How to Pamper Yourself During the Holidays

Keep your end-of-the-year stress at bay with the help of these local products and services

hotel ivy, ivy spa club, self-care, stress relief
Ivy Spa Club

Photo by Todd Buchanan


With the end of the year around the corner, collective levels of stress are beginning to mount. Everything from planning family meals and buying gifts, to reserving plane tickets and even fending off the requisite winter weight gain, adds to an unending mountain of responsibilities. Combined with the added stress of this divisive election season, it’s important not to let your quality of life fall by the wayside.

Practicing self-care—whether it’s in the form of exercise or a hot scented bath—promotes the cultivation of a healthy mind and body through beneficial thoughts and actions. These local products and businesses can set you on a path toward inner peace and a completed to-do list.

Sweat it out: The south Minneapolis collective 612 Sauna Society recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the creation of a large mobile sauna—complete with changing rooms and a lounge—that will travel throughout the metro. Downtown, the Ivy Spa Club offers saunas and steam rooms, as well as specialty spa services including hydrotherapy, massages, and other body treatments.

Preserve your complexion: Edina’s Vibrance Med Spa provides innovative skin treatments, including the Halo, a laser-resurfacing procedure that vaporizes damaged skin, and Forever Young BBL, a broadband light treatment that rejuvenates skin cells. Careology Skincare is a new line of sustainable skincare products consisting of a plant-based night recovery cream and a gentle exfoliator.

Stay fit: Several local fitness studios offer classes that last less than an hour but provide a high-intensity workout. Defining You Pilates and Fitness in St. Paul offers 45-minute H.I.I.T. (high-intensity interval training) and Tabata classes, and frequent monthly challenges at the studio make workouts fun. Surge Cycling in St. Louis Park holds themed spin classes (such as Hip-Hop Club and Sculpt) that shake up potential mundanity on the bike. Solidcore, a 50-minute resistance-based workout used by Michelle Obama, will be making its way to Minneapolis soon.

intelligent nutrients, self-care, stress relief
Intelligent Nutrients Products

Photo by Kirsten Mortensen


Take deep breaths: Meditation continues to become more widely practiced, and it’s no wonder why—the ancient relaxation technique has been scientifically proven to reduce and combat negative consequences of stress. Local studios offer a variety of different techniques: Common Ground Meditation teaches the Chinese practice of Qijong as well as Mindfulness Meditation, and The Shambhala Center trains students in Buddhist medication and other contemplative arts. Learn more here.

Soothe yourself: Several local makers, such as Bodylish, Kiyi Kiyi Cosmetics, and Da Bomb Fizzers, provide therapeutic bath bombs for your soak. The natural treatment creates a relaxing aroma and softens your skin. Intelligent Nutrients sells stress-relieving aromas and essential oils for your skin and hair. Aveda’s Chakra Balancing Body Mists are meant to ensure your well-being through balancing your inner energies. The Salt Cave offers a natural therapy using Himalayan salts that is said to combat allergies, cold & flu symptoms, and various respiratory ailments.

Work out the kinks: A number of local businesses offer specialty massage services perfect for treating that stubborn knot in your shoulder. Soothe is an on-demand, same-day service that can bring a masseuse directly to your home or office within an hour of scheduling an appointment. Alternatively, Spot Spa offers holistic spa treatments, educational events, and natural remedy kits for home treatments.