relaxation room), Watsu pool, gymnasium, dance studio, pilates studio, yoga pavilion, yoga sala, tai chi pavilion and bathing pavilion, complete with an exercise pool, plunge pool, waterfalls, a large hydro- Jacuzzi, Kneipp therapy foot bath and a unisex multilevel steam room.

Dining
2 restaurants. Cuisine features a blend of Thai and Western delicacies; menus include numerous choices of low calories and low fat spa cuisine including meat, fish, vegetarian dishes, and surprisingly stunning desserts.

www.chivasom.com

On arrival you are offered a complimentary Health and Wellness consultation. This is designed around your goals and objectives, your current state of health and ability to achieve those goals. Your advisor will help you achieve the most out of your stay by devising a personal programme of treatments and services.

Goal: Perfect Posture

Problems arise when the physical balance of the body itself – anatomical positioning and postural alignment of the body is out of sync with its natural rhythm. This can manifest into conditions like back pain, pain in the joints, loss of strength and flexibility, sagging breasts, protruding abdomens which cause a displacement of the internal organs as well as pressure on the heart and lungs. To help the body to return to its balanced state, we need to correct this postural balance, which forms the basis of optimal wellbeing. Go for...THE PHYSICAL RENEWAL RETREAT Length of Stay Options: 3, 5, 7, 10, 14 or 21 Nights The Physical Renewal Retreat will determine what really causes the aching and discomfort in your body and will find the best way to cure it. Chiva-Som’s physiotherapists who specialise in manual skill and therapeutic exercise, will do a thorough check up to unravel the body’s story. The variety of quality techniques employed is geared towards releasing old tensions, correcting and teaching better posture, as well as strengthening weak areas of the body. The focus of this retreat is to restore physical balance, leading to enhanced flexibility, postural correction, muscle realignment and an overall feeling of increased vitality. THERAPEUTIC HIGHLIGHTS Physiotherapy Treatment for: Lower back, neck and shoulder problems to sports injuries and pain in the arms and legs as well as spinal problems related to working long hours and poor posture. What you can expect: All guests undergo a thorough assessment prior to treatment to identify the exact nature of injury and what underlying factors could be contributing to the pain. How it works: Treatments are based on accurate manipulation of the affected areas to gain rapid pain relief. The retraining of muscles following an injury is essential, and the exercises help to restore good posture to minimise the risk of re-occurrence. Soft Tissue Mobilisation Treatment for: Nerve and muscle tension. What you can expect: This is a gentle massage that works on soft tissue structure such as nerves and fascia to release nerve and connective tissue irritability helping to reduce pain from nerve compression while increasing your range of motion. This massage is ideal for anyone who is quite sensitive but suffers from tension. How it works: Performed by Chiva-Som’s physiotherapists, this specialist massage is based on the “Muscle Train” theory that all the muscle tissues are connected with Muscle Energy Technique (MET) and nerve mobilization. The physiotherapist will analyze any faulty posture and design the best technique for your alignment. Rolling Release Therapy Treatment for: Weakened muscles along the spine and all over the body due to sedentary lifestyles, which may lead to chronic postural pain syndrome. What you can expect: A session begins with postural analysis to find weakened and restricted areas. It provides release for the spine, chest, neck and hamstrings to relieve restricted points from the back up through the shoulders and neck. How it works: This new form of workout that combines “Body Logic” and “Body Therapy”, offering guests an effective self-rolling method based on the principle that most people suffer pain and restricted movement due to poor structural alignment resulting in collapsed posture, muscle tightness and sometimes, pressing on nerves. H20 Therapy & H20 Body Complex Treatment for: Weight loss, strengthening and toning up your body What you can expect: In the swimming pool, the absence of gravity allows you to perform basic movements without the risk of injury by using water as a power gym, and still simulate many land-based exercises such as bicycle, treadmill or cross-training in a gym. How it works: The water resistance found in every movement is approximately 12 times greater than in air. The result is a high calorie burning, toning and strengthening workout that directly improves all five aspects of physical fitness; strength, endurance, flexibility, cardio-respiratory endurance and body composition.

Goal: Fit & Fat-free

Weight management is both a short and long term project which goes hand in hand with physical fitness. Spa cuisine and fitness experts may be able to help you to lose weight during the retreat, but true weight management is a balance of lifestyle, food and exercise. Go for...THE WEIGHT MANAGEMENT RETREAT Length of Stay Options: 5, 7, 10, 14, 21 or 28 Nights And/or Go for...THE FITNESS RETREAT Length of Stay Options 5, 7, 10, 14 or 21 Nights At Chiva-Som, the main goal is to educate you into finding and maintaining this balance daily. The Weight Management retreat includes all the essential elements to help accurately assess where you are and where you should be. A Nutritional Consultation will review your current eating patterns and will help you implement better habits for your return home. Whether you are fi t or not, Chiva-Som fitness trainers are fantastic at helping you get the most from your workouts. They will design a safe and effective program that you can take home and the knowledge and motivation to keep it going. You will also have the opportunity to enjoy spa therapies to assist and accelerate your retreat journey. THERAPEUTIC HIGHLIGHTS Nutrition Counselling Treatment for: Improving eating habits and personal nutrition. What you can expect: At Chiva-Som the nutritional consultation focuses on you. Rather than a prescriptive “eat like this” attitude, the emphasis is on educating you about the basic requirements of the body, where to get your nutrition and what effect foods such as carbohydrates, fats and proteins have on the body in terms of both weight control and nutritional support. How it works: For weight loss, an understanding of some basic nutritional and physiological parameters will give you the knowledge to assess your own diet regularly and an understanding of how to lose or gain weight. Counsellors assist with calculating your caloric needs, and provide guidelines to help you understand how to stay within the boundaries. Personal Training Programs Good for: Kickstarting exercise regimens and developing a personal fitness program. What you can expect: You will learn the necessary skills and positive lifestyle habits to really start taking your health and fitness seriously. This also helps you set achievable and worthwhile goals, discover ways to motivate yourself, learn the importance of exercise heart rates and learn how to adapt your programme as your fitness improves with time. An initial Body Composition Analysis is recommended to give you and your trainer further insight into how you can easily achieve your goals. How it works: Chiva-Som’s experienced fitness specialists work with you individually to provide expertise and motivation to assist you in achieving your personal health and fitness goals. Whether you want to work out in a gym or at home, your programme is uniquely designed to achieve results both during your stay and after you leave Chiva-Som. This session is suitable for those of any exercise level. Detoxifying Balneotherapy Treatment for: Improving circulation, stimulating lymphatic flow and increasing muscle tone. What you can expect: This application of heat to the skin produces effects in the deeper portions of the body inducing muscle relaxation, increasing blood supply due to dilation of the vessels and stimulating metabolic activity. The relaxation of muscular tissue results in the relief of pain due to rigidity and spasms in the muscles. How it works: Chiva-Som has recreated the ancient ritual of treating the body with the healing and therapeutic powers of the ocean. This stimulating and detoxifying treatment combines sea salts, marine algae and specifically blended essential oils with underwater jet massage.. LPG Keymodule Endermology Treatment for: Complementing weight management and anti-cellulite program. What you can expect: Treatments are performed by trained therapists, with a hand-held, massaging device that intermittently “rolls-over” the affected area and kneads subjacent soft tissue. This unique combination of gentle suction and deep reaching massage is applied to the affected areas and the experience is very much like a relaxing deep body massage. How it works: This entirely new technology is the next generation in the treatment of cellulite. FDA approved, LPG Cellu 6 Keymodule mobilises scar tissue and connective tissue, it has great results for pre and post-surgical treatment and recovery and is the best choice in effectively complementing any weight management or anti-cellulite programme.

* Log on to www.chivasom.com for full information of Chiva-Som’s 2009 Retreats