As if Amalfi and its stunning coastal area couldn’t bring together mother nature’s finest and luxury once more, it has once again. Opening this spring is Monastero Santa Rosa Hotel & Spa, a jewel on the Amalfi Coast of Italy. Nearing completion, it will open in May.

The integrity of the original 17^th century monastery of Conca dei Marini that housed a cloistered order of nuns is being maintained as the buildings are transformed into a five-star, 20-room hotel and extraordinary full-service spa. Amenities include a heated infinity swimming pool, beautiful gardens, and an historical herb garden, situated on five terraced levels. All rooms and suites offer spectacular views of the Bay of Salerno and all are fully equipped with high-speed access and the luxuries of modern living. www.monasterosantarosa.com

Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Lenox and Hotel & Spa in Miami Beach All on 2010 List of Top Ten Destination Spas Voted on by Travel + Leisure Readers

TUCSON, AZ–(Marketwire – September 20, 2010) –  Travel + Leisure has revealed its Top Ten Destination Spas (World’s Best Awards 2010) and Canyon Ranch is thrilled to announce it has received this highly coveted accolade. Resort properties in Tucson and Lenox are once again joining the ranks, and Canyon Ranch Hotel & Spa in Miami Beach is making its debut.

The “World’s Best Awards” are voted on by the readers of Travel + Leisure to honor the top hotels, destinations, airlines, cruises, spas and transportation companies in the world. In the annual survey, destination spas were rated independently by Travel + Leisure readers in five categories: accommodations/ambiance, treatments, service, food and value. The Top Ten Destination Spas will be featured in the October issue of Travel + Leisure magazine (on newsstands September 24) and on www.travelandleisure.com.

“We couldn’t be happier to see three of our properties listed in the World’s Best Awards by the well-traveled readers of Travel + Leisure,” said Jerry Cohen, Canyon Ranch Vice Chair and CEO. “This recognition reflects our continued dedication to creating an environment that promotes health and the highest enjoyment of life for all of our guests.”

As a newcomer to the list, Canyon Ranch Hotel & Spa in Miami Beach, which opened in November 2008, has quickly established itself as a top hotel for the healthful minded traveler. Canyon Ranch Hotel & Spa in Miami Beach provides its guests with an integrative approach to health and wellness in order to create a life-enhancing transformation while also delivering a complete luxurious travel experience and world class spa.

“Canyon Ranch was founded 31 years ago with a mission to inspire people to make a commitment to healthy living,” said Cohen. “Whether our guests choose to experience Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Lenox or Miami Beach, they know they will receive the same personalized attention — it’s the Canyon Ranch way of life.”

About Canyon Ranch
Canyon Ranch pioneered the evolution of wellness lifestyle and has been an industry leader for 30 years. Operating the world’s most celebrated collection of life-enhancement properties, Canyon Ranch has destination health resorts in Tucson, Ariz., Lenox Mass., and recently opened Canyon Ranch Hotel & Spa in Miami Beach, the nation’s first luxury wellness hotel and residential community. In addition, Canyon Ranch operates SpaClub facilities (spa, wellness and fitness facilities designed to give guests a taste of the more intensive resort experiences) at The Venetian & The Palazzo in Las Vegas, Nev. and the newest Canyon Ranch venture, Canyon Ranch SpaClub at Sea, features facilities on-board ships that make up Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, as well as on board Cunards’ Queen Mary 2 luxury ocean liner. In addition, the company Canyon Ranch has been named the “Healthiest Spa in America” by Health magazine as well as the “Best Spa for Food” by Gourmet magazine. Also, Canyon Ranch is the only 11-time recipient of the Condé Nast Traveler Best Destination Spa Award.

Coming soon to this website will be exercise and travel tips based on the popular book Travel Fitness & Feel Better, Perform Better on the Road. Rebecca Johnson and Bill Tulin, authors of Travel Fitness, which Jim Yenckel, the Washington Post’s travel writer, referred to as “…the best book on the subject,” are on a mission to help wiped-out, eat-on-the-run travelers meet their fitness goals. “Travelers can easily incorporate their regular fitness programs or begin a new program when away from home,” says Johnson. “There are creative ways to be healthy and fit while on the road, with the added benefits of reduced stress and increased productivity.”

According to Tulin, the need for better fitness while traveling has never been greater. Nearly one-half of travelers polled by USA Today felt that they were in worse shape because they lack the time or the means to exercise properly during travel. For those who can’t wait for these additions to the travelfitness.com website, a copy of Travel Fitness can now be ordered through Amazon.com’s online bookstore.

As part of their efforts to promote good health on the road, Johnson and Tulin speak to groups of traveling executives, write extensively on the topic of fitness and travel and provide one-on-one consultations to travelers. With a little creativity, every road warrior can win the travel battle, say Johnson and Tulin. Some of Johnson and Tulin’s travel tips include the following:

For Immediate Release:

August 17, 2010 (MMD Newswire) — PS Ventures Limited today announced the release of two new iphone apps for the fitness community. ‘Music Interval Training Tool’ and ‘Workout Music Timer’ are now available to download from Apple’s App Store for iPhone and iPod Touch.

Music is a great way to manage someone’s state of mind. As a boxer enters a ring, their music of choice will be fast and uplifting. Similarly, whilst relaxing in a yoga class, the music of choice will be slow, calm and gentle.

These two apps use this principal to help manage your state of mind throughout your workout by allowing you to create multiple music playlists for exercising at different levels of intensity. Perfect for running, cycling, spinning, rowing or any other cardiovascular fitness activity, these apps will help you achieve your goals.

Music Interval Training Tool is a countdown timer designed for interval training. The flexible workout builder allows you to create a custom interval workout that can be as complex or as simple as you wish. Additionally, you can set a high intensity playlist to help get you pumped up in the high intensity phases and a low intensity playlist to help calm your heart rate through the low intensity phases. The music will automatically change as you enter each phase.

Workout Music Timer is a more conventional stopwatch but with three different intensity music playlists. Move between playlists at the touch of a button and track how long you’ve been exercising at each intensity while you are exercising.
Originally conceived for spinning instructors to control their classes, the benefits to all types of cardiovascular exercise are clear to see.

PS Ventures Limited director Philip Simpson commented “We’re very excited to be bringing these two apps to the fitness community. The Music Interval Training Tool is groundbreaking with its fully customisable and flexible interval timer coupled with the use of music playlists to help our users achieve their fitness goals. We believe our users will really feel the benefit of using music to specifically help them with their workout and will find that the customisable nature of the Music Interval Training Tool will satisfy all of their interval training requirements”.

PS Ventures Limited is a UK based company specialising in web design and iphone app development. The company website can be found at www.psventures.co.uk.

It’s Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, and that has thinking about teeth. Fortunately, it had the good folks at Disney Couture thinking about teeth, too, and now as part of their The Little Mermaid collection, you can buy hinged jaws and sharp teeth as rings, necklaces, bracelets and more.

These gold-plated piece incorporate aquatic elements like mother of pearl and freshwater pearls, as well as crystals, enamel and glass to make fun, ferocious pieces you can wear all year long. At just $32 to $160, it’s certainly not the most expensive collection we’ve ever showcased, but it is an excellent way to commemorate Shark Week and show your love for the fanged fish.

Source: Annie Scott/Luxist

Go mobile: Smart phone applications help you keep your fitness in check.

iFitness (paid) — A top selling iPhone fitness application, iFitness costs $1.99 and allows users to electronically plan and log their own pre-selected or customized workouts. Touted as the “personal trainer” application, users can select exercises by muscle group, including some that can be done at home with minimal equipment; get tips on proper form and find tailored workout routines to address particular problem areas with photos and instructions for more than 130 exercises. The pre-set routines are ideal for beginners who may need more information on what muscles they are working and how many sets and repetitions to do for each exercise.

Tap & Track (paid) — Keeping a food diary can be burdensome, but Tap & Track conveniently allows you to log your daily calorie intake, find calories burned during exercise and set a diet plan to help you reach your goal weight. Tap & Track starts by calculating your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) to determine your body’s daily caloric needs based on your gender, age, weight and height. For $3.99, the weight management app offers an extensive nutrition database of 80,000 food items verified by nutrition experts, and nutritional information for more than 400 restaurants. Remember to consult your doctor before starting any weight-loss plan.

iTreadmill Pedometer (paid) — iTreadmill is a pedometer-based application that tracks your distance, steps and speed. Simply attach your iPhone or iPod Touch to your arm band, pocket, purse or belt clip, and a sensor in the app monitors your steps by tracking the up and down motion of your body — just don’t make your arm swings too big or you’ll throw the gauge off! If you are running outside and have to stop at a light, the app will automatically stop and restart when you pick up your pace. You can also preset the pace that you want to run or walk and iTreadmill will keep you accountable to that pace. Enter your weight before using the application and it will track average calories burned. At the time of publication, this app was half off at $.99.

Couch to 5K (paid) — The most popular beginner’s running app, Couch to 5K (or C25K for short) is the virtual equivalent of a human training partner. Many people who attempt to run get discouraged mainly because they go out too hard and too fast. C25K helps users of all abilities to get in shape to run three miles in two months, as the app developer claims, starting with a more encouraging walking and jogging regimen. The $2.99 app measures activity by distance or time, whichever is most convenient for the user. To be successful, the app requires users to dedicate 20 to 30 minutes to exercise two or three times a week.

Eat This, Not That! (paid) — Based on the best-selling book by the editor of Men’s Health magazine, the Eat This, Not That! application shows you which foods to swap for healthier options. As the name implies, the app allows users to find thousands of healthy food “swaps” to eat better and lose weight by tracking their caloric intake with a database of more than 23,000 food and menu items. You can also set a weight-loss plan, find calories burned during exercise, learn restaurant survival strategies and build a healthy grocery list by choosing from thousands of graded items.

Six Pack App (free) — This popular free iPhone application serves as a resource to guide you through 100 weight-training, yoga and stretching exercises with more than 400 detailed photo tutorials. Learn how to target specific parts of the body with images outlining which muscles you are working and find tips on what equipment to use to fully work various muscle groups. A “Don’t” tab tells you what not to do when performing an exercise to avoid injury. Bring your phone with you in the gym and use this app to guide you through a total body weight training routine.

101 Yoga Poses (free) — This free app could save you a few bucks on an expensive yoga studio membership by providing a virtual catalog of 101 yoga poses that you can practice anywhere, any time. The app is ideal for beginner yogis who could benefit from high-resolution photos and detailed step-by-step instructions on the correct form for each pose. Plus, a countdown timer tells you how long to hold each pose. The only downside is the app comes sans calming music, so try to find a peaceful place to practice if possible.

Weight Watchers Mobile (free) — This popular weight-loss and management program has gone mobile! The Weight Watchers app allows faithful Weight Watchers followers to track the “points” value of a variety of foods and restaurant menu items as well as find the best options for what to eat. Mobile Weight Watchers subscribers can also find a list of activities for their fitness level and track the “points” value of those activities. As a plus, everything subscribers do on this application will be seamlessly reflected in their online Weight Watchers account.

This list only breaks the surface of the many health and fitness applications available. If you are hungry for more healthy apps, check out “Apps for Working Out” in the iPhone app store.

Remember to always consult a doctor before starting an exercise regimen, and take into consideration that no matter how cutting-edge an application may seem, it should not replace a qualified personal trainer who can monitor your form in person and develop an exercise plan uniquely tailored to you.

Source: SDNN

Like Wonder Woman For Your Skin…

Healing Stick Saves the Day

Being outside is the best part about the summer, but what about all of the unfortunate things that happen to your skin? When spending hours in the great outdoors, everything from bug bites to poison ivy can strike. Ever wish there was a miracle product that would help solve all of summer’s woes? Cue the Healing Stick from First Aid Beauty! This convenient, travelable, packable, multipurpose remedy does it all!

This on-the-go repair stick provides quick relief for:

• Itchy skin
• Rashes
• Bug Bites
• Irritation from shaving
• Dry, scaly skin and cuticles
• Symptoms associated with eczema, psoriasis and other inflamed skin conditions

This 1% hydrocortisone formulation works to cure just about any skin irritation! Unlike other hydrocortisone products on the market, this is an anhydrous stick, not a cream so it stays put and doesn’t run to areas where the skin doesn’t need it. The First Aid Beauty Healing Stick is available at Sephora stores and at Sephora.com for $14. Please let me know if you would like additional information or samples. ]]> http://adventuregirl.com/beauty-healing-stick-first-aid-beauty-for-travel/feed/ 0