Roll call!  The kids aren’t the only ones going back to class.  The bell has rung and you had better be in your seat because:  It’s time for Spa School.  Where fun will earn you an A and treatments rule. Click here to learn more about #SpaWeekGossip.

Grade system: Tweet smart, have fun, learn spa stuff, get an A

WIN: Six A+ Students will win a spa uniform! No naughty schoolgirl attire here.

PRIZE: A super-soft Sassimi Spa Robe: Double-sided, plush micropoly spa lounger that feels fabulous after bath, after swim, or lounging around. Get ready without bulky sleeves and collars and then step out with ease. An adjustable satin drawstring for an individual fit. Bust area moves to allow more or less coverage. This style looks great on all shapes and sizes. Get your choice of Pink, White or Cream (according to availability).

The 6 winners will be notified via Twitter after the party is over.

Your class schedule:

Homeroom - Meet your classmates and find out how to be a Grade A spa student.

Math - Crunch the spa numbers without busting your budget.

Gym - Jumping jacks were never like this.  Sweat it out and get into spa shape.

Social Studies – Become a spa culture vulture w/history and the roots of relaxation.

Chemistry – Get out the beakers & test tubes! Make your own beauty concoctions.

Home Ec - Create a cozy and relaxing home.  When you just can’t get to the spa.

TWITTER PARTY DETAILS:

What: Spa Week Daily & Art of the Spa’s #SpaWeekGossip

When: Wednesday, September 1st, 2 pm EST / 11 am PAC

Where: On Twitter with hashtag #SpaWeekGossip or

For easier chatting (hashtag entered automatically for you) tweet on Tweetchat.com

BRAND NEW! Join us by logging in from Twitter OR Facebook using our brand new embedded chat feature here:

Topic: Back to Spa School

Who: @spaweek @artofthespa & YOU!

Experts:  @jeremymcc @audreymclellan (fittingly, Audrey won’t make it because of a conflict with her son’s first day B2S!) @rockandrollmama @carissarogers

Make the grade and be there.

Michelle (Spa Week Daily) & Candy (Art of the Spa)

We all definitely “knead it”! By the end of this week’s #SpaWeekGossip (read the topic) (see the damage), everyone was lemming a rubdown.

And oh the massages we dished about – from four-handed to chocolate to mint. Expert @ISpaDoYou taught everyone a new word Ashiatsu – where the therapist stands on you & massages with their feet. Hot stone, Thai Yoga & Watsu were also crowd faves.

A lucky gal & her hubby took massage classes together AND one tweeter has a supersweet husband who massages her with brown sugar scrub – WoW! Where can we find a man like him!

As for massage mayhem, Chatty Cathy therapists are the bane of our bliss. One guest’s dad had a crazy therapist talk about bow hunting and shooting electric company employees! Icky fragrances and skipped scalps were also sore spots.

For DIY types, Spa Week shared a hilarious hit massage soundtrack. Ideal for home or spa, clearly. Art of the Spa suggested trying out massage gadgets in store to make sure they are quiet enough for max relaxation & swooned about her Homedics Massage Mat and Sharper Image Shiatsu Massager.

Wanna make that massage high last? Arrive early for a steam or sauna & stay after. Best way to save money? Hands down, try all your favorite massages during Spa Week for just $50 (the best #SpaWeekGossip of all is that it’s coming soon!).

Ahhhhh… gotta run we’re all going on a Spa Crawl!

Next week join us to play Rant or Rave: Spin the Spa Trend! 2PM EST / 11AM PAC We’ll gossip about the latest spa treats & YOU rate them – it’s going to be a blast.

#SpaWeekGossip, produced by Spa Week Daily (www.spaweekdaily.com) and Art of the Spa (www.spaaroundtheworld.com), is every Wednesday at 2 PM EST / 11AM PST on Twitter. Come party with us – it’s better than that crusty old sandwich!

See you next week,

Michelle (Spa Week) & Candy (Art of the Spa)

Photo courtesy of Minnesota Monthly

Guest contributor: Shelby Jones, ISPA Public Relations Manager

Social media is the wave of the future. Actually it’s no longer the future, it’s the present. If you aren’t Facebooking and Tweeting then you’re really behind (like monumentally). Your mom once asked you, “If everyone jumped off a bridge would you?” Well now you can throw it back in her face, because EVERYONE has a Facebook page – moms, dads and grandparents are all updating their statuses and checking out your Spring Break ‘04 pics. Carpal Tunnel is on the rise thanks to Twitter updates painstakingly made via your iPhone or BlackBerry (it’s totally important that everyone knows your opinion on last night’s True Blood episode). You might be waging an inner battle deciding whether or not to “friend” your mom or boss, but a business’ social media outlets should welcome everyone with open arms (even the haters). If you’re late to the game then it’s time to catch up, and these tips are essential for jumping into the world of social media.

• The Facebook (that’s what grandma calls it) isn’t just for young whippersnappers. AARP says that 37 percent of people age 50 and up use social sites. It just goes to show that you’re never too old to be social.

• Find out who’s talking smack about you, get free advertising and test out your new ideas and promotions by talking about yourself. It only takes 140 characters or less.

• Prove that your social media efforts are worth it by knowing your ROI.

• To page or profile, that is the question. What’s best for business – Facebook pages vs. profiles?

Like what you’re clicking? If you’re in the spa industry, we encourage you to become a member of our partner ISPA; weekly e-mails with pointers like these are just one small part of the package to help you succeed!

We asked on our Facebook Page: ”What’s one thing that you enjoy doing independently, with nobody else, just Y-O-U? You chimed in with the responses below. Try those and our 5 things we think you should do by yourself this summer to claim your independence in little ways.
“Riding my horse” -Daphney Overocker
“Going for a long walk” -Laura Fairclough
“Running along the river” -Erin Koeppel
“Long night drives” -Esther Choi
“An empty house w/no one other than ME/MYSELF & I” -Sharice White
“A good massage”- Cecilia Wong
“(Getting a) Facial” – Cindy Scanlon Smith
“Singing at the top of my lungs to a great tune” -Debbie Bashford
“Yoga. I feel most focused when no one else is around” -Melissa Rogers

Having a little “me-time” is so important. You can celebrate your independence this week in so many more ways than devouring a cheeseburger, 2 hot dogs and steak all on your own.  A little solo time goes a long way.

1. Watch A Movie: It’s fun to cuddle on the couch for a flick or go to dinner and a movie with a good friend, but a movie with just you can be a delightful way to spend 90 minutes. Don’t be afraid to venture to the theater stag! Netflix is also an old time fave. Watch 3 of your favorite movies at once, return and replace with something new for just $8.99 a month. Just provide the buttery popcorn.

2. Write It All Down: Remember life before Twitter and Facebook? Yea we don’t either. Instead of unnecessarily spilling your darkest secrets into a a distant friend’s news feed… sit by yourself like the good old days and jot it all down. We promise no one will read it.

3. Shop ‘Til You Drop: Need a dress for a special occasion? Need some retail therapy? Don’t wait for your girlfriend to make time in her schedule–shop solo and depend on nobody’s opinion but your own. Another way to shop independently? Shop from the convenience of your iPhone with the Splendora Salescast app. With over 20 applications from you favorite sample sale sites like Ideeli and Gilt Groupe, you’ll never miss out on a good bargain buy again.

4. Take A Hot Bubble Bath: We can’t think of a more therapeutic version of alone time than taking a hot bubble bath. Experience the full ambiance with  scented candles and music playing in the background. Add some bath salts and it’s a heavenly escape.

5. At-Home Spa Day: And after you take a relaxing bath, give yourself an at-home facial. Gather up your old magazines, with tips and tricks that you promised yourself you would try and actually do it. Rummage through your fridge for the fruits and veggies required to give yourself an organic spa day. Your skin will thank you.

Images Courtesy of Work It Mom, 3H-Lady, Real Simple, Teen Vogue,

Many of us would probably crawl into a corner and have a conniption if we were told to shut off our Blackberries, iPhones, iPads, Androids, laptops…the list goes on. We’re definitely a society prone to checking emails before we go to bed at night and updating our Twitter statuses even before we brush our teeth in the morning. That’s why we used this week to have our Facebook Fans, Twitter followers and anyone who supported the #SIGNOFF movement to revert back to the basics in life. We’ll even help – check out the below suggestions from our friends and fans letting us know how they #SIGNOFF.

Read:

- Reading a good fictional book. It’s a great distraction for my mind and a book, unlike TV, doesn’t requires either electricity or batteries to enjoy it. (Leon Tulton on Facebook)
- Reading a good book – paper not Kindle ;-) (@transcenddayspa on Twitter)
- Reading (Tameka Johnson on Facebook)
- Reading……an actual book. i love the feel of turning actual pages ( @guestlistblog on Twitter)
- Reading and running (Kim Miller Malone on Facebook)
- Reading a good book (Amy Traiger on Facebook)
- Reading a good book (DonEisha Goodson on Facebook)
- @MeghanButler Reading books! (cause I’m old school like that)
- Reading a real book, not kindle stuff (@doctorClaudia on Twitter)

Life’s a Beach:

- Being a beach bum!!! :) (Yvonne Gyapong on Facebook)
- Reading on the beach =) (Jenny McCray on Facebook)
- Beachside reading and writing (Tanya Johnson-Coleman on Facebook)

Kickback Poolside:
- Lounging by the pool with a good drink and a great book (Maggie Gottlieb on Facebook)
- Swimming…just you and the water (Armelinda Stojku on Facebook
- I love when I escape on my Barbie beach bike & my iPhone battery is low/dead #signoff :} (@Ponderful on Twitter)

Indulge if You’re Over 21

- Wine (Ashley Brady on Facebook)
- @Ashley: yes, WINE!! (Yvette Lola Brownridge)

Be Outdoors-y:

- Hiking (Bart van Hunskerken on Facebook)
- Gardening, hiking, being outdoors! (Sarina Silvers on Facebook)
- Horseback riding and swimming (Tracey Y. Washington-Boucaud on Facebook)
- Playing with my lil doggie (Eboniña Evans on Facebook)
- Walking (@anthonyderico on Twitter)

Me Time:
- Being alone……..TOTALLY ALONE….doing what ever I want ….whenever i want………. (Diane Watson on Facebook)
- Watching the rain, seriously! (@anetah on Twitter)
- Meditation! Swimming in the ocean! (Laurel Levey-Giacomino on Facebook)
- Cleaning my apartment! All that scrubbing is a nice little work out and I love when everything is dust free. (@PBRandPBJ on Twitter)- Star gazing… (Lisa-Ann Galati on Facebook)
- Nap, walk, read, swim, sing (Jessica Russell on Facebook)
- Singing, writing. . .sleeping. .lol (Liberty Renae on Facebook)
- Sewing and decorative painting, cooking, baking. (Cathy Sweeney on Facebook)

QT with your mate:
- Painting my nails out on my porch! Evening walks with my hunny ♥ (Stephanie M Corti on Facebook)
- S*x (Keep it PG, Suzy Modrich Rebsamen on Facebook)

Spa It!:
- Corefusion followed by a deep flow massage! (@ExhaleNYC on Twitter)
- Massage & Reading! (Mika Nicole Collins on Facebook)
- Having 2 hour massage! (Frances Pierce from Facebook)
- A nice wash and set at the hair salon. They give the most amazing scalp massage. Aaaah! Total relaxation. (@musiqal1 on Twitter)
- A good mani/pedi and sleep! (@lostplum on Twitter)
- An in-room massage! (@TheChanlerHotel on Twitter)
- No tech activity for me is reading a book while getting a pedicure; or swimming in the sea. :) (@maurawhite on Twitter ) 

Shop Til You Drop:
- Shoe shopping! (Nikki Daniel on Facebook)
- Shopping (Angela Segreti Romanski on Facebook)

Recharge:

- Sleeping!! (Latasha Avery on Facebook)
- Sleep (@LaurenRaeLevy on Twitter)
- Sleeping while getting a massage (Lori Morris on Facebook)

Family Time:
- Playing with the kids (Sharonda Layton Carter on Facebook)
- People watching sitting outside some coffee shop. (Andrea Zappone on Facebook)

It’s a Work Out:
- Tennis (pref on the west side highway) is my favorite #SIGNOFF activity (@joehodges on Twitter)
- Running (Jenny Smith on Facebook)
- Dance class! (@RealKimPhoenix)

Image Courtesy of Telegraph UK, Brazil Trails, I Go You If Go , Ning, Tuvie, Warwick, Anjungan Resort, My Newsletter Builder, Heart Strong