Tea Garden Springs in Mill Valley, California
Julie Register visited this day spa in California in January 2004

I was led through a "tunnel" - crossing a trickling "Stream of Life" - to a well-lit atrium capped by a large golden skylight. On the walls hung a hand-painted, floor-to-ceiling mural depicting a traditional Chinese tea scene and a face of Buddha. The atrium held doors to a number of treatment rooms. I was led to "Pearl." The treatment rooms was softly lit by a salt crystal light. The jars, bottles and ampules containing the Babor products to be used in my treatment were displayed next to the light. My therapist invited me to sit while she gave me a luxurious bubbly Champagne footbath. She left the room and I got on the treatment table. When she returned, she worked from the top down, starting with a Champagne facial. She gave my face a thorough cleansing, a rich vitalizing mask to improve circulation, exfoliation and an intensely hydrating ampoule application. Moving down the body, a relaxing massage was next. To treat the body as well as the face, a Champagne Body Wrap featuring the finest quality champagne yeast followed. The yeast is said to have regenerating benefits that leave skin noticeably more supple, firm & radiant for days. When I was unwrapped, my skin felt soft and smooth from head to toe. My therapist escorted me back to the tea garden and offered a complimentary glass of champagne. She gave me a list of recommended Babor products to continue my skin care at home including Babor Phytoactive Reactive, Babor Rose Toning Lotion, Babor Extra Mild Peeling and Babor Sensational Eyes Cream for the face and Babor Body Line Thermal Body Peel for the body. She even offered to put some coins in the meter! I left Tea Garden Springs feeling completely relaxed and in a great mood - a 180 degree change from when I started.

The 5,000 square-foot spa has a number of other treatment rooms including the two-story Rainforest room, two couples treatment rooms - Zen Garden and Heaven's Door - each with whirlpool baths, Jade with a steam shower, Jasmine with endermologie equipment, Tao for massage and Eight Immortals.

Tea Garden Springs also offers Ayurveda spa body treatments. They invite you to choose intuitively the combinations that work best for you and will help guide you. All treatments start with a careful dosha analysis, Ayurvedic herbal tea and a beautiful ritual of a traditional Indian foot bath to "honor guests who have traveled from afar to visit." Once the dominant dosha type has been determined, the techniques, oils and herbal selection are then tailored for the individual client. This supports the fundamental Ayurvedic principle that each individual has a unique mind-body constitution and will therefore have different dosha balancing needs. Each treatment ends with a dosha-specific herbal tea elixir and chyawanprash, a rejuvenative health tonic. Ayurveda emphasizes the concept of dinacharya or daily lifestyle. You will be offered specific Ayurvedic home care advice and products to incorporate into your life. Ayurvedic treatments include Marma Abhyanga Massage, Ubvartan Body Treatment, Shiro Dhara, Heavenly Four-Hands Ubvartan, Ubvartan and Marma Abhyanga, Marma Abhyanga and Shiro Dhara, Keraliya Sports Massage and The Initiation Ritual.

Other treatments include massage (western, aromatherapy, deep muscle, shiatsu/anmo, tui na), healing baths, facial therapies with products from Essensa Aromatherapy, Babor and Environ (elixir facial, Euro-stone Essensa facial, aromaveda facial, Babor classic European, Babor advanced performance, anti-aging & pigmentation treatment, Environ intensive ionzyme anti-aging facial), waxing, body treatments (Wrapped in Stars, Anti-Stress Body Treatment, Four Seasons Mineral Salt Glow, 3-D Slimming & Detox Body Care, Ocean Thermo Body Resculpting, Endermologie Cellulite Treatment), advanced body work (neuromuscular advanced work, process oriented bodywork, release emotional holding, clear and align the energy field, alleviate trauma held in body) and holistic health evaluation. Meditation classes are available as are special events in the Three Treasures Room.