Bodies On The Line

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday July 19, 2008

Rebecca Martin

Spa therapy is more than skin deep, Rebecca Martin discovers.

Whether she's performing sacred smoke rituals, giving a kodo body massage inspired by ancient Aboriginal techniques or exfoliating a client using crushed mother of pearl, no day at the office is dull for spa therapist Simonique Pacanowski. And if all else fails, there's always the gossip.

"It's sort of like that thing between clients and hairdressers," she says. "There are things you tell each other, it's real secret women's business. [Spa therapy] is not just about waxing and facials. Clients come in for treatments and they look forward to talking to you."

Like other spa therapists, Pacanowski, who works at North Bondi's The Last Resort, is a woman in demand.

Australians have taken to spa treatments with the zeal of the converted. In this country alone, the wellness industry is worth $440 million a year. Globally, it is growing by about 20 per cent a year, according to a study released at the 2008 Global Spa Summit.

"Spa culture has been around since ancient times," says Professor Marc Cohen, professor of complementary medicine at Melbourne's RMIT University. "Every culture has had a tradition of using herbs, massage and water to heal, and using rituals for both beauty and wellbeing. The ancient Romans started the spa bath culture. Now we're rediscovering it."

Cohen says the spa industry is much more than a dressed-up beauty parlour. "It's really a convergence of things like tourism, beauty, massage, nutrition, fitness plus natural and Western medicine," he says. "There are spa operations like day spas, hotel and resort spas and medical spas, while the wellness side includes beauty, nutrition and fitness."

But as the industry grows, so too does the need for trained therapists. Susanne Nelson, president of the Australasian Spa Association, says the sector is growing faster than qualified employees can be hired.

"If you are [having trouble booking into a spa], it's not because they don't have enough rooms but they don't have enough staff," Nelson says. And, as customers become more familiar with spa treatments and techniques, the pressure is on therapists to know and provide more. Increasingly, the only answer is tertiary education.

RMIT University has just launched its inaugural wellness degree, which can be studied online, while the Australian Academy of Beauty and Spa Therapy in Sydney has added "spa" to its title and is developing a range of spa-related courses.

"We put through around 100 students a year," says academy principal Sue Campbell. "By 2009, we're expecting more spa emphasis [than beauty] as the industry is changing so much. We've also added more spa courses like the lomilomi massage and the Indian head massage. We're trying to keep abreast of the industry."

Knowing the difference between mud and a body wrap is not enough. Giving three or four massages a day can be physically tiring and while it's easy to be caring and bright with the first client of the day, a therapist needs to be bubbly at the end of the day too. They also need to be able to deal with customers who might come in feeling sad or stressed, without taking on those emotions themselves. It's a demanding job.

"There's an energetic interface between you and the client, and sometimes that will zap the therapist and sometimes it will uplift you," Nelson says. "The challenge for spa operators is to help therapists manage that energy exchange. Some people are more intuitive and aware of it. You need to have a nurturing disposition and want to connect and care about the individual you dealing with. If you are disconnected in any way, it doesn't work for either party."

Despite the explosion of spas and the demand for staff, a therapist's wages remain modest. Hourly rates vary from about $18 to $35, with Saturday and Sunday work often part of the package. Nelson says wages are improving, and points to travel as one of the perks. The global shortage of spa workers means finding a job in an exotic location is not an issue.

The other upside, for some, is the reward in giving. Pacanowski seems to be custom-built for the industry. Always interested in healing, she has done courses in reiki and Himalayan singing bowl massage and is considering psychotherapy studies. It's a long way from her previous life in a suit and the corporate world, and she couldn't be happier.

"I love it. I am in exactly the right place," she says. "If you look at it from the point of view of healing, and the chance to help someone, then I find that a lot less tiring than someone else who might see [spa work] as a mechanical thing. When someone turns around to me and says 'that was just so great', the tiredness is negated and I feel energised. Customer satisfaction is the reward."

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

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