Hammam Spa Founder Introduces A Global Touch to Toronto

You’ve travelled around the world visiting health and wellness spas from different cultures. What inspires you the most?

I’ve been most inspired by the ancient rituals in Turkey, Morocco, and a lot of the Korean baths. I love the fact that in those cultures, they incorporate wellness and beauty as a part of their everyday routine.

I especially love seeing families in the Korean spas, because maybe three generations of women will go together. They go every Sunday. They take care of themselves together. The experience is a part of their connection with each other. I wanted to create a space and an environment so that people could have that here.

How do you incorporate different products, modalities, and routines from other cultures into your own treatments?

I take what I feel are the best protocols and best products, regardless of where they come from. For instance, we coat the whole body in a cleansing foam, similar to traditional treatments in Turkey. After the cleansing comes exfoliation. In Korea, people use more water in warm temperatures with a really abrasive scrub. Afterwards, they coat the body in oil to really leave it hydrated.

At home, you’re a mother of three children. How do you balance business and family life?

I try to stay present wherever I am. When I’m here, I’m aware of the things I want to accomplish every day. Then when I’m at home, I really try to put my phone away and concentrate with my kids and interact with them.

My husband is an architect and has his own firm, but we spend a lot of time with each other and our family even though we’re busy. Between the two of us, we have over 150 employees and four companies. Regardless of what’s going on, we spend the summers in Barcelona. My children go to Spanish language school there. We’ve been doing that for three years. The first year when we did it, I was saying to him, “This is crazy. Everything is going to fall apart. How are we going to leave?” but it didn’t.

It gives us an opportunity to stay connected with our bigger goals in life, as opposed to always worrying about all the small problems.

What is your best wellness tip?

One thing that can never be replaced is the value of the sensory experience and human touch. I think it connects to the primal wiring in our brain.

Additionally, I always take 10 to 15 minutes in the morning to calm myself and set my intentions for the day. Just taking that time to be present is a practice that will always pay off. I think people don’t realize the importance of a routine and the benefits that come when you stay consistent over a long period of time. You can’t expect to take some magic pill and change your body in a month.