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The yearly summer
vacation conjures images of different types of leisure. To many
people, the respite takes the form of swimming and trips to the
beach. For others too worked up to get out of town, the break might
simply start with a session at a spa or a parlor. Meanwhile, a lot
would opt to spend the time at home watching DVD marathons or curled
up reading a book. Whether indoor or outdoor, price tagged or not,
one theme covers these holiday pursuits—an attempt to unwind, relax
and let go of the stress from the job.
Relaxation has always had a health dimension, itself a necessity for
those always on the go. A number of leisure activities focus on
outer rest, such as the pampering of a massage or the carefree
feeling of swimming in the summer sun. While these are said to
remove the external “toxins” of stress, others like a piece of
technology called the ionic foot spa target the more bodily
internal.
Mariko Yasuda, a 22-year-old marketing manager, tried the foot spa upon the recommendation of a
friend, who told her the treatment was effective. The friend had
skin asthma before and got well with its help. Mariko became curious
and checked it out.
 Its
selling line sounds appealing—aim for your feet with your whole body
in mind. That’s because it claims to cleanse toxins stored in body
organs with just an “electric” bath for the feet. Brochures of the
machine used for the spa say that these toxins, which we get from
the daily environment, disrupt regular bodily functions and make the
body more prone to diseases. The solution, it then recommends, is a
regular detoxification session via the foot spa.
Going through it only takes about half an hour, but the process
behind it is a mouthful. The detox machine is attached to a basin of
warm tap water, where a certain amount of sea salt is added. The
person would then sit with both feet submerged in the basin. For the
next 30 minutes, the person could move the upper body except the
feet. The subsequent stirring in the basin is where the tag “ionic”
comes in.
Once the gadget works on the salt, it generates negative ions in the
water. It then interacts with the person’s body through the feet.
Following the principle of “opposites attract,” the negative ions
draw out the toxic particles, which are positively charged, from the
body. The process of osmosis then releases the toxins by way of the
feet’s pores into the water.
As a result, the water changes its color toward the end of the
treatment. While the ionic foot spa does not claim any diagnostic
capability, each color is said to represent a certain toxin or
problem. Usually, the darker the water, the larger amount of toxins
and foreign material is in the body.
For Mariko, this “cleansing” trait of the ionic foot spa is what she
considers the main benefit and feature of this treatment. It makes
her mindful of her lifestyle as well. “I think when you see those
‘toxic’ (substances from) your body,” she said, “you would think
that you should lessen doing those bad things that cause that.”
Although the ionic foot spa is mainly tagged as a “treatment,”
beauty comes together with health in its use, which is why salons
have included this service in their offerings. Going Straight, one
such hair and wellness establishment, has had the ionic foot spa
since 2006.
GS branch receptionist Rudielyn Teodones says that while not too
many of its customers regularly patronize the spa, most of those who
do are middle-aged and men. Like Mariko, their main reason for using
the service is its therapeutic and stress-relieving advantages.
Rudielyn adds, though, that the foot spa, which costs Php750 per
session at GS, is not necessarily only for such a group but for
people aged 18 and above as well.
The ionic foot spa nonetheless has its limitations. It should only
be used in moderation—not for three consecutive days and only once
each day. The treatment is not recommended for sick and pregnant
persons, or those undergoing medication and have artificial life
support. As with other types of health treatment, it could only be
used upon consultation with a doctor.
Meanwhile, Mariko said that since the ionic foot spa’s effect is
mainly internal, it “doesn’t feel anything special like the usual
foot spa that I experience.” Even the feeling is different, since
she felt lighter on the lower part of her body after going through
it, unlike the rested feeling after a regular foot spa.
The ionic foot spa compared to other wellness treatments is a
helpful supplement with its mostly inner health benefits. It might
not solely work as an alternative though, since the other therapies
treat the sense of touch better. Mariko added, “Definitely, I would
not trade my foot spa treatment for that.”
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