Dr. Turek's Wellness Center, Mission Viejo

During her first pregnancy, Liliane Zaccharias suffered backaches and decreased mobility—that is, until she started undergoing regular massage treatments. Impressed by how quickly these allayed her pain, she underwent more than 1,500 hours of training to become a licensed massage therapist herself. The spa's membership program encourages clients to treat these services as recurring components of a long-term healing routine instead of as isolated indulgences.

The staff at Essence Day Spa administers prenatal massages to help ease expectant mothers' bearing pains. She also practices specialized massages, including lymphatic-drainage, hot-stone, and cranial-sacral modalities. Her spa staff takes equal care to address chronic symptoms, both mental and physical, using therapeutic massages designed to relive pain and soreness from repetitive motions and minor accidents. Structural-integration sessions help align the body for better posture and movement. Maintaining the emphasis on long-term care, skin treatments can be administered in sets of one, three, or six appointments, rather than just a one-time dousing with lotion from a fire hose.