Recessionary Retreat

The days are getting shorter and the weather is increasingly cooler. These changes are causing our circulation to become sluggish and our emotions to become down and out.

While you are not in dire straits, you may not want to splurge on a holiday to a warmer place or treat yourself to a day at the spa. You may have to choose between eating well or treating yourself. Or if you are like me, you may find budgeting and planning so torturous that you may forgo the pleasure of resorts for small frequent treats.

So when you have a spare $100.00, I recommend you go to King + Bathurst.
This up and coming neighbourhood of young professionals and creatives will lift your spirits and not your credit card balance.

Get a great cut from Sharon at John Steinberg (http://www.johnsteinberghair.com/) then drop into Lee (http://www.susur.com/ ) for a trendy bite. I recommend the Singapore Slaw which can be a meal for one and a health promoting glass red wine from organic grapes.

Or put the glow back in your skin with natural and organic products with a Pure + simple Facial (http://www.pureandsimple.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=5&Itemid=42n ). Then pop into Coco Rice Thai (http://www.cocorice.com/ ) for a healthy meal combination from their Dinner Special Menu for under $15.00.

Ah! So you say that you want something for $50.00 because you need to get a lift from being depressed over being low on cash?

Okay -- now you need to have an open mind and be brave. We are going to Chinatown. Yes, you saw it right, “Chinatown”. Hey, you only have $50.00 and while winter may be depressing, it also greatly reduces the odour of food garbage. So relax.

You can have reflexology for $25.00(taxes included) at a group of store fronts on south side of Dundas Street just west of Huron Street.. But, as a nubie, I recommend you start at Oriental Natural Beauty Wellness Spa (

http://orientalnbwspa.com/Home.html .

Jackie, the team leader is a favourite of a client of mine named Linda. I recommend the strong and experienced hands of SaSa or Sunny. Yes I have been there more than 2 times in less than 2 weeks. I had to share the experience with my boyfriend, my daughter and her boyfriend and then my sister. So in 2 weeks I have become familiar enough to give a dependable therapist recommendation. And my feet will never be the same again.

You can just drop in but they are becoming quite popular so I recommend calling a head to not be disappointed. I noticed that young men and women are dropping in to start a fun evening out as these places are open until 9:00 pm.

Then for $10.00 you can get a tea and a seafood/Vegetable Noodle including tax and tip across the street at House of Gourmet (

http://maps.google.ca/maps?sourceid=navclient&rlz=1T4SNYI_enCA343CA343&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=house+of+gourmet+toronto+menu&fb=1&gl=ca&hq=house+of+gourmet&hnear=toronto&view=text&latlng=9610377212151363735 ).

So your bill for a mini spa comes to $40.00 if you tipped your reflexologist $5.00.
You can spend the whole $50.00 if you want to eat better Seafood Vegetable Noodle at Lee Gardens (http://www.leegardenrestaurant.ca/). Go early as there is a line up out to the street after 6:00pm every day.

If you want to spend more, they can offer you massage or facials – but as Linda advises, “Do you want a facial with someone who has been touching feet most of the day?”. Start with the reflexology, after all this is the $50.00 and less recommendation. If you have more money to spend - go to King and Bathurst.

To paraphrase Walmart, “Know Yourself, Live Intelligently and Save the Planet”.

Yes - Change a few words; and Change a mundane selfish way of life.

Tired of Anti Aging?

Tired of Anti Aging?

You don’t like what you are seeing in the mirror. Your decide to change your moisturizer or if you really are unhappy, contemplate more drastic measure of cosmetic facial procedures like botox or collagen injections!.

Before you decide on the solution spend more time on the cause. Sure remedying your immediate skin needs locally while you exploring the bigger picture is an excellent start to better looking skin.

The cool, dry air of autumn can challenge our ability to look fresh and feel vital. Yes-- if your skin is under the weather then -- so is your over all wellbeing. Therefore when we experience unattractive skin problems, we need to go beyond the four skin types of Dry, Normal, Combination and Oily.

Our frustrations with our appearance (our face is a large part of that for most of us) is greatly influenced by our genetic make up or -- what we at Pure + simple call -- our Doshas and by our daily skincare and lifestyle.

Those of us who are chronically dry (Vata) and of us who are chronically reddish or sensitive, perhaps acne prone (Pitta) will need very different solutions to the same problem of dry aging skin and to the drier cooler weather.

And to further complicate -- or if you are more positive, to further customize the solution to the individual -- we can consider other factors that influence our health and skin; like our daily stress level, our lifestyle, work habits and of course our diet and lifestyle. Add to this list any medications or supplements we are taking and any afflictions our bodies are tending to.

Therefore the more you understand why your skin is in the undesirable condition (your own personal definition) and the elements in your life that contribute to it, the better the solution will be from skin care to overall changes to your lifestyle and diet.

Something to consider when you begin to achieve your new look is the following example. A woman in her fifties, with dry dull skin, who wants flawless skin but also would prefer to not want to wear make up to help camouflage any “flaws” would have more challenges to achieve her goals than a thirty year old with the same goals. She also will to invest more in skincare and lifestyle changes than another woman with similar variables but less stringent expectations.

Generally most mature skin types will find relief by increasing the moisture content of her skin with a good quality collagen serum and a rich protective moisturizer. The more discriminating can increase the youthfulness of her skin can attain this intention with a few treatments of either Microdermabrasion (we recommend the healthier alternative of sea salt to aluminum) or Intense Pulse Light (IPL) or both. Again it depends on the current skin condition and the expected end result.

Holistic health additions can include simple diet and lifestyle alterations that respond to seasonal changes like eating root vegetables and stews in fall to counteract internal dryness can increase positive results for skin.

Looking for more natural solutions to pharmaceutical medications will lessen the dehydration of skin and most likely to your internal organs, too. Stop dehydrating habits like cigarette smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages will not only increase overall hydration but lessen skin breakouts, sensitivity and redness. You body will also lessen its need for antioxidants due to the lower toxic load.

Phew!

Enough work for now. We will tackle the more challenging solutions that include our mind and emotions later.

“Don’t drink the Water”

“Don’t drink the Water”

For your reading pleasure I have a included a link to “Don’t drink the Water”, by Dave Matthews at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMAnYUwIhk0

We are 75% water and need to drink at least 8 cups of water daily to maintain our body health and beauty. But what type of water we drink and the type of container we carry it in can tell much about us to others. Do you drink tap water , filtered water or bottle water. How do you carry this water around with you?

All of us who are both ecologically and health focused have shun bottled water to avoid both the dangers of absorbing bisphenol A through polycarbonate bottles and to stop junking up our world unnecessarily. Go to the http://www.care2.com/causes/environment/blog/recycle-plastic-water-bottles/ to see the extent of the plastic water bottle problem.

Those of us, who are more aesthetically sensitive, paid the price of a Sigg bottle to look healthy and chic.

The popularity of the Sigg bottles was always questionable as the concept of the plastic liner and the aluminum shell was both redundant (2 materials) and counter productive (plastic to replace plastic?) when we also had the choice of choose glass and stainless bottles. But who was I to question the well stocked shelves of Sigg bottles in health food stores and “enlightened” drugstores (serving upscale clientele). Even my bright young staff happily carried their precious water in Sigg bottles.

But what was the rational thinking behind replacing disposable plastic bottle with an aluminum bottle with a plastic liner?

Well Sigg just got busted by Adria Vasil, better known as the Ecoholic, at http://www.nowtoronto.com/columns/ecoholic.cfm Ms. Vasil reports that the Sigg bottle liners contain the much feared bisphenol A.

We can be angry with dishonest marketers, but it is more productive to question our own susceptibility to deception. We don’t need to be able to understand advanced science to intelligently contribute to the health of both the planet and ourselves. We just have to let go of the crazy consumer in us. When we consume, we can choose products for their honesty of function and their ability to leave a small safe footprint on us and the environment.

So if you want to drink safe healthy water in a healthy container – May I suggest getting a Nimbus water filter http://www.nimbuswatersystems.com/ on your kitchen tap and fill your delicious sweet water in an easy to clean stainless steel bottle http://greenbeans.ca/GB-KK.htm or a reused glass bottle from Voss Icelandic Water http://qpro.ca/voss.php

Mind Body Health

What does Mind Body Health mean to you?


For me it mainly meant maintaining body health so I could accomplish my goals and my mental pursuits.

From the age of nineteen when I read my first Adele Davis book on natural health, I have spent a lot of time and effort on learning and living a healthier and healthier physical life.

Even though I gained much mental and spiritual growth from my daily Yoga and Chi Kung practice, the main impetus was physical health improvement.

But I have experienced great leaps of personal growth from the help of fortunetellers and therapists the few times I have seen them. In my early thirties, as a single mother of a toddler, I visited Andrianna King, a psychic that totally changed my perception of who I was. She told me that I was living according to that 25% of myself that was a risk taker. And to find happiness I needed to allow the 75% of myself as security seeker to be fulfilled. I changed my career from designer to sales representation. This change increased my income greatly, lessen my work load and gave me consistent work hours allowing me to better care for my daughter.

As I entered my forties, I saw a therapist who was very helpful in discovering my ADD. For some the knowledge can be received negatively, but all advice allows us choice in creating a better life for ourselves. ADD was an “aha!” moment for me. It unlocked the fundamental reason for some of the adverse behavior and the negative outcome of those behaviors in my life. Surprising happy outcomes included better physical health, more self confidence and a higher awareness level.

Last year, I accompanied a friend who needed a ride to visit a fortuneteller in Mississauga. Steven Kien Dao was highly recommended but fortunetelling has always been both an instant psychiatry session and a lark. I have found good fortunetellers can me insight that may take months or even years in therapy.

We met Steven in his apartment and he politely greeted us but told us not to talk to him except to ask questions. This was reassuring of the value of our visit to me. Steven was very helpful to both my friend and I as he got to the heart of the matter of what was blocking our personal success and happiness.

Before he revealed to me that I would be happier being single, he introduced it by saying he has no idea what my marital status was and what he had to say came without judgment of good or bad. This unexpected wisdom made his advice even more credible. This advice was very freeing even to the then almost fifty four year old. I had believed that I could not pair up like everyone else because either I had not found my perfect soul mate for me or I had to correct some imperfection that made me hard to live with. Phew!, two less things to do. But the best outcome was my appreciation of the special person who has stood steadfast by me.

Since I have owned a successful business for 8 years, I initially refuted his advice to love money more. I was also surprised since his fee of eighty dollars was lower than I expected and he explained the fee was honourary and he did not want to charge more. I later realized that like most sages his advice was free of cultural beliefs and he understood the relativity of each characteristic for each individual’s success. I finally embraced finance, which I found the most unattractive duty of owning my business. And just in time to make sure I had created the security of a sound business foundation for my employees and myself.

During the past year, I have found his advice has guided me to higher success in both business and personal life. While I have always been a happy person, it was due more to an optimistic outlook than to a life with little hardship and failures. Last year my life was more effortless and more fortunate. From this experience I have realized that much of our hardships and failures are due to our misaligned beliefs and actions.

I was so happy with my experience that both my daughter and I visited Steven this year. Steven again gave good fundamental advice. As her mother I knew Steven gave advice would not only improve her leadership skills through better communications but in turn help her achieve her potential personally.

For me I am again allowing his advice guide me and I will know the success of his advice and my ability to change next year.

If you would like to invest also an hour and eighty dollars to see how you increase your power over your future outcomes, you can contact Steven by telephone at 416-846-0588 and by e-mail stevendaok@hotmail.com

Changing for Fall

We are heading into autumn and as the seasons change, we change. The weather will affect our health and our appearance as it becomes cooler and drier.

We can lessen its affect with a change in diet and skincare. Those of us in our mature years of forty plus can benefit from eating moist and sweet foods of fall harvest like root vegetables. We can serve them cooked in stews or bake them in casseroles or pies. This is the best time for us to eat red meats.

As for skincare, we need to increase moisture replenishment with an addition of a serum or if you are already doing that, add an oil. Increased moisture retention can be attained with a heavier cream. This will ensure you look fresh and dewy even in the gloomiest days of October and November.

Keeping skin moist has another benefit. It will help keep your circulation optimal to lessen your sense of cold especially in your hands and feet. For more information on the impact of moisture on your health go to http://our-metamorphosis.blogspot.com/2009/03/vanity-is-good-for-you.html or any past blog.

It will also ensure your skin cells are replenished with nourishment and hydration and ensure that cellular debris is removed. This prevents that dull congested look you have accepted as a consequence of the colder season.

If you do not have regular facials, this is an ideal time to have a facial to correct any abuses your skin encountered in the summer like dehydration from carefree skincare or skin damage from over exposure to sun. Ask your esthetician for recommendations that will keep you skin looking moist and youthful.

I personally greet new seasons with a one day fast to give poor overwork organs a rest and to clear the colon. This allows the liver and other organs to detoxify.

And if you do not get enough sleep; 7-8 hours a night; 24 hour fasts can help replenish much need human growth hormones (remember the 3rd stage of aging : sagging skin?). This may be due to the fact that a regular housecleaning keeps your circulation cleaner and nourishes cells better and removes toxins more efficiently.

The nights grow longer advising us to sleep more. Learning to relax is very beneficial to skin and overall health. To encourage better relaxation take up calming exercises like Yoga and Tai Chi. Massage you body with oil or your favourite moisturizer each night. If that seems too much, try massaging your hands and feet and scalp only. You will not only feel more relaxed but feet and hand will be warmer and softer.

Then just make yourself a hot drink and give yourself a relaxing evening.

Let’s get Physical

for Beautiful Skin

It’s been a long time but I have lots of news from Korean Body scrubs to future postings on Traditional Chinese Medicine Facials to Floatation Therapy.

Why Korean Body Scrubs?

Korean Body Scrubs will give you silky smooth skin and contribute much to your overall health. It exposes you to a holistic bath culture that incorporates the power of nature on your wellbeing with materials like Jade, Crystal and ice in your sauna. I love the simplicity of a therapist, two exfoliating mitts and hot water and you will be surprised at the results.

But at this moment in time it can also test your tolerance in customer service, of sanitary practices and your sense of aesthetics. Your modesty will also be tested as your therapist will be scrubbing and massaging you places you never thought of. Since English is usually barely understood you will need to have the sense of adventure for the unexpected both wonderful and not so wonderful.

You can also extend your adventure by experiencing Korean cuisine at its most authentic and wholesome with authenic Zen vegetarian to its most unhealthy with the inexpensive barbeques. And the best place for the choice is New York City where the spa services are next door to a myriad of Korean restaurants.

I have become addicted to Korean Body Scrub ever since I saw buckets of my dead skin on white ceramic tiles of the Tribeca Spa of Tranquility (http://www.tribecaspaoftranquility.com/) in New York City,

I would never dream of spending good money on a boring body scrub when I have exotic choices like chocolate body wraps, Jamu and raindrop body massage. But a persuasive spa receptionist talked into this “scrub like no other I have experienced” when the cellulite treatment I had my heart set on was not available.

The treatment began with a hot steam to help removed remove dead skin more effectively. Then off to a wet room with a vinyl covered bed and shower where a muscular Korean woman energetically polished by skin until it looked young and smooth. -Oh- did I mention that she is probably going to be” traditionally” garbed in lacy black bra and undies.- no, you will not get the feeling she is either delicate or appealing - Then a relaxing aromatherapy massage can follow if you choose.

If you are in NYC and are adventurous go to Yi Pak (http://yipakspa.com/). You can save about $100.00 but you are entering an “alternative” environment without the funky charm. You are entering into a world of mack tack wood grain, questionable sanitation practices and communicating through sign language and feeling misunderstood and tolerated.

Or you can spoil yourself at the Aura Spa (http://www.spaaura.com/). This is miniature version of a Korean Bath House where you can choose to enter a jade steam or dry sauna or an ice room ---all beautifully constructed stone domes. You are pampered with all the usual spa amenities and great friendly staff.

After the spa there are good restaurants in the area. After a detoxifying and energizing treatment it makes great sense to eat a healthy meal in a tranquil environment. The natural choice then would be Han Gawi, (http://www.hangawirestaurant.com/). This beautifully designed vegetarian restaurant transports you out of the hustle bustle of NYC into the harmonious space of an old Zen temple. Your meal is a healthy balance of root vegetables, sprouts, nuts and fruits. Try the fresh fruit juices – I really loved my pear juice so much I repeated it in place of dessert. Or if you are in a celebratory mood try the exotic Asian cocktails with Sojuto (Korean liquor ) with green Tea and fresh fruit juices. The meals are so well prepared and delicious, no carnivore will miss the meat.

If your healthy meal must have meat or on a budget you can dine a couple of blocks away at Shanghai Mong (http://newyork.timeout.com/restaurants/midtown-west/1364/shanghai-mong ) where you can dine on deliciously prepared vegetables, wild rice and seafood for an average $12.00 a person.

When you are in Toronto your choices range from limited to challenging (scary to some). The least challenging place is Seoul Zimzilbang (http://ilovesauna.com/about-us.html). You will get a one hour scrub and massage for $100.00. Arrive an hour before your appointment and do the sauna circuit. Your therapist will insist you get in the hot tub for 15 minutes (expressed in smiling sign language) to prepare your skin. Be prepared to be misunderstood and to have errors in your appointment time/date and the added frustration of a stream of new inexperience receptionists. But the therapist (even though I have become a regular, we have never really spoken to each other so I don’t know her name, nor she mine) is excellent at scrubbing and massage that you don’t even feel cheated by the short half hour of massage.

The only other place I know of for Korean Body Scrub in Toronto is L & S Health Care Centre (http://koreanbodyscrub.com/lshealthcare/index.php). The neighbourhood is one of the oldest but also probably one of the scariest in Toronto without the charm of the same downtown. Be prepared to have panic attacks about the facilities but once your service begins, you will relax. I found Susan, my therapist, great at her work and very warm and friendly. A great deal, as you get sauna (only a steam sauna here), scrub and one full hour of massage for $120.00.

I have no recommendations for Korean dining in Toronto except maybe to head over to Bloor and Christie or to Yonge and Finch where the better Korean Restaurants are. I would love your recommendations here. But sorry, you will not find any Han Gawi here.

I am happy to answer any of your questions so contact me here or through Pure + simple website at http://www.pureandsimple.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=75&Itemid=53 .

Help for Chronic Sensitive Skin

Get Negative for Sensitive Skin

Lovers of great art know that it is the negative space that is the key to a masterpiece. So it is that it is the ability to relax the key to healthy skin and overall health.

Sensitive skin resulting in skin redness can result in dehydrated skin, rosacea or acne. At Pure + simple (http://www.pureandsimple.ca/ ), we have had much success in improving these skin conditions with hydrating skin with a natural collagen serum and a protecting it with a natural moisturizer. For even better results, clients follow a Pitta diet (see http://our-metamorphosis.blogspot.com/2009/06/foods-for-pitta.html ) that cooled their bodies with a higher ratio of vegetables. A Raw food diet is great way to balance Pittas with cooling foods and a vegetable based diet.

Lately I have been challenged by some clients who had very sensitive, very dehydrated and acneic skin. These cases were not responding to the good skincare and since the clients were already eating a great diet similar to the Pitta diet, I empathized with their frustrations.

As I traveled from the Scientific Seminars in Chicago to the Cosmetic Ingredients Show in Munich, I kept these special clients in mind. But anti-aging was the buzz so there was no new information to help.

But serendipity occurred. I found a skincare and supplements line that touted the benefits of alkalizing to improve sensitive skin. I immediately bought the face cream, body lotion and the alkalizing supplement and tea. This serendipitous discovery spurred me to re-read “Alkalize or Die” by Dr Theodore A Baroody. You can buy the book at http://www.amazon.com/Alkalize-Die-Theodore-Baroody/dp/0961959533

My skin had suffered from acne, skin sensitivity and with all the healthy diets and skincare, I still live with dehydrated skin with hyper-pigmentation. Even when I followed a vegetarian diet, I found that my ph constantly tested acidic.

So perhaps alkalizing was the key to help these very sensitive and inflamed skin clients’ get healthier and get more beautiful skin.

I tested the products I bought and followed the alkalizing diet. I found I was feeling better and my Pre-menstrual Syndrome was less severe. Yes I know, it’s about time for menstrual periods to abandon me.

I contacted some of those clients and offered them a sample of the face cream and suggested they follow the diet.

These clients couldn’t understand why they were afflicted with problem skin when they were disciplined with their diet, lifestyle and exercise. If these clients find success then the stubborn skin problems are a warning of declining health due to their body’s acidic ph and diet is only a component.

Could the other part be an over disciplined stressed life. These clients did not give themselves timeout from stress. Stress creates acidic ph levels. This over acidity leads to allergic reactions like eczema, heat and dehydration skin redness inflammation. As it becomes more chronic it can lead to poor digestion, arthritis and other inflammatory diseases.

So how does one better help to alkalize one’s body? Meditation is that negative space that alkalizes our system to neutralize the acid that is the result of stress or negate ve emotions.

For those of us who find diet can only help so much, meditation is may help to successfully balance our body’s ph. Some of my clients are so driven that when I suggest meditation, they respond they already do Yoga. And they are not the referring to the most relaxing Yoga, Hatha Yoga but the more athletic ones of Moksha and Ashtanga.

Meditation is freedom from physical and mental effort. For you those of who need something to keep you focused in meditation try Chi Kung. For information on Chi Kung and classes go to http://www.shaolinwahnamcanada.com/classes.htm.


The general rules for an alkalizing diet are vegetable and fruits are highly alkaline while vegetable proteins are neutral and simple carbohydrates and meat are highly acidic. For more information go to http://www.sethigherstandards.com/energize-your-life-by-alkalizing-your-body/

Please let me know if this helped you fel and look better.