SUNWATER SPA
SunWellness is grateful for the acclaimed press coverage we have received for creating sacred space for healing and transformation. Below, you’ll find a selection of publications in which we’ve been featured. As we continue to gain media coverage, we’ll update here.
SPOKE AND BLOSSOM
JANUARY 2021
Skin Care + Massages, Oh My: Take Some Time For Self-Care In 2021
By Wendy Wilkinson
January can feel dim or dull, but you don’t have to lose your luster. Now is the time to brighten up winter months with some socially distanced wellness treatments. Spas in Western Colorado and throughout the state are still offering body services, from traditional facials and massages to services with a unique slant and unusual ingredients, along with experiences like a hot towel facial to bring men back to the treatment table.
The following four spas offer an array of unique treatments to usher in a fresh start for this new year.
Revival Vail Valley believes in an integrated merging of mind, body and beauty and offers a holistic approach to skin care, focusing on the bigger picture when treating their clients. The spa/clinic uses only result-driven and science-based products that contain clean, organic, wild-crafted and research-based ingredients. Frequently thinking out-side-of the-box and living up to its name, Revival Vail Valley now offers the Halo hybrid fractional laser, which combines ablative and non-ablative wave-lengths that simultaneously target the top layer of your skin and the deeper tissue underneath the surface, for a powerful skin rejuvenation treatment that stimulates the growth of new collagen fibers.
“Halo is considered a second-generation laser — an improvement on previous lasers, which require more treatments and more downtime to achieve the same type of results you can get with one Halo treatment,” says owner Jessica Ballentine.
Through February, SunWater Spa in Manitou Springs is offering the Jubilee Winter Berry hand and/or sole massage. This luxurious 15- or 30-minute treatment uses a rich, fragrant blend of fir needles sweetened with fruity notes of wild berry, peach and orange, embraced in a base of cedarwood and raspberry. The service includes application of warm, soothing shea butter and jojoba, palm and coconut oils left to sit and then massaged into the hands and/or feet. This treatment can be enjoyed on its own or added to any skincare service, including bacial (back facial), eyelash and brow tinting, as well as hair removal services.
COLORADO SPRINGS GAZETTE
JANUARY 2021
Pikes Pick: Parked by Manitou Springs mineral waters, food truck adds to satisfaction
By Seth Boster seth.boster@gazette.com
As satisfying as a soak in hot, mineral baths? Hard to beat. But SunWater Spa neighbor Tava Truck, parked in the heart of Manitou Springs, delivers with farm-to-truck gourmet, including breakfast burritos, sandwiches, salads and fresh juices.
PIKES PEAK BULLETIN
AUGUST 2020
SunWater Spa cautiously reopens to the community
By Wendy Wilkinson
With a focus on health and wellness for employees and guests, Manitou Springs’ award-winning SunWater Spa has reopened with new procedures in place to protect the community. Open with reservations only from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. (last booking at 7 p.m.) Tuesdays through Sunday, masks will be required as well as social distancing.
Soaking times in SunWater’s eight personal hot mineral water tubs will be limited to 90 minutes, with cleaning and sanitizing after each soak. Yoga and other fitness classes will have a new blueprint, which is outlined on the website.
SunWater will offer limited massages and other body work; however, lockers will not be open for use, and guests are asked to bring their own water bottles, slippers/robes and reusable sacks or bags.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has determined that there is no scientific evidence that the coronavirus can be spread to guests soaking in hot water, and SunWater will follow its guidelines, protecting guests so that they may once again enjoy the therapeutic mineral waters and other services that have made SunWater Spa a “Best of…Wellness Destination” in both the Colorado Springs Independent and the Colorado Springs Gazette.
For information and reservations, visit www.sunwellness.net.
COLORADO YOGA + LIFE MAGAZINE
FEBRUARY 2020
PLAN A SWEET SURPRISE FOR VALENTINE’S DAY
By Sharon W. House
Chocolates and roses are time-tested traditions on Valentine’s Day, but this year, why not up your romance game? Surprise your love with a shared activity that can be simultaneously soothing, energizing, thoughtful and even creative. Be it a water activity, dancing or hiking, Colorado has an abundance of options.
Live Naturally Magazine
JANUARY 2020
Ways to be Well & Mindful Going into 2020
The holidays are upon us. Days are shorter. And our senses are tuned into the scents of fall and winter. Let 2019 go out with a sense of calm by stretching your body and soul with inexpensive and oftentimes free workshops, DVDs and apps.
An ancient discipline from India, yoga is both spiritual and physical. Using breathing techniques, exercise and meditation, it helps to improve health and happiness.
COLORADO YOGA + LIFE MAGAZINE
DECEMBER 2019
Women’s Wellness and Adventure Retreats
As one of the most active and outdoorsy states in the nation, Colorado promotes personal wellness through outdoor adventures, relaxation retreats, the healing arts and more. The state is now expanding with “women-only” retreats and escapes to connect with like-minded outdoor enthusiasts for a weekend of relaxation to re-center ourselves, or enjoy a day of invigorating exercise.
COLORADO YOGA + LIFE MAGAZINE
AUGUST 2019
Colorado-Based Creative Workshops and Retreats
Be it the visual arts, writing or dance, Colorado has long fostered the creative arts. Nurtured by the natural beauty of the state, such writers as Hunter Thompson (“Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”) and Jon Krakauer (“Into Thin Air”) and visual artists, including the world renowned Van Briggle family of ceramicists, have found serenity and stimulation in the Rocky Mountain state.
FORBES
June 2019
Five Reasons To Visit Colorado This Summer
Outside of Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs is another quaint town, famous for its mineral springs, with eight public springs sprinkled around town that you can drink from. Start your day with a treacherous ascent up the Manitou Incline and then reward yourself with a spa day soaking in the healing waters at SunWater Spa.
COLORADO YOGA + LIFE MAGAZINE
April 2019
Yoga Practices to Enliven Your Senses
While staying true to its promise of healing the mind and body, yoga in Colorado is so much more than a traditional studio experience. Designed to enliven the senses and provide an innovative environment, below are just a few of the dozens of unique offerings you can find throughout the state.
SunWater Spa in Manitou Springs now offers Glowga classes, which are practiced under black lights, as well as Fireside Yoga and Candle Light Yoga, which are held next to a blazing fireplace or surrounded by the glow of candlelight, according to Ros Prado, events and yoga manager.
COLORADO YOGA + LIFE MAGAZINE
January 2019
Thai Yoga Massage: Illuminating The Benefits Of This Ancient Practice
The history of Thai Yoga Massage is said to have been developed by the legendary physician Jivaka, thought to have practiced almost 2,500 years ago. History tells that Jivaka, from northern India, was a friend and the personal physician of the Buddha, and a renowned healer in the Buddhist tradition.
Thai Massage is one of the four branches of Traditional Thai medicine — a healing technique that was practiced before doctors. The massage involves deep stretching and yoga poses on a firm mat. It is a therapeutic procedure that provides relaxation and restores healthy blood circulation — also treating energy blockages, aches and pains, stress and tension.
COLORADO YOGA + LIFE MAGAZINE
DECEMBER 2018
Soak Up Wellness:
The Health Benefits of Warm Mineral Water
Cleopatra swore by warm mineral baths and mud wraps from the Dead Sea to maintain her legendary complexion. And the ancient Greeks built spas near their temples in order to harvest sulphur springs, a known remedy for skin disease and muscle pain.
Today, holistic healers and traditional physicians at both offices and spas in Colorado and worldwide are utilizing healing waters to help their patients and clients with a number of maladies. An example is SunWater Spa in Manitou Springs, where seven soaking tubs are filled with mineral water from the Seven Minute Spring, directly adjacent to the Spa.
TheDownLo.com
OCTOBER 2018
The Ultimate Guide to Colorado Springs
My favorite town in Colorado, Manitou Springs is Colorado Springs’ quirky, eclectic neighbor. Home to naturally occurring mineral springs said to have extraordinary healing properties, the area attracts characters from far and wide to test the waters so to speak, giving the town a distinct boho vibe. Pay a visit to the Cliff Dwellings (thousand-year-old Native American pueblos), play vintage games at the Penny Arcade, and hike the Incline.
A challenge for serious athletes, the Incline was a cable car track turned Stairmaster that gains almost 2,000 feet of elevation in less than 1 mile. It’s basically 2,744 steps of pure torturous pride if that’s your thing. When you’re ready to ease your sore muscles, soak in the mineral-filled cedar tubs at Sunwater Spa for a bit of relaxation and rejuvenation because you earned it.
Colorado Springs Business Journal
August 2018
Three is a Charm for SunWater Spa
Inspired by a trip to India, where they bathed in the Ganges River with millions of others during a ceremony to cleanse the spirit, friends and collaborators Kat Tudor and Don Goede were drawn to the possibility of creating a healing arts space revolving around Manitou Springs’ magical waters.Thus, the idea for a hot mineral water spa in this special mountain town was born.
Now in its third year of operation, SunWater Spa offers more than 25 weekly movement, yoga and meditation classes such as Aqua Yoga, the energy-infused MELT, Beginner’s Mind: Intro to Meditation, Yoga for Healing and Thai Yoga Massage.
Yoga Basics
May 2018
Interview with Teacher, Artist, and Healer Kat Tudor
Kat Tudor is a visionary artist, healer, and yoga teacher based in Manitou Springs, Colorado where she heads SunWater Spa, Sun Mountain Center, and the Smokebrush Foundation for the Arts. Kat has been teaching art, dance, yoga, aqua yoga, and improvisational arts since 1979 and is gifted in finding new ways for the creative arts and the healing arts to meet. Kat will be teaching at this month’s 2018 Hanuman Festival.
Colorado Yoga + Life Magazine
April 16, 2018
Sleepless in Colorado? : How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep
Coloradans aren’t getting enough sleep. Like all Americans, according to the last Gallup poll that measured hours spent sleeping, the average was 6.8 hours per night. Compare this to 1910 when people averaged 9 hours per night, and we have a true epidemic of sleeplessness.
MantraMag.com
March 18, 2018
Our Top 10 Reasons to Host a Wellness + Yoga Retreat
Are you considering guiding a retreat this year? Maybe you’ve already accepted the challenges (and rewards!) of hosting a retreat, or maybe you need a little extra push before making that commitment. Guiding a group of people along their life journey is rewarding not only for the retreat-goer, but also the host.
uncovercolorado.com
Feburary 25, 2018
12 Best Hot Springs Resorts in Colorado
“Among the best hot springs in the state lies SunWater Spa. SunWater heats their cedar soaking tubs with solar power. As the water warms, the cedar oil is released into the water, creating a soothing, unique, and aromatic experience.
In addition to the spa treatments, they also focus on holistic relaxation by having yoga, movement, and meditation classes on site. The spa is a sister property to SunMountain Center, which includes lodging, food, a farm, garden, and bed & breakfast. SunWater may be the most unique spa on our list, so be sure to check it out.”
Pikes Peak Bulletin
Feburary 8, 2018
Valentine’s Day is fast approach- ing, so you’re running out of time to decide what you’re doing for and with your special someone.
Manitou Springs offers many ways to share the love, whether it’s an experience or a gift.
The Smokebrush Foundation’s Living Arts program is hosting a “Celebration of Love & Life,” featuring music, dance, poetry and love stories. The star of the evening: Roma Ransom, a duo spreading “love, light and high vibrations through psychedelic folk jazz.”
Colorado Yoga + Life Magazine
WINTER + SPRING 2017–18
Plan a visit to Colorado’s “great spirit”
SunWater Spa is a top-notch yoga and wellness facility in Manitou Springs. This sanctuary gives guests the opportunity to relax area’s sacred mineral waters, receive a rejuvenating spa treatment and connect to your spirit in the yoga and movement studio. Founder Kat Tudor is the visionary for SunWater Spa and is active in leading yoga classes for visitors and the local community.
LA Yoga
Feburary 2017
Soak for Serenity. A Type-A person surrenders to the rejuvenative power of hot water.
I know what to do to relax. After all, I’ve been a healthy lifestyle and spa writer for 15 years. My first book was even focused on how to find your serenity. for years, I maintained a regular stress-reducing routine that seemed to keep my mind and body in a state of perfect calm.
Then I had a baby. As a single working mom, I often forget how to relax and I know I’m not the only one. Relaxation, after all, is not necessarily about what tasks or techniques to do, instead, the art of relaxation involves setting up the situation that puts my mind in such a place that I can allow myself to relax.
humanitou.co
October 31, 2017
Kat Tudor | A Visionary for Healing Arts
Kat Tudor often is described as the visionary behind SunWellness (SunWater Spa, SunMountain Center, Smokebrush Foundation). But the vision runs so much longer and deeper than these relatively new SunWellness expressions of her vision in Manitou Springs.
Newsweek Special Edition: Mindfulness
July 2017
ON EVERY inhabited continent and for as long as records have been kept, bathing in the springs and pools fed by the Earth’s ancient aquifers has been a cultural staple associated with relaxation, reflection and regeneration. In many cases, “taking the waters” has been claimed to result in increased physical health and cure from mental and physical affliction. In Japan, bathing retreats built around springs, known as onsen, are passed down from generation to generation, supposedly offering the blessings of family gods and benevolent spirits in addition to mineral soaks. In Russia, trips to the sauna are punctuated by bracing dips in ice water. In Iceland, visits to the springs are one of the main community activities. At the Dead Sea, there are those who claim the salty waters have healed the ailments. And at Manitou Springs in Colorado, the Ute Nation once hosted tribes from across the Westat their own healing springs, the properties of which were so revered that regardless of the often bitter struggles between tribes, anyone who visited the springs first gave up their weapons.
The Gazette
October 28, 2016
Cheyenne Mountain Grad Returns Home to Open Healing Spa
A sparkling waterfall greets guests at the entrance to the SunWater Spa in Manitou Springs. As one enters the lobby, peace and tranquility seem to descend almost instantly. Stone tiled hallways lead to cedar tubs bubbling with healing mineral water tapped from the Seven Minute Spring across the street. Soaking tubs of different temperatures are found on three levels, all with magnificent views of Pikes Peak and the surrounding hills. Guests can pause for reflection in the garden or wander the meditation trail up the hillside.
Pikes Peak Bulletin
August 11, 2016
Become ‘One’ with SunWater Spa
It’s hard to believe that sunWater Spa is celebrating its first anniversary. The spa was inspired by a trip to Rishikesh, India, where business partners Kat Tudor and Don Goede bather in the clean headwaters of the r Ganges River during a spirit-cleansing ceremony. Goede mentioned that Manitou Springs was like Rishikesh but without the river.
Tudor responded that Manitou’s mineral springs have the same healing properties as the Ganges.
Thus the two collaborators were drawn to create a healing arts space, which ultimately became SunWater Spa, revolving around the magical water of this town.
Colorado Springs Business Journal
September 15, 2015
SunWater draws on Indian Inspiration
Six years ago, Kat Tudor and Don Goede found themselves in Rishikesh, a small Indian town in the foothills of the Himalayas. It’s a place of pilgrimage, where the Ganges River emerges from Himalayas. They had come there to bathe in India’s sacred river. The river at Rishikesh is clear and sparkling.
Read more
The Gazette
July 5, 2015
New spa in Manitou Springs will showcase the city’s historic mineral waters
Manitou Springs’ history runs deep below the city in the form of bubbling mineral springs, which were embraced first by Native Americans and later health seekers who believed in the healing power of the waters.
When the SunWater Spa fully opens in a few weeks in Manitou, it will tap into that history to create what its founders say will be both a world-class spa and healing center.
Summer heat? No sweat! Have a blast and feel like a carefree kid again with water exercises that slim and energize
July 6, 2015
Ahh! Nothing is more refreshing on a hot day than taking a dip in the pool, lake or ocean. And though we never realized it when we spent our childhood days splashing away, it’s also an excellent way to tone muscles and melt flab, says trainer-to-the-stars Kat Tudor, fitness director at SunWater Spa in Manitou Springs, Colorado. “Exercise in the water is just inherently fun,” she says.
Yoga Journal
March 7, 2016
Try the Water Yoga Trend: 6 Aqua Yoga Poses
Yogis have taken to adding modern “extras”—from aerial silks to free weights—to the ancient practice. Yet the latest trend, practicing yoga and meditation in water, brings us back to basics and offers a slew of benefits, says Kat Tudor, co-owner of SunWater Spa, a new yoga studio and water-therapy spa in Manitou Springs, Colorado.
Summit Daily News
October 22, 2015
Soak in the off-season south of Denver
There’s something in the water. From Alluvia Spa’s built-in babbling decor at Cheyenne Mountain Resort, to the healing minerals of Manitou Springs and the rushing symphony of Seven Falls, the eastern helm of Pike’s Peak is a piece of this state that’s drenched in wellness.
Colorado Springs Independent
December 17, 2014
Manitou Springs will soon have a “hot” spring, a marriage of the town’s natural cold springs and Colorado sunlight.
Liquid gold Manitou Springs still looks to an aqua-renascence
The new SunWater Spa, home to the springs, has now risen to a three-story-high beauty with luscious curves, an organic vibe and spectacular views of Pikes Peak off decks and through floor-to-ceiling windows that open like garage doors. It’s taken a little longer to complete than originally expected; it’s now scheduled to open in spring.
Colorado Springs Independent
October 10, 2012
Just add water
Don Goede leads the way up the steep, long stairs of Manitou Springs’ historic Alabama House.
“You call it an ‘aha moment,’ an ‘epiphany,’” he says spreading his arms out at Pikes Peak and the surrounding mountains, which are bathed in golden light. “These views, for me, they just get my heart beating, they really do.”