Imagine a spa where every treatment on the menu involves seawater, or a derivative mud, algae thereof. Imagine getting massaged with pressurized underwater hoses, drenched by streams of seawater pouring down from above and wrapped in a silky elixir of seawater and algae. Such was my experience at a French thalassotherapy resort located on the coast of Brittany. Most people can agree, without any scientific evidence, that a visit to the seaside is a mood lifter. Exposure to the fresh sea air, the ability to ground your feet in the sand and the feeling of nutrient-rich water sinking into every pore combine to induce a relaxation effect that is likely primordial.
And that is why, since the genesis of the tourism industry, people have coasted to seaside towns in search of rest, relaxation and renewal. Thalassotherapy amps up the healing power of the sea by harnessing its beneficial qualities. During the following days, I was to experience that healing effect, taking the waters in the form of baths, seaweed wraps, sea salt scrubs, underwater massages, inhalations and aqua exercise.
Seaside walks were also part of the equation. While thalasso treatments are used for a variety of ailments, from musculoskeletal problems to skin conditions to respiratory diseases, my focus was my aging, aching back.
I selected France because it is both the home of thalassotherapy and the country where it is most widespread. There are 38 approved thalasso centers along the coastlines of the English Channel to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Mediterranean Sea to the south.
Spain, Croatia, Germany and Estonia dabble in the field. It became a thalassotherapy center in The location was optimal, as I could walk to the spa and back in my bathrobe. Treatment packages focus on everything from relaxation and sleep to weight loss and anti-aging.
