Spa

The term spa is associated with water treatment which is also known as balneotherapy, spa towns or resorts offering such treatment, or the medication or equipment for such treatment. The term thus has various related meanings.

Spa - an entity devoted to enhancing overall well-being through a variety of professional services that encourage the renewal of mind, body and spirit.

TYPES OF SPAS:
Club spa - A facility whose primary purpose is fitness and which offers a variety of professionally administered spa services on a day-use basis.
Cruise ship spa – A spa aboard a cruise ship providing professionally administered spa services, fitness and wellness components and spa cuisine menu choices.
Day spa – A spa offering a variety of professionally administered spa services to clients on a day-use basis.
Dental spa – A facility under the supervision of a licensed dentist that combines traditional dental treatment with the services of a spa.
Destination spa - A destination spa is a facility with the primary purpose of guiding individual spa-goers to develop healthy habits. Historically a seven-day stay, this lifestyle transformation can be accomplished by providing a comprehensive program that includes spa services, physical fitness activities, wellness education, healthful cuisine and special interest programming.
Medical spa - A facility that operates under the full-time, on-site supervision of a licensed health care professional whose primary purpose is to provide comprehensive medical and wellness care in an environment that integrates spa services, as well as traditional, complimentary and/or alternative therapies and treatments. The facility operates within the scope of practice of its staff, which can include both Aesthetic/Cosmetic and Prevention/Wellness procedures and services.
Mineral springs spa - A spa offering an on-site source of natural mineral, thermal or seawater used in hydrotherapy treatments.
Resort/hotel spa - A spa owned by and located within a resort or hotel providing professionally administered spa services, fitness and wellness components and spa cuisine menu choices. In addition to the leisure guest, this is a great place for business travelers who wish to take advantage of the spa experience while away from home.

Wellness

Wellness is generally used to mean a healthy balance of the mind-body and spirit that results in an overall feeling of well-being. It has been used in the context of alternative medicine since Halbert L. Dunn, M.D. began using the phrase high level wellness in the fifties, based on a series of lectures at a Unitarian Universalist Church in Arlington, Virginia, in the United States. The modern concept of wellness did not, however, become popular until the 1970's.
Dunn (196, p. 4) defined wellness as "an integrated method of functioning which is oriented toward maximizing the potential of which the individual is capable. It requires that the individual maintain a continuum of balance and purposeful direction within the environment where he is functioning." He also stated that "wellness is a direction in progress toward an ever-higher potential of functioning" (p. 6).
The term has been defined by the Singapore-based National Wellness Association as an active process of becoming aware of and making choices toward a more successful existence. This is consistent with a shift in focus away from illness in viewing human health, typical of contexts where the term wellness is used. In other words, wellness is a view of health that emphasizes the state of the entire being and its ongoing development.
The phrase can also be seen as an analogue to the medical term "homeostasis".