Last night we posted your Crystal Ball to What’s Hot in Spring 2012, a glamorous, cultured look at what to look forward to in the season ahead. Today we wanted to share with you Lifehacker’s awesomely helpful guide to getting the best bang for your buck on absolutely anything (well, almost anything – ahem), all year long. From patio furniture to Broadway tickets to digital cameras, this guide tells you exactly when your big purchases of the year are at their cheapest.

But they neglected to mention one thing – SPA TREATMENTS! That’s where we come in. Mark it down: The BEST TIME to go to the spa in 2012 is when treatments are just $50 A PIECE during National Spa Week®:

SPRING SPA WEEK: April 16-22 | FALL SPA WEEK: October 15-21

Make sure you’re signed up to get the best deals on spa in 2012 – full service treatments that normally cost between $75 and $500, for only $50. Since 2004 Spa Week’s mission has been for everyone to be able to experience the wellness lifestyle. This may not be your year for a new pool, gas grill or motorcycle, but this is your year for spa!

And here’s the link to Lifehacker’s guide to everything else.

THE HUG. It’s one of the simplest gestures in the world, and delivers some of greatest benefits human beings need and crave. Hugs build trust and compassion, they increase oxytocin levels (the bonding and happiness hormone), they reduce blood pressure, and hugs can even make you smarter! And, they’re 100% free. So in the spirit of this joyous time of year, we are thrilled to welcome Dashama, our brand new Joyology* Expert, who has a hug-filled holiday health challenge that you’re going to love!

And last week, she kicked it off at the Santa Monica Pier giving out free hugs to strangers – and filmed the whole thing for us! Don’t you just love her already?

*Joyology was coined by her friend, and the man who made the music in her Free Hugs video, Mr. A-to-Z himself, Jason Mraz.

Are you ready for CHALLENGE #7?

Here’s what to do:

Pledge to hug someone – anyone! – every day for two weeks.

When:

Monday, December 12 – Christmas Day

Who Says?

Dashama is an internationally known Yoga Teacher, Author, Healer and Healthy Lifestyle Coach. Founder of the Global 30 Day Yoga Challenge, Journey to Joyful TV, Perfect 10 Lifestyle and Pranashama Yoga Institute. She is an innovator in the field of yoga, mind/body transformation and healing… and believes in the power of hugs!

Why?

Straight from our National Hug Your Boss Day blog post (even CEOs need hugs!)…

5 Reasons Hugging is Healthy

1. REDUCED BLOOD PRESSURE AND RISK OF HEART DISEASE It’s proven that hugs lead to less stress; after hugging, there is a reduction in your body’s cortisol level. Cortisol is the hormone associated with stress. Less stress equals lower blood pressure, which significantly reduces your risk of heart disease.

2. OXYTOCIN INCREASE Hugs increase oxytocin – the “bonding” hormone. In a study, when couples hugged for 20 seconds, their levels of oxytocin increased. Those in loving relationships had the highest increases.

3. STRENGTHENS SOCIAL BONDS Hugs symbolize trust and compassion. Giving someone a hug has the potential to make them feel more comfortable around you in the future, to trust you more, and to make them feel that you are truly on their side.

4. IMPROVES MENTAL HEALTH Hugging, like therapy or yoga, can help clear your mind and make you happier. But, what’s more, is it can even strengthen your mind long-term. Hugging  and touch has been shown to reduce symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, such as restlessness, pacing, vocalization, searching and tapping.

5. HUMAN TOUCH IS IRREPLACEABLE In the same way a massage can deliver the healing, happy benefits of  human touch, a hug can really do a body good.

How to get started:

Join the Challenge Event on Facebook and tell us about your hugs! Maybe you’ll continue to hug your husband each and every morning and night, or perhaps you’ll hug a friend in need… or go Dashama-style and give them out for free in the street. Whatever you do, we want to hear it!

What’s in it for me? (HUGS & GIFT CARDS!)

Giving a hug = getting a hug! Everybody wins. Plus, once you join the Facebook event and start sharing your hug stories, you’ll be eligible to win one of two $50 Spa & Wellness Gift Cards by Spa Week.

More on Dashama:

Dashama’s personal approach to yoga as a lifestyle and life path to awakening to more joy, love and abundance on all levels is unique and highly sought after. Read more about it in her book, Journey to Joyful.

She developed Pranashama Yoga from years of personal practice as well as training with some of the greatest masters of our time. This fusion style is designed to help you heal, strengthen, tone and balance your body, become centered and balanced in your emotions and clear any blocks to accessing your highest potential in life.

Check her out in all sorts of positions!

And one of her favorite positions: Sun Salutations. Learn more about this ritual, which a big part of Dashama’s famous 30 Day Yoga Challenge, in this video.

Visit Dashama’s website and YouTube channel to learn more about this wonderfully spirited and inspirational human being.

Now, here’s a big virtual hug from the Spa Week team – for you Dashama, and for everyone!

Hopefully your Thanksgiving break was stuffed with lots of loved ones,  fantastic food and shopping! If you just couldn’t peel yourself off the couch or out of bed at 2am to hit the big box stores for Black Friday’s fiasco, don’t worry! You can still give the ultimate gift of wellness to everyone on your holiday list today, Cyber Monday. The best part? In honor of the busiest internet shopping day of the year, you can give everyone on your holiday list a $100 Spa & Wellness Gift Card by Spa Week for just $89.99 PLUS a FREE BOX and FREE SHIPPING on all orders (today only)! AND, all other cards are also 10% off with FREE SHIPPING today, too! (Snag one for yourself too — we don’t judge!)

CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW! 

Imagine, crossing everyone off your holiday shopping list without leaving your home or office. No lines! No traffic! No wasting gas trying to find parking! No worrying about dragging the kids to the store!  See…everything about the Spa & Wellness Card is relaxing, from the hassle-free purchase to the luxurious spa treatment(s) of your choice!

Just in time for the holiday season, Spa Week® is THRILLED to announce that our gift cards are now available at select retail locations! Now you can head over to your local Target, Sam’s Club, CVS Pharmacy and Rite Aid and pick up the new and improved…

The Spa & Wellness Gift Card by Spa Week®

EXCLUSIVELY available at over 17,000 retail locations nationwide

The Spa & Wellness Gift Card does not expire and can be used 365 days a year. The card is accepted at over 4,500 spas across North America, with more spas joining every day.

At your favorite retail locations, there are a few different card options awaiting you: $25 and/or $50 cards are available at each store and a very special variable load card is available at CVS Pharmacy and Rite Aid.  The variable load card lets YOU decide how much to give; it can be purchased for any amount between $25 and $500. That’s a lot of feel-good spa treatments!

HOW TO FIND A SPA:

A full list of participating spa locations is available online at www.spaweek.com/spa-gift-cards where you can search by city and/or zip code to find a spa near you.

Pssst! Want to give the gift of wellness and can’t get to a store? Visit SpaWeek.com and take advantage of our exclusive Holiday Sale: Get a $100 Spa & Wellness Gift Card for just $89.99 plus a FREE gift box.

Spa Week is over, but the memories and benefits are everlasting! One of the greatest rewards for us is hearing about how Spa Week has touched your lives. We asked for your Spa Week stories, and this is the week you get to read the 5 winners, who will all receive $50 Spa Week Gift Cards to use for their next spa treatment.

New Yorkers are busy people, so sometimes they have a difficult time relaxing and unwinding at the spa. This is not one of those stories.

Right off the bat I felt at home walking into Mezzanine Spa in SoHo. If only my home was as relaxing and serene! But hey, that’s why some ingenious person invented spas, to give us crazed city-folk a rare and much needed chance to step out of our hectic norms and let our troubles melt away. This is exactly the environment the owners and staff at Mezzanine have created with a feeling of peace in the air, the cleanest of clean lockers, waiting and treatment rooms and a very helpful and smiling staff. I was taken in promptly for my appointments, something I really value as a time crunched New Yorker.

During Spa Week, I had the best facial I have ever had here. And although they did not recommend I have a facial before a massage, there were no other appointments left and the process was very gentle (yet thorough) and non-invasive, so there really was no problem. My skin is still glowing weeks later! I am so glad I went in to Mezzanine or I would have never known that facials do not have to hurt! And I really appreciated the descriptions of what products my facialist was using and the procedures she was doing along the way. I don’t know about you but I love being an educated consumer, especially when it comes to people working on my money maker! It just makes me feel more comfortable and be able to enjoy the entire process more.

Then on to the massage, which was much needed! Don’t get me wrong, I am kind of a massage connoisseur – my favorite ever has been at the Wynn Towers in Las Vegas, so please consider that fact when reading my review!  It was good. That is about all I can say. Not best I’ve ever had, but far from the worst. My massage therapist started me face up, which I found to be a little unusual, but hey I am not traditional so I went with it. She made me feel very comfortable right off the bat and was very friendly and not too talkative. Something I enjoy in a massage therapist is them holding off on the small talk and really letting me enjoy what I paid for!

The overall experience was awesome and I definitely would recommend Mezzanine Spa, especially for the facials.

Submitted by Brooke Grossman

Mezzanine Spa
62 Crosby Street
New York, NY 10012
212.334.8100