Meet a Fairy Godmother of Spa ...
Sara Firman of Vision Spa Retreat talks to her friend and colleague Marion Schneider.
Audio link below
Sara says:
Marion Schneider has:I've known Marion since 2001 when I visited her spa-resort Toskana Therme [1.] in Bad Sulza, Germany, to take part in the 'Dreams and Rituals in Healing Waters' workshop with Dr Jonathan Paul DeVierville that is held there there every summer [2.].
Marion is someone who is not only very much aware of the problems that face us all now - whether in business, politics, or regarding the state of our planet - but is also actively working to help on all these fronts. She finds an effective and healing arena for this in the world of spa.
- co-created some extraordinary spas (and has plans for more, as you'll hear)
- been instrumental in setting up many spa organizations and events (see later)
- helped countless people with their own spa-related ventures (Sara is one)
- included humanitarian and environmental considerations in all that she does.
This is the fourth in a series of interviews - below you'll find links to the previous three, which were presented as articles rather than audios.
This interview was recorded on Sunday 27 September 2009 via phone between the US and Germany. For your convenience in listening, the time markers for the different sections outlined below are given. The full length is 48.44 minutes.
For those who cannot listen or who would like to see a summary of the content, the 'three wishes' and 'four guiding stars' that the discussion was based around are provided next.
At the end you will also find Links for further information about the events, people and subjects mentioned in the course of the discussion.
You can read more about Marion here on Vision Spa Retreat.
(This audio venture* is a first for Vision Spa Retreat - feedback welcome! Note: Marion is speaking through speaker phone so there is a difference in quality that will be remedied in future recordings.)
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Audio link:
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Introducing Marion Schneider: Sara Firman of Vision Spa Retreat provides some background (000-2.55)
Three Wishes (2.56-29.09)
1. If you could effect one single change in the world of spa what would that be? (2.56-11.56)
Marion's foremost wish delighted Sara. It is that 'water as THE source/ energy giver/ healer of spa be accepted by all spas – not that they need have huge water facilities but that they respect the role and importance of water'.
2. Which of your many spa-related projects would you most love to see happen? (11.56-18.25)
Marion talks about an exciting dream project that she refers to as 'The Spa Planetarium'. This wonderful sensory environment has many similarities to her existing spa, Toskana Therme, in Bad Sulza, Germany. At the center of this concept is the unique Liquid Sound® system for underwater music by Micky Remann [5.].
Again, water is the element that makes this incredible healing-techno-art possible. Such a project does require enormous resources in terms of financing, technical know-how and creative direction but as you'll hear (and read in the links below) there is an underlying mission to celebrate the natural world.
3. Who would you appoint to your ideal team of spa-shape-shifters? (18.35-29.08)
Here, by way of a dream team of 14, Marion elaborates on some of the features she believes are important for creating extraordinary spa. Sara takes note that Marion lists her funding people first and herself (as CEO) last. Here are just four of the team, listen in for more:
- an architect who would build sustainably and responsibly and have a genius for suiting buildings to site
- a media and communication technology expert, ideally knowledgeable about film and sound technology
- a cultural director - Marion references Mickey Remann and Liquid Sound [5.] as being indispensable to her spa
- a marketing specialist, a specialist for press/ PR, a networking specialist - for Marion these three are distinct
Four Guiding Stars (29.09-48.44)
Sara talks with Marion about the following propositions and ask whether they might guide the future of spa:
- Spas restore a sense of meaning, mystery and beauty to our world
- Spas lead the way to a new attitude to health and wellness
- Spas provide a good model for harmonious relationships with each other
- Spas model a more sustainable way of life and contribute to positive environmental change
Extract: On the rural landscape of Bad Sulza a spaceship has landed in the form of Toskana Therme, and it is not out of place. The ultramodern architecture of the spa could just as well be compared to the microscopic details of a form sculpted by nature. It all depends on how you choose to see things. Goethe believed that a human being, making full use of all the senses, is the most exact physical measuring apparatus possible. I'm sure he would thoroughly approve of the way in which the sanatorium he once suggested be built at Bad Sulza has evolved into a multisensory experiment in both the social and medical arenas. I also expect that the skilled people who created and now manage this innovative spa would agree that all this amazing technology is nothing without the human instrument of reception, our bodies. The place exemplifies Goethe's view that humans need an approach to rediscovering nature that is stimulating intellectually and satisfying emotionally and spiritually.
3. Global Spa Summit 2009
At the Third Global Spa Summit (17-19 May 2009 in Switzerland) a group of panelists, including Marion Schneider, spent one precious hour looking at 'How Shining a Spotlight on Water Can Energize our Industry'.
Read more in this post by Sara Firman: 'Is there a basic philosophy all spas could accept regards water?'
4. BISA 2010 International Conference, Budapest
Marion Schneider is the current Chair of the British International Spa Association. The Fifth BISA Conference will take place 3 -6 June 2010 in Budapest, Hungary. The event will feature a special Water Ceremony.
5. Liquid Sound® system for underwater music
Micky Remann has found his creative home in Marion's spas with his unique Liquid Sound®. Read a fascinating article 'A director in flip-flops!' by Peter Krutsch here. Also see the Liquid Sound website and more on Wikipedia.
If you have any thoughts on the ideas about spa discussed here that you would like to share, we welcome your Comment below.
Three more people who inspire (interviews by Sara Firman)
The Evolution of Spa: Jonathan Paul De Vierville
Extract: Jonathan is more hopeful about the leadership of BISA (the British International Spa Association) which, he says, has not lost its appreciation of the centrality of water. He's delighted to note that the current chairman of BISA is German (Marion Schneider), and that as we speak she is launching a chapter of BISA in Japan. 'They [BISA] still have a commercial side,' says Jonathan, 'but Marion will steer it to deeper meaning.' I agree with him, though I would like to see BISA make issues of sustainability an overriding concern.
Beauty and Harmony: an interview with water advocate Barbara Harmony
Extract: Barbara has not only been locally focused in her mission, but also participated in water events worldwide. I asked her if she'd ever seen spas represented at these and she said - she had never realized this but - they hadn't been! The Bioregional events have 'holistic health' tents but nothing specifically on spa. 'It would be fantastic to have a whole spa section at the World Water Forum!' said Barbara. This event is about water sanitation and big business, but it's a huge gathering that might benefit from the softening intimacy of spa.
Imaging Spa: an interview with photo-artist Linda Troeller
Extract: Linda says, 'Another spa I worked with is Toskana Therme, Bad Sulza to help them find a 'brand' image for their new underwater and light pool. The director, Micky Remann, gathered a group of people who enjoyed the salt waters while I experimented with strobes and various amounts of lighting for a few weeks, which was a leap of faith to work so long. From those sessions evolved their brand image that is on all their products, ads and hundreds of stories written about them.'
*Gratitude to Neil Rosenberg of Somewhere In The Woods Productions for his generous audio edit.
