Hands Off!

A Somadome meditation pod.
*(Photo courtesy Somadome.)*

Spring had just started to show its colors when I met Marcela Bemposta, the pinpoint tips of green blades just beginning to work their way through the packed snow along the hiking trails of Les 3 Vallées (les3vallees.com) in the French Alps. We met in silence as we walked into the forest just outside the Meribel city center, pausing through rhythmic crunches of snow for her to lead me through mindful breathwork exercises before setting me free to practice on my own as we continued walking in silence. Each step felt like a journey toward being alone with my mind, slowly unlearning my busy habits (i.e., filling silence, scrolling my phone, etc.) and learning instead how to let go and embrace the moment. I left feeling lighter, my stresses and worries faded, and the memory of hearing the rustling feathers of an Alpine bird’s wings forever etched in my mind.

Bemposta, an Argentinian French yoga instructor in France’s Trois Vallées, has been leading curated meditation walks through the French Alps, and beyond, for decades, as a sort of antidote for overworked, overstimulated, and overstressed lifestyles. Her form of touchless wellness works well in nature, where people can discover the art of solitude and re-learn how to detach from compromising social bonds, but many of the top spas around the world have taken this sans-contact concept and brought it indoors, offering the luxury of silence, recovery, and solitude in a peaceful — and touch-free — environment.

During COVID, spas shut down; this is different, where spas are incorporating spaces for guests to come and experience relaxation and rejuvenation on their own terms. At the Hotel Arts Barcelona (ritzcarlton.com) in Spain, the hotel’s rooftop spa privatized their entire sauna circuit experience and divided it into two private spa suites where guests can have the entire sauna, steam room, ice bath, and bubble therapy pool to themselves for an hour. In Oslo, the spa at Sommerro House (sommerrohouse. com) recently dedicated the majority of its 15,000-square-foot spa space to touchless therapies. The spa reimagined its historic Roman bath into an infrared sauna and cold plunge experience as a way of bringing back an ancient Nordic tradition, one that centers around prioritizing personal time and solitude.

“Solitude, or loneliness, is part of human social life,” Peter Stadius, professor in Nordic Studies at University of Helsinki, wrote in his study outlining the benefits of Nordic solitude. “This longing for loneliness as part of escaping crowds and urban life seems connected to a desire to heal and regenerate physical and mental strength.”

This Nordic-minded choice to be touched or not is becoming more integrated in spa menus, especially with the addition of high-tech touchless technologies. MSC Cruises became the first cruise line to launch an Iyashi Dôme when it added one to the spa inside
its MSC World Europa (msccruisesusa. com) ship. The dome was invented in Paris and takes the concept of a Japanese sauna into an infrared chamber that promotes muscle recovery, detoxification, and sleep, while also offering anti-aging and slimming benefits ... all in just a 30-minute session. The domes are now at spas around the world, like the Reforme Spa (reformenyc.com) in New York City which also features other high-tech devices like the Ballancer®Pro lymphatic drainage suit (clears the body of excess water weight, detoxifies waste, and improves workout recovery time).

One spa in Florida went all-in with the touchless concept, and now the Carillon Miami Wellness Resort (carillonhotel. com) offers day passes to their high-tech touchless wellness circuit that includes the Welnamis by Gharieni vibrational and sound therapy bed, the Somadome meditation pod, access to the Mindspa, and other touch-less tech. They also offer their Wellsystem Wave massage table as an add-on, which is similar to the machines Team USA used during the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics and incorporates a dry water massage and wave techniques to relieve tension and promote peak performance.

With an always-on, always-available society that is constantly changing, the drive to be alone is more than just innate, it’s necessary. A little touch-free time can go a long way, and it’s putting the power of wellness into people’s own hands.