The Gym or the Spa? What Your Body Is Really Asking For
- Dr Debra Foxfern
- Jul 22
- 3 min read
In today’s wellness world, we’re often offered two extremes. The gym, where intensity rules and sweat signals success. Mirrors and fluorescent light augment imperfections and black tar cushions tennis shoes. Or the spa, where tension melts away in a dim room, filled with eucalyptus and flutes, temporarily cushioning you away from a to-do list. One space tells us to push, the other says let go. But most bodies—especially the ones I see in my office—are asking for sustainable results. Between striving and surrender lives a more clear and embodied path.
The Gym: Discipline or Burnout?
For all bodies, movement is medicine. This could be strengthening your core, increasing your bone density, building balance—it all matters. But the gym can also be a place where people push through pain, ignore red flags, or believe they’re just one rep away from self-worth.
I’ve worked with clients who tell me, “If I only worked harder, I’d feel better.” But their hamstrings are already strong, their posture upright. They don’t need more grit—they need space. Often, their nervous system is on high alert, and what’s missing is restoration, not stronger glutes.
On the flip side, some clients say, “I don’t have time to work out.” And yes, this might be true for a busy parent, caretaker or 50 hour work week. But sometimes, even for busy people, what’s really missing is the permission to do a 15-minute lift or a zumba dance break, which still builds strength and self-trust over time.
The Spa: Restorative or Repetitive Relief?
Bodywork, massage, and spa therapies provide deep healing, especially when stress and trauma are layered into the tissue. But as a chiropractor, I’ve seen how some patients use spa care as a temporary reset—with no long-term shift in movement or postural habits.
In this case, spa care becomes a soothing loop, rather than a transformational one.
If you go in for neck pain, but return each month with the same tension, the tissue is asking for more than warmth. It may be asking for stability. And sometimes, this means learning how to load the body—with precision and kind resistance—so it can hold itself through daily life.
Where Do We Go From Here?
Neither gym nor spa is wrong - I personally love going to both! Concurrently, I understand the pitfalls of each and don't believe the marketing hype. What your body really deserves might be something else: grace. Gracefulness is not laziness. It’s a lens through which we move: one that invites awareness of our environment and an honest assessment of how much strength is actually needed. In honoring the difficulty of trying to apply this, here are questions & intentions to help you chew on the gristle of grace:
How can I bring poise and an energizing breath in banal tasks, such as texting or carrying a grocery bag?
I intend to focus on graceful form than higher reps and weights at the gym.
How can I build strength that doesn’t leave me limping for three days, but I am able to climb that mountain peak in three months?
I intend to write down how to apply my bodywork session into my daily life on the bench right outside the office after my adjustment.
This mindset honors both strength and softness. It helps build awareness of how much effort is truly needed and it’s why I don’t just adjust and send you on your way. I offer thoughtful, body-intelligent exercises to bring home, and ones I follow up with when you return. They might include diaphragmatic breathing, intuitive posture exercises, contract/relax stretches, or low impact joint mobility moves like CARS.
If you’ve been in the office recently, you may have noticed this type of work. Like most things that push against a binary, we need to do so in connection with others, in generosity with our time, and in playful wisdom! The goal is simple: build intuitive resilience that’s rooted in your daily life.
Even as I write this post, my mind continues to spin the wheels of graceful power. Please look forward to more on this subject; such as the power of changing habits and ‘the still point,’ a spiritual and embryological take on movement.
with all my best,
Dr. Debra
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