Spa at Willow Bend Blog

Anderson & Sheppard Saville Row

I just got back from the London hotel in West Hollywood, Los Angeles. During a shower, I thought about how boutique-y and unique my hotel experience was both in terms of service and physical outlay of the space. I could see that a lot of thought and effort had been made to creating a very interesting, modern and invigorating environment. That led me to think about how our spa fulfills many of those criteria.

Most high-end spas are part of a larger chain so that you don’t attain a very unique experience when you go there. Ours is truly one of a kind with every little nuance that was built out, customized for our place. In fact, we gutted every single wall from the old spa (which I did not own or manage) leaving only the men’s sauna fully intact from the old experience. This attention to detail to create the ultimate in a boutique experience was intended to offer our clients a purposefully unique time when they come to visit us.

As much effort as I have put into this website over the past two weeks, I have done so with a singular purpose in mind: make this website the best spa website on the planet. Obviously, the essence of a spa must be experienced by coming to the spa. However, this website is intended to fulfill two important objectives: creating a virtual experience and providing extensive education. As far as the former goal in mind, I created 12 video tours of the spa so that I could literally hand walk you through the space to show you both the physical environment as well as the wonderful and unique services that are available. Second, I created 21 virtual Quicktime 360 degree tours that allow you to immerse yourself in each room and experience it as a preview before coming.

With the second goal in mind, I have focused on one of our primary missions, which is to educate the public on the uniqueness of our services and what those services can provide for you at every level, including aesthetic improvements, relaxation, rejuvenation, and detoxification. It is very hard to enter our spa environment and be educated in a short timeframe, i.e., during your visit. Some preparatory planning by reviewing our blogs and our demos/tutorials will help in providing a foundation of knowledge to make your choices of what services would be best for you even before you come through our doors. That way you can discuss with your service providers more in depth about what they have to offer. I also think being educated can be an entertaining experience, as I have tried to do when making the videos. I hope you enjoy and also attain some valuable information from this website, and my spa staff and I look forward to visiting with you and taking care of you the next time you are in our spa!

Plano Spa Event

We had a remarkable turnout on Thursday night at our Sip and See Infomart. I would like to thank in particular Linda Youngblood, our spa director, for her diligent and tireless work to make the event a successful one. I know many individuals from our spa and outside of it also contributed their expertise, time, and talent to make the event a truly memorable one. I felt the time just flew by, as I had a blast myself. For a video of our event, please click here.

Thanks to all,
Samuel M. Lam, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Spa Owner

Spa Owner

Meditation at the Spa at Willow Bend

I felt after writing yesterday’s blog on “The Issue is in the Tissue” I did not want to give short shrift to the effect that our wellness spa treatments can have on our inner mind, soul, and spirit more directly. Many times, spa services are looked at as an extravagance rather than as a necessity. Sure, we could live without them unlike food, water, and air. However, as much as sleep recharges us, spa therapies are precisely that, therapies to recharge us. I have made it a point to have at least a spa treatment once a week if not more often to get my brain in alignment.

In our workaday society and with the current stresses in the economy, we tend not to have a constructive outlet for our concerns. We do not have an oasis to put our worries. As mentioned yesterday, those worries lie embedded in your tissues. However, beyond those constraints, they also rest in your mind and spirit. We oftentimes also rush in to have a spa therapy then rush out. That is fine if that is all the time you have but that is not how I designed our spa. You can spend a luxurious time (without extra cost) in our sauna, showers, relaxation room, etc. so that your mind can more easily transition to our core spa therapies. You can also work with adjunctive therapies: a foot detox, an oxygen facial, an oxygen inhalation treatment, a body wrap, hydrotherapy, etc.

What stimulated this blog was reading Chopra’s book Why God is Laughing that I mentioned stimulated yesterday’s blog. I realized by just covering the issue in the tissue that I failed to really focus on a core element to our spiritual and mental path toward a newfound freedom from life’s fears and struggles, that is quiet meditation. During your treatment, try as I have mentioned not to talk (too much) but try to focus and open your mind. As Chopra says, this is not just entering a negative space but truly a time for focus and renewal. I hope you can enjoy this wonderful time and get yourself renewed so that you can plunge ahead with life’s challenges with more vigor, vim, and fortitude.

Best wishes,
Samuel M. Lam, M.D., F.A.C.S.