The Wahanda Blog

While most of you will be gearing up for the festivities, fighting your way out of turkey and tinsel and worrying about how to deal with post-party hangovers, spare a thought for our Wahanda winners. November saw us giving away, not one, not two, but six Champneys spa prizes, which means that while you get stuck into seasonal preparations, six lucky Wahanda-ites will be pampering themselves to perfection.

With two top spa day prizes up for grabs and six product goodie bags on the cards, our Champneys champs were full of glee when we revealed their fate, especially seeing as though neither of our first prize winners have been to a Champneys spa before. Not that they’re spa virgins of course, Cierra – our very own jet-setter last visited the spa at The Ritz in Bali and is a regular at Kinesis pilates studio in Notting Hill, whilst fellow first-prize winner and sun-worshipper LizzieH also likes to spa when she’s on her hols. She’s already got a trip to Longleat’s Centre Parc’s spa in her diary for next year and this summer made the most of Madeira’s spa scene – jealous yet!?

But it’s not just our number one winners who like to indulge - all of our runners-up have a penchant for pampering too which is why they all have such superb pre-party preparation rituals. Billygilly (pictured) swears by a good exfoliation so her skin doesn’t become dull, followed by lashings of moisturiser to get her skin ready for the fake tan that follows and Nickintven loves nothing more than sweating it out in a sauna before the party starts. Sticking to their more regimented regime, neither visioneer nor Chris will leave the house without moisturising with the latter opting for a spritz of his favourite after-shave to finish.

It’s not all about the moisturisers and the massages though – it’s clear our Wahanda winners like to party as hard as they like to spa (both LizzieH and Kat40 (pictured) admit they’re suckers for a glass of wine), which is why all of their New Year’s Resolutions seem to centre around drinking less, eating better and exercising more – luckily for them, Wahanda has everything they need to become fitter, happier and healthier in 2009!

For detox deals and inspirational ideas look no further, and if you’re desperate to win more Wahanda prizes, make sure you visit our Wahanda Advent Calendar – we’re giving away fabulous spa prizes every day from now until Christmas!

Well almost! Last month our fabulous Four Seasons competition had almost 3000 entrants, but there could only be one winner, and that lucky Wahanda citizen was Aj7722. Picked at random, our extremely excited winner – who’s never been to a Four Seasons resort before - has bagged herself a prize package worth £700, even we’re jealous! Including full use of the facilities, our Wahanda winner plus one will get treated to foot therapies, E’SPA scrubs and body rituals, as well as a bite to eat when they need to take a break from pampering. And if they fancy forty winks, they’ll have the option of heading to a relaxation area, or trotting on up to their Four Seasons bedroom because this prize lasts more than 24 hours. Oh yes, it’s a mini spa break, and what a perfect time to re-boot – just as the nights draw in, who doesn’t need a little TLC?

Already a lover of spas, Aj7722 last visited Spa 6 near Cirencester and top of her treatment list is a back, neck and head massage – we couldn’t agree more – is there a better way to unwind? But that’s not to say she wouldn’t like to try out a few new treatments and high up on her wishlist is laser hair removal or an eye treatment of some sort so she’s left bright eyed and bushy tailed (well maybe not that bushy tailed after all that hair removal)!

We can’t wait to see what our winner has to say about Four Seasons, but if you’re feeling blue that you’re not the champ, chin up - we have a super-duper spa competition every month. This month it’s packages and prizes from The Sanctuary whilst November will bring you tempting treats from health farm hero’s Champneys- watch this space…!

We’re big advocates of complementary therapies here at Wahanda and have tried more than our fair share of fandangled therapies. But it’s not all about us - we like to encourage our Wahanda warriors to try something different too, and what better excuse than as part of ‘International Alexander Awareness Week’, running from 6^th to 12^th October. Actually the Alexander Technique is not at all new - just fairly unknown. However we foresee a change in the air, as the Technique is given an international platform this week to get the good word out there.

Loved by musicians and actors alike, the Alexander Technique has long been used as a tool to improve posture, movement and breathing technique in the Dramatic Arts. Created in the late 19th century by an obscure Tasmanian actor F.M Alexander, to cure himself of an inexplicable complaint (he lost his voice every time he went on stage) its use has been prolific in stage and ballet schools around the world, including The Julliard School of Performing Arts in New York and RADA in London.

The end of August 2008 saw a study released in The British Medical Journal, suggesting the Alexander Technique is a more effective treatment for long-term back pain than painkillers, physiotherapy or exercise alone. So if your back is acting up, why not try out a little complementary magic. You’ll be following in the esteemed footsteps of a host of celebrities including Sir Paul McCartney, Kevin Kline, Jeremy Irons, Dame Julie Andrews and the King and Queen of suppleness and all things holisitc and yogatastic themselves, Sting and our ‘Lady’ Madonna.

For such a little known therapy there are a surprising number of teachers in the UK, a whooping 900 in fact! You can source out one of these therapeutic maestros by looking online, alternatively, selected branches of Neal’s Yard Therapy Rooms offer workshops in the Technique as do all of Champneys destination spa’s. For other listed spas in London that offer this posture correcting therapy check out Wahanda’s ever growing list.

And remember, the better your posture the taller you look, and aren’t we all looking for a little elevation in life?