Beauty & Spas in New Mexico

When it comes to self-expression, Ryshia is a jack-of-all-trades. Above all, though, she's passionate about funneling that expression through healthy practices and self-empowerment. With Ryshia Therapeutics & Fitness, she sews all her interests and talents into one package, where dance meets holistic healing and natural remedies. Here, visitors can learn the art of belly dancing and pole dancing, or procure natural incense, handmade beauty products, and a therapeutic massage. The result is a one-stop shop for wellbeing, which like swallowing an apple wrapped in a dictionary page, nourishes the body and the mind.

Licensed massage therapist Caitlin Byrne sends calming echoes through muscle walls with her therapeutic bodywork. Caitlin can promote relaxation with Swedish strokes, or use firmer deep-tissue or trigger-point techniques to access lower-layer aches. Guests may also request a signature injury massage after a game of bobbing for watermelons leaves the neck in a pinch.

At Elements, experienced LMTs employ modalities ranging from Swedish and Shiatsu massage to deep tissue work. Their massages work to relieve tension and treat a wide range of issues, from lower back pain to sleep disorders and high blood pressure.

The Herb Store furnishes proponents of natural living with myriad plant curatives, candles, aromatherapy, and other apothecary goods acquired through eco-friendly practices. The proprietress, Cristy DeLozier, is dedicated to treating the environment with the same respect due to a wizened elder or a Legends of the Hidden Temple winner, buying many of her herbs from ethical wildcrafters who emphasize leaving minimal environmental footprints. For farm-culled products, DeLozier visits and vets her suppliers, choosing organic operations whenever possible.

Nestled between the Rio Grande and Turtleback Mountain, Riverbend Hot Springs is home to a collection of open-air geothermal pools that draw their high mineral content from the surrounding rock. Five brick-enclosed public pools cascade into one another, ranging in temperature from 100 to 108 degrees. Private pools steam within fenced-in terraces overlooking the river and mountains. They indulge couples and groups with features such as shoulder-massaging waterfalls and decks on which to cool off and count goose bumps.

Translated to English as “The House of the Moon,” La Hacienda de la Luna takes inspiration from this celestial symbol of femininity to create a space wholly dedicated to creativity, intuition, and healing. Serving as a wellness spa, yoga studio, art gallery, and bed and breakfast, the center strives to help bodies find a balance between their natural masculine and feminine energies through services that range from massage to drawing workshops. Various spa treatments help the body shed toxins both inside and out, whether via infrared sauna sessions or body scrubs blended from mineral sea salts and therapeutic essential oils. Bodies find their center and rediscover the backs of their knees during guided yoga classes, and those searching for artistic inspiration may find it by perusing a number of collections from talented painters and artists who design textiles and glasswork.

Housed inside a 300-year old adobe-style fortress believed to be one of the oldest inns in the nation, La Hacienda de la Luna also hosts a limited number of first-come, first-served rooms for guests, whose balance reset takes more than a few hours. Settled upon land that was once sacred to the Tiguex tribe, its varied history found it offering respite to everyone from missionaries to weary stagecoach travelers, making it well suited to host the rejuvenating activities that fill its 2-foot-thick walls today. Many claim that the spirits of the past still inhabit the serene site, though the faint of heart need not worry as La Hacienda de la Luna's owners describe the energies as "all welcoming."