Auburn, AL Spa and Massage

Debbie Chambless values every benefit of corrective bodywork, from its ability to relax muscles to its ability to help prevent injury. She received her first professional massage in 2005, and after experiencing some of these effects firsthand, Debbie chose to rededicate her life to the practice. Her Swedish, deep-tissue, neuromuscular, reflexology, and myofascial-release sessions each target specific maladies or symptoms of stress, although her goal for every massage is to completely relax clients by applying a gentle touch and singing them an original melody in whale song.

Inside a 1,000-square-foot beachfront studio, D'ames Day Spa's skilled aestheticians soothe clients with hot towels and warm, scented lotions during every beautifying service. Many of the treatments, such as facials and body wraps, use scent-packed, natural ingredients—including herbs, fruits, chocolate, and a distillation of childhood memories—to soften and nourish skin while enveloping the room in calming aromas. Luxe massages, ranging from soothing hot stone to pain-ousting deep tissue, ease taut muscles and diffuse oxygen throughout the body.

Dr. M. Farooq Ashraf mastered the excimer laser as a member of the faculty at Johns Hopkins University, and he now wields the ultramodern tool as he adds to his career tally of more than 35,000 LASIK procedures. As founder and medical director of Atlanta Vision Institute, he draws upon his skills as a board-certified ophthalmologist to correct nearsighted, farsighted, and astigmatic vision with refractive surgery. In addition to giving the gift of sight, Dr. Ashraf gives back to the community by supporting local charities and providing discounted services to financially strapped Cyclopes.

The licensed massage therapists at Massage Advantage dote on visitors with a slew of custom massage techniques, including Swedish, prenatal, and deep tissue. Armed with warm blankets and a credo to respect patients' privacy, therapists begin each 30- or 60-minute session with a discussion on clients' specific aches and ailments. Therapists can also haul their equipment to office buildings for workplace chair massages that help reinvigorate fatigued employees or stressed-out water coolers during 5–15 minute stints. Each succession of kneads is designed to alleviate stress, muscles soreness, and various medical conditions, such as high blood pressure.