If you follow me on my social media accounts – you may be aware that 2015 has been all about self-care for me. It isn’t exclusive to diet and exercise, its also been about my mental, emotional and psychological health. Some may know about mindfulness, but if you don’t, here’s a great story from 60 Minutes explaining it:

But maybe you aren’t a mindfulness person, perhaps you merely meditate (although some argue they are one in the same, others disagree!). I’ve really become more aware of meditation, mindfulness, and on a much more (lazy? therapeutic?) standpoint… massage therapy. During my massage therapy appointments I treat it as a full-body meditation. Truly focusing on my breathing and shutting out all of the other thoughts running through my head – no To-Do lists either!

I found out about Scents of Serenity organic spa thanks to a handy app that my regular salon, Avenue 42, uses which is called MindBodyConnect. While booking one of my Ave42 color + hair cuts in advance, I wondered if there was a convenient massage place on the app. Scents of Serenity is in the right part of RVA Metro for me, location-wise, so I booked a 90 minute massage about a month in advance. It’s right off of 295 – by Staples Mill and Mountain Roads… super convenient for many RVA metro residents! However, I ended up booking another appointment when my neck went out at my new job (great!), so, I had a 30-minute appointment with Malia that was a great introduction to the spa. Within those 30 minutes she focused on my pain site specifically and I felt great improvement. Since then I’ve committed to 90-minute massages regularly with Lara over the past five months. It has been an amazing transformation for my chronic pain, thanks to our regular deep tissue massage sessions (90 minute deep tissue = $130 a session).

Massage treatments at Scents of Serenity are such an awesome experience. Even though it appears to be a small facility when you first approach it, when you enter the spa your impression completely changes. It is decorated in such a warm, calming way with a chic and airy approach about it thanks to hardwood floors and high ceilings. The rooms have heated massage tables with plenty of cushion, white noise from waterfalls/fountains, calming muted lighting, and instrumental music.

The deep tissue massage incorporates a soothing oil blend and so with the oil and the atmosphere I’ve occasionally fallen asleep! I’ve never had the experience of taking a nap during a massage at other spas in the RVA area, typically because they are in leased spaces with noisy patrons and staff. Not the case at Scents of Serenity! You may wonder why I have chronic pain. Well, I have a stressful job and my husband lives a stressful life, plus some sports injuries from my school years all add up to chronic tension. The pain can manifest itself all over, but primarily in my muscles and connective tissues of the neck and trapezius. Living in the RVA Metro also gives me terrible allergies, too. If I don’t release this tension it turns into chronic pain for me. I have the foam roller, I workout regularly, but some spots are not easily accessible without someone helping me with it. That’s where the women at Scents of Serenity come in. They can melt the pain away so easily!