Take in the Heavenly Chi: 6 Simple Yet Powerful Tips for Thriving Through the Autumn Season

1. Metal energy is consolidating with inward movement, like a flower closing its petals. Be one with nature. It's okay to close your petals for awhile.
2. Metal’s motion is determined, forceful, strong, unyielding, self- reliant, reserved and sophisticated. Use these to your best advantage.
3. Metal is associated with the lungs, respiratory system and is related to the nose. Take in the heavenly Chi.
4. Both courage and sadness are emotions associated with this season. Allow yourself to weep when you feel to but also find the courage to face what's ahead. 
5. Metal represents the direction West (the direction of dreams and visions), the planet is Venus, and is symbolized by the White Tiger (one of the four spiritual creatures). Stand facing West and honor the "westness" of Autumn.
6. During this season's color represented by white, light white candles against the growing darkness of the season.

10 Tips: Autumn Maintenance Best Practices

The Metal Energetic Season Began August 7 and Ends October 20

Here are 10 Tips to Help You Thrive:

• Practice letting go in all things.

• Release old resentments or hurts. Start fresh.

• When feeling sad or stuck, remember that nothing is permanent. It will pass.

• Eliminate negative and destructive habits.

• Meditate or pray. This is the time of year when spiritual vision comes easier.

• Cleanse your body. Support the immune system by eating more fresh fruits and vegetables and less animal products.

• Help your body to rehydrate by drinking lots of water and eating high water content produce.

• Breathe and smell the new scents of nature and the season. Note the subtle or remarkable change in the quality of the air.

• Complete unfinished projects.

• Prepare for the winter.

Yin and Yang (Continued)

We say of some parts of the body that they are yin and of other parts that they are yng but this is relative. Sample, the upper body is young relative to the lower body, but the outside of the leg is young relative to the inner side.

Another example: although all males are yang relative to any female and all females are yin relative to any man, some men are more yang than others and some women are more yin others. As a result, someone could refer to a female as yang, but this would only be in comparison to other women. In short, when the terms yin and yang are used, the context is quite important.

The balance between yin and yang is not static but dynamic. From it comes harmony. It is true for nature and for humans as well.

Changes, such as those in the body and in nature, are seen as the result of one energy growing while the other contracts to make room for its partner and vice versa. There the yen or yang becomes disruptive and over beers it's energetic partner, the balance is destroyed and trouble arises. The dynamic interaction of these two forces is reflected in the cycles of the seasons, the human lifecycle and other natural phenomena.

The goal of all energy medicine is the promotion and/or restoration of balance in the body's vital energy. The complementary yin and yang forces regulate this delicate balance.

The Yin and the Yang

The ancient Chinese saw the world and everything within it subject to two broad powers or energies: the yin and the yang. Yin corresponds to principles such as inner, dense, cold, feminine, while yang offers the opposite–outer, light, warmth and masculine.

Contrary to common Western interpretation, yin and yang are not opposing forces but complementary and interrelated ones. Think of the pedals of a bike: when one is up the other one is necessarily down. The movement of the bike requires one pedal to come back up pushing the other one down and so on. When this happens in an orderly fashion, the bike is in movement and the movement provides balance.

 Each phase of yin and yang always contains the seed of the other. Since everything is in movement, change is seen as the result of one energy expanding when the other one is contracting and vice versa. There is never 100% yan or yang any place because neither one can ever be excluded from the whole. , Movement and change would be stopped and all would be static. That's impossible!

The illustrations show the dynamic context of yin and yang. Do not think of yin and yang as absolute and static but rather as relative and dynamic.

Energies, Frequencies and the Aura

You cannot see energy but you can see it's a fact and many manifestations. There are many types of energy: mechanical, electrical, physical, nuclear, and so on. All of them have vibrations in common. They propagate through space as trains of waves. Their wavelength is measured from the crest of one wave to the other. Some wavelengths like those carrying the signals of AM radio are measured in meters, but for the visible spectrum of vibration such as the seven colors of light, the microscopic wavelengths are measured in nanometers, one billionth of a meter (a meter is equal to 3.28 feet!)

Energy moves as electromagnetic waves defined by their wavelength to which corresponds a frequency. A frequency is the number of times a crest of waves from a train or series of waves passes a stationary point in the span of one second. As a result, the longer the wavelength, the longer it takes in the lower the frequency. Conversely, the shorter the wavelength, the higher the frequency. Higher frequencies imply higher energy.

Well-known scientists such as Einstein have focus their field of study some energy, yet it is surprising that very few Western scientists have given serious consideration to what most of us already know intuitively: There is an energy that animates the human body.

There are several layers in the energy field that we call the aura wrapping the physical body:

1) The Ethereal body, reflective of the physical body

2) The Astral body carries the energies of emotions and traits of the character

3) The Mental body hosts the energies of thoughts and intuitions

4) The Causal body is the energy of our higher or spiritual self

The ideal aura of a balanced and fully integrated individual from the physical to the emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects of his or her being, blends harmoniously all seven chakra colors forming a white light (just as the seven colors of the rainbow constitute the white light of the sun).

Energetic Centers and Auras

In ancient India, the Ayurvedic philosophy led to an energetic view of the human body just as it happened in ancient China. Some of the Ayurvedic concepts are very practical for spa treatments. For this reason, the treatment protocols of Phytobiodermie incorporate work on the major energetic centers named chakras.

You may have already begun to think of the body as an energetic system. Vital energy powers and directs the body. Vital energy sources include ancestral energy from our parents and energy transformed in our body from the air we breathe and the food we eat. We are also subjected to the energies of our environment from heaven (in the sense of cosmic energies) and from earth (called telluric energies).

Energy is constantly transformed and flowing within each of us and it also flows in and out of each of us. Ayurveda also has energy points called Marma points that correlate highly with acupuncture points and energy channels called Nadis. There are also chakras or energetic centers.

Each chakra receives and sends out energy creating an energy distribution system not only within the body but also between the body and our energy field. Each chakra has its own range of energy vibration that corresponds to one of the seven colors of the rainbow. Energy blockages can also occur in chakras. It is possible to balance chakras by giving them the lacking energy. Balancing takes place by the application of certain essential oils or, alternatively, with light of various colors.

Chakras are numbered from 1 to 7 starting at the root chakra and ending at the crown chakra. It is best to simultaneously balance chakras by pair determined by their symmetrical position relative to the middle or heart, fourth chakra. Note that the sum of the parent or complementary chakras is always eight. (7+1, 6+2,…)

To each chakra corresponds certain organs and for some, one or two of the eight hormonal glands. The health of organs and hormonal glands depends on the energetic quality and quantity of the corresponding chakra. A healthy hormonal system requires a healthy chakra system, thus the importance and practicality of working with light and oils to energize and balance them.

Chakras have a funnel shaped going deep into the body and extending several inches beyond the skin level into the layers of our energy field, the aura around the body. Each individual aura has its own blend of vibrations, energy and color combination specific not only to each individual but also subject to changes from moment to moment and particularly according to emotions. 

10 Tips to Thrive in the Metal Energetic Season Beginning August 7 (Ending October 20)

The Metal energetic season is the optimum time to address demineralization, surface dehydration, puffiness and congestion, and dull, lifeless skin. 

Our Metal energetic line has mineralizing and anti-inflammatory properties, increases circulation, promotes oxygenation of skin, diminishes swelling and puffiness, and rehydrates and rejuvenates the skin.

Lungs and large intestine reflect the spiritual nature of the Autumn season. Open to more clarity of vision. Let go of mental and spiritual rubbish. Take in the inspiration of a breath of fresh air. The lung is described as the receiver of pure Chi from the heavens.

Here Are 10 Tips for Autumn Maintenance Best Practices:

- Practice letting go in all things.

- Release old resentments or hurts. Start fresh.

- When feeling sad or stuck, remember that nothing is permanent. It will pass.

- Eliminate negative and destructive habits.

- Meditate or pray. This is the time of year when spiritual vision comes easier.

- Cleanse your body. Support the immune system by eat more fresh fruits and veggies and less animal products.

- Help your body to rehydrate by drinking lots of water and eating high water content produce.

- Breathe and smell the new scents of nature and the season. Note the subtle or remarkable change in the quality of the air.

- Complete unfinished projects. Prepare for the winter.

- Consider this short practice for the Metal element for Autumn:

LIGHT: Raw Material for Human Life

Light is energy and can be thought of as "raw material" for human life and most living organisms. It behaves as a vibration and it radiates. Light propagates through space in the same fashion as AM or FM radio waves and any other electromagnetic radiations. All radiations are characterized by their wavelength and consequently, their frequency. White light naturally divides in seven colors as we can observe on a well-formed rainbow.

Each of the seven colors includes, and is constituted by, a range of wavelengths — not a single wavelength. Wavelengths are measured in nanometers. A nanometer (nm) is one billionth of a meter (a meter is a little more than three feet). Radiation from the visible spectrum are contained between 380 nm and 780 nm. Before 380 nm, there is the ultraviolet range and beyond 780 manometers, there is the infrared range.

To eliminate any potential dangers to clients as well as to therapists, Phytobiodermie light equipment has filters to eliminate any frequencies that exceed the visible spectrum, namely, infrared and ultraviolets. At the same time, Phytobiodermie equipment faithfully offers the basic seven colors of the rainbow with their full complement of frequencies. It also offers additional colors such as pink and turquoise for their specific beneficial properties.

Perk Up Those Eyes

If you are starting to notice aging around your eyes, Ageless’ Eye Serum (by PHYTO 5®) is the product for you. The Ageless Eye Serum dramatically reduces the look of fine lines, wrinkles, dark circles, dryness and puffiness, leaving the eyes looking radiant, hydrated and youthful. 

It is formulated with a unique blend of acacia gum, beech tree bud extract, Easyliance, rose essential oil and rose flower water. These ingredients give you all the skin-smoothing and restoring benefits you are looking for without the potential for irritation. Easyliance is a tightening active with immediate and visible effects especially for crow’s feet and cheeks. Beech Tree Bud Extract is the real elixir of youth as it increases oxygen consumption and cell metabolism, therefore regenerating cells and perfect for the cure of mature skin and eye contour.

The Ageless Eye Serum is easy to use. After cleansing and toning, each morning and evening, place a small amount on your fingertips. Then, gently pant under and around your eye area and massage into your skin.

The Ageless Eye serum will quickly smooth, tighten and regenerate cells, leaving your skin more supple and luminous.

Do You Want to be Ageless?

We believe that, unless your skin is particularly sensitive, a non-invasive peel is needed to achieve great looking skin. And not just any peel, but a peel that resurfaces and also replenishes with anti-aging benefits.

Phyto Peel's unique blend of tropical fruit extract, lotus grains, organic shea butter and 9 organic essential oils will leave your skin feeling exfoliated, hydrated and rejuvenated. The tropical fruit extract contains Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHA) that reduce the depth of fine lines and wrinkles, simultaneously toning and firming your skin.

The Ageless Phyto-Peel by Phyto 5 is a creamy, energizing and exfoliating peel that removes dead skin cells with its lotus, shea shell grains and natural AHA (Alpha Hydroxy Acid) ingredients from tropical fruits such as banana, mango and mombin plump and leaves your skin firm, plump and moist

The peel is very easy to use. We recommend you use the peel once or twice a week. After cleansing and toning, apply the peel on your entire face and neck. Massage lightly in a circular motion, applying additional water as required, and then leave the peel on for 2-3 minutes. Rinse well with water, using a facial cloth or sponge if needed, and gently pat dry. A little application of the Toner will insure that the peel has been fully removed. Then, apply the eye serum and the Extreme Hydrating Cream. 

This peel is ideal for mature skin, and will reveal a softer and more radiant skin.

5 Minerals That Create Beautifully Hydrated, Supple, Youthful Skin

Oligo, short for oligonucleotide, comes from the Greek 'oligoi' meaning few or containing a relatively small number of units. In this case, these units are manganese, cobalt, zinc, magnesium and copper (plus algae) in PHYTO5's 100% natural origin Oligo 5 sensational product.

We all lose minerals as we age or live in stressful environmental conditions. Certain minerals are needed to hold hydration in the skin. Without them, creams won't help.

Skin can't be properly hydrated without a sufficient mineral delivery such as the proprietary formula found in Oligo 5:

✺ Manganese for vitamin B synthesis; protects the skin against free radicals; soothing and calming properties;

✺ Cobalt necessary for hemoglobin, it's a great antioxidant;

✺ Zinc stimulates synthesis of collagen and elastin–no necessary for youthful skin; great as an anti-inflammatory and skin revitalizer;

✺ Magnesium relaxes muscles and helps smooth wrinkles with a botox-like activity; it acts on cell renewal and energy-production within cells; it also helps to bind calcium which improves skin hydration;

✺ Copper is an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant with anti-aging properties because it stimulates production of keratin, collagen and elastin which make skin look toned and youthful.

✔︎For all skin types

✔︎Apply Oligo 5 daily to face and neck after cleansing and toning and before cream. 

✔︎Keep scalp better hydrated and hair soft, glossy and voluminous by applying after shampoo and conditioner.

Spray It Away

In addition to all the other remedies for stress reduction, there is one amazing, almost magical thing anyone can do to restore serenity, calm, ease and balance!

Aura Flora is an organic certified flower water spray (a special proprietary formulation of rose and witch hazel) that balances and purifies the body's energetic envelope. When the energetic envelope surrounding the body is permeated with this soothing spray, the physical, mental and emotional are affected in turn.

Spray Aura Flora around the body and in the room for the following amazing benefits:

✺ To gain relaxation, self-confidence, peace of mind and serenity in any stressful situation;

✺ To create a balanced and peaceful ambiance in your home;

✺ For mental clarity when you feel overworked;

✺ To help anyone fall asleep (babies, elderly, and yourself!);

✺ To cool and moisturize face and body on hot days or in hot places;

✺ To protect the body's energetic envelope from radiation on flights and from computer use.

Healing with Colors

Chromatherapy, sometimes called chromotherapy, was part of the medicine of ancient Egypt, Greece, India and China. Literally, it means healing with colors. It can be with colors of matter (walls, clothing, stones or topical products), or more potently, with colors of light – a pure form of energy. Phytobiodermie uses the term chromatherapy to refer to both the use of color in matter such as clay masks of different colors and for light therapy using lights of certain colors.

At the turn of the 20th century, light therapy experienced a new level of interest and favor as many scientists and medical doctors had returned to the use of colors to heal serious conditions. 

In 1903, Niels Finsen of Denmark received the Nobel Prize for successfully treating skin tuberculosis and certain skin conditions with light therapy.

In the 1920s and 30s, both Dinshah Ghadiali and Dr. Harry Riley Spitler, among others, conducted substantial research in light therapy and obtained many spectacular results.

But in the late 1930s, with the advent of antibiotics, medicine and medical research were directed toward chemicals at the expense of everything else. Light therapy was temporarily forgotten. Today, with the growing concerns over the long term effects of antibiotics on the immune system, thoughtful physicians and others have returned to older, proven methods that are more natural and noninvasive such as light therapy.

Phytobiodermie is a pioneer in light therapy.

The Pursuit of Beauty: Make It a Healthy Philosophy

What is health–physical, emotional and mental health? How can they be truly achieved?

Linked to health, beauty the natural way, necessarily becomes a matter of overall lifestyle. As an objective, achieving natural beauty can become a positive driving force in one’s life.

As we better understand the interrelationship of all that is at work in looking and feeling good, we develop a greater desire to ensure that anything that can be destructive to our purpose is removed and preferably replaced by something that contributes to our wellness.

Then beauty becomes not an obsession unto itself, but a real philosophy of life. This philosophy of life also pays attention to practical telltale signs which manifest in the physical body and challenge us in our drive to achieve our full potential within the natural cycle of life.

Health Shows Up on the Skin

Health is more than the absence of disease and beauty is more than an absence of an unpleasant manifestation of unhealthy or prematurely aged skin!

Health is resilience — the natural ability to probably return to normal functioning whenever the individual is physically or mentally attacked. And let's face it, we seem to be under almost constant attack, be it against our body, our ego or our feelings.

Popular admonition such as, "Don't worry so much or you'll get an ulcer!" reminders of the connection between body, mind and emotions. Our body reflects the destructive results of mental and emotional attacks just as much as it does microbiological causes, bacterial or viral.

This fact is now being re-discovered by both the public and health professionals. In most cases, Western health professionals are trained to respond to the manifestations of physical or mental problems. Fundamentally, they are in the disease fighting business. Their mission is not about promoting optimum health which would create an enhanced sense of beauty and well-being.

The notion of prevention in Western medicine focuses on vaccination and other drug-oriented solutions to contain specific conditions.

Medical doctors are generally not trained to develop an interest in regularly seeing customers who are healthy with a view of ensuring that they continue to remain that way. The unacceptably high and runaway cost of this practice will eventually force changes. As a practical result, the know-how necessary to maintain health has to be sought outside the mainstream Western health establishment.

Under the current demographic title wave of the baby boom, the forces of the market are nudging alert medical and beauty professionals into alternatives and new ways, creating the so-called integrative medicine arena. 

Spa Finder Magazine, January 2009, dubbed energy medicine #1 among new trends that would impact spas beyond 2009 and pointed to the growing importance that spa professionals and their customers are placing on effective and holistic ways to improve results.

For over 35 years, Phytobiodermie has been refining its fully integrative approach to skincare with energetic and natural products based on the energetic principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda.

Light Heals

Sunlight reaches us as electromagnetic waves that include a range of frequencies. It is naturally composed of seven sub groups, each corresponding to one of the seven colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. It can also be observed through a glass prism. The colored pigmentation of things (matter) gives them their specific color so long as there is light to bounce off those things. The energy of colors from Light or from pigmentation are associated with specific energies defined by their frequencies.

 The seven colors that compose natural light also correspond to the energy of the seven major energetic centers in Ayurvedic medicine known as chakras. Five of the seven colors correspond to the five elements of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Each of the five colors is an energetic harmony with one of the elements and whatever is associated with that element and its functions. As a result, colors, both as matter but most potentially as energy, become tools of energy medicine.

The relationship between light, energy, and life has been scientifically established; light has been used, for example, to modify the rate of growth of enzymes, bacteria and plants, both to accelerate and to slow it down. Light is also frequently used to modify the emotions of humans.

More On How We Got Started

We quickly found out that our primary target market, hotel and resort spas, was obsessed with architecture, interior design and elements of marketing and image-building while often paying too little attention to the methodology behind their treatments. As a result, we had to redirect our efforts. We found greater reception in medium-sized cause often owned by former technicians who understood the value of a common method for all treatments and training.

Our company has a long list of pioneering activities with great results. Consider that in the 60s and 70s, our industry was following the lead of the drug industry, seeking and introducing new chemical solutions as answers to both medicine and beauty. Phytobiodermie® went countercurrent by using natural ingredients: blends of essential oils in bases such as algae, clays, minerals, and cereals, to which are included value added ingredients like vitamins and oligo elements. We introduced the use of light therapy, using different colors of light, as a systematic adjunct to face and body treatments. We also created the Biostimulateur,™ a unique piece of equipment to work on energetic points and reflex zones for advanced practitioners to use. Overall, our truly innovative breakthrough was the notion of working not only with matter (products) on matter (skin) but also using energetic tools to work on vital energy with energetic essential oils and light, the purest form of energy.

What I Believe

With greater demand for non-invasive treatments, I saw Phytobiodermie® very well-positioned, thanks to the Phytobiodermie® method, it's PHYTO 5® energetic skin products and energy-balancig proprietary equipment. Those natural products and energetic tools provide results in a progressive, holistic and non-invasive way.

I believe that spas can make a contribution to wellness and beauty by working on vital energy without risks and as a byproduct of generally accepted spa treatments. We feel gratified when our clients get off the table and declare, "I feel better!" This happens when the flow of vital energy is stimulated and balanced as a result of our treatments. The notion of prevention is also central to energy work. It is at the core of Phytobiodermie® not only to address skin conditions but to maintain balanced skin at its best. Our mission is to educate professionals to the possibilities of TCM and present them with the solutions we offer to spas and wellness centers.

My Story

My first career was in hotel management. My desire was to do something on my own that had some relationship to the hospitality industry. Then I became exposed to a Swiss company that was manufacturing natural skincare products with a unique method based on the energetic principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). This company was called Phytobiodermie.®

Interestingly, my father was a French medical doctor who became a doctor of TCM. As a teenager, my sprains and various ailments were treated with acupuncture and other energy medicine modalities. I was enchanted to realize that no other competitors had the approach of this company and that I had an affinity for the uniqueness of its TCM-based method. The deciding factor was my discovery of the high commitment this company had to its philosophy encapsulated in its motto:

Beauty Is Health Made Visible!

This led to the acquisition of the Swiss company in 1997. Then in 1998 we started the US distribution company which is now based in Central Florida. 

Having anticipated that the spa demand would boom, it was clear that the better hotels and resorts would look for solutions to meet customer demand while creating competitive advantages for themselves. My vision was to offer a wellness space program resting on three premises: 

• All vital energy medicines postulate that the body is not simply matter but vital energy as well.

• TCM teaches that skin conditions and body shapes are telltale signs of what is going on internally.

• Treatments and products need to be selected not only according to the needs of each individual but also with consideration for the effects of each energetic season of which there are five in TCM.

That is a unique specialty of Phytobiodermie.®

The Practical Way to Wellness

From Lao Tzu to Einstein and David Bohn, what do we learn that can help us improve our sense of wellness? The validation by Quantum physics of energy medicine principles has deep and practical applications in helping everyone feel better ─

a pre-requisite to looking good.

All energy medicines teach that the body is not simply vital matter but vital energy as well. In fact, it is more and more understood that the visible body is complemented by an invisible complex of energy fields. 

The 5 Element Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine, with philosophical roots in Taoism, offers simple guidelines to understand the energetic root cause of skin conditions, generally attributed to some aspects of vital energy out of balance. This dictates that all beauty treatments (face and body) should have a vital energy balancing element. In order to do so, the technician needs to have genuine energetic tools that are natural and holistic.

The PHYTO 5 skincare line is formulated with high-grade, natural, essential oils blended for their energetic properties. The products have been tested and proven to contribute to vital-energy balancing, according to the 5 Elements (phases or aspects) of vital energy. The products give highly satisfactory result when used according to an energetic understanding of the body. The reflexive properties of the skin make it possible for “energetic” topical products to become active in a noninvasive way, as it accesses and balances vital energy. It allows aestheticians and massage therapists to address the energetic root cause of skin problems, and of body shape. It is particularly helpful when personalizing an anti-aging regimen. 

Learn how to achieve lasting, superior, results with a strong wellness solution. Indeed, vital energy balancing is the best way to practice prevention according to all energy medicines. Visit: www.Phytobiodermie.com and www.Energetic-Skincare.com 

Mind Over Body

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, there is an ancestral knowledge that each major emotion has a seat within an organ. For example, anger is an emotion linked to liver. A chronically angry person will not, as a result, have a healthy liver even if his diet is otherwise perfect. Consequently, he may display the physical symptoms of a Wood energetic imbalance. (Please see previous posts about the season of Spring/Wood in Traditional Chinese Medicine and how we work in harmony with it in Phytobiodermie's skincare system.)

His book, Ageless Body, Timeless Mind, Deepak Chopra, M.D. tells us that it is increasingly recognized that beliefs and emotions affect the cells of specific organs, even of the entire body.

We gain balance when there is coherence between what we believe, what we think, and what we do. That is why there is a difference between various types of exercises based on the intent and focus given them during our practice. Certain exercises such as tai chi and yoga engage intent and breathing to direct energy throughout the body. At the beginning, practicing with an instructor helps to focus on the breath and every part of the body engaged in the specific position or asana. It develops intent in a conscious action. It focuses mind over body. This model can be opposed to the more traditional mode of exercising in popular health clubs where music is blasting in one's ears, not to simply provide rhythm but to get the mind off the unpleasantness of physical effort. There is voluntary disconnection between mind and body and a lost opportunity to have one exert control over the other.

To Know Harmony ...

To know harmony

is to know what’s eternal.

To know what’s eternal

is enlightenment.

Increase of life is full of portent:

the strong heart exhausts the vital breath.

The full-grown is on the edge of age.

Not the Way.

What’s not the Way soon dies.

[ Lao Tzu ]

Reflex Zones

Because of the tight network of energy channels within the body, there is a direct connection between our skin, organs and hormonal glands. Specific areas of our skin over our entire body are where specific organs or hormonal glands reflect their condition. They are the reflex zones for the organs, glands, and their corresponding functions.

Many people are aware of or have experienced reflexology in the form of a foot treatment. A reflexology-trained therapist can gently press areas on the bottom of your foot with great results of both relaxation, energy balancing and healing, but few people know that the same can be achieved by working on other parts of the body that are reflex zones as well.

Is particularly convenient since it is a place that regroups all major energies. The holistically aesthetician, and most especially one trained by Phytobiodermie, will analyze your skin and its conditions in a refreshingly new and entirely holistic way.

The additional benefits of reflexology can be included while doing a facial. It is how the energetic root-cause of many skin conditions can be addressed.

True Healing

Full wellness is not simply an absence of disease. It is a state of balance with an alignment of the hierarchy of our various selves according to our own sense of what constitutes our real and complete self. It is the result of a conscious awareness. 

All healings involve this realignment. A patient relying only on exterior factors to heal such as doctor and drugs will not improve as rapidly and as well as one who takes responsibility for her healing while simultaneously following a medical treatment. It is well to be mindful that, at all stages, before, during, and after an illness, our lifestyle and state of consciousness are factors that influence our health, well-being, and beauty.

Living from and with thoughts and emotions that emanate from our lower self generates energy that negatively affect our balance. They can also affect others around us. Conversely, when our thoughts and emotions are positive, wholesome, generous and forgiving — stemming from our higher self — generate energies that are not only beneficial to our own balance and health but also for others around us. For this reason, anyone working in a spa with a healing mission, as broadly defined as it might be, needs to be conscious of their energy, not only relative to their own well-being, but also for their impact on colleagues and clients. Self-rebalancing — physically, emotionally, mentally, and even spiritually — is very much a requirement for spa professionals if they wish to contribute to the renewal and rebalancing of their clients. This is the reason why the vocation of spa professional is such a high one when it is fully embraced.

The spas of the future will grossly fall into two categories: the traditional medical spa offering the quick-fix with invasive approaches, and the new generation of vital energy focused spas whose mission will be to renew and rejuvenate through balancing vital energy. Their treatments and other modalities will improve the mind-body realignment. For an increasing number of customers, an elite number of spas will offer more progressive and fully integrated approaches to achieving a fuller spirit-mind-body realignment. They will assume a life-coaching role and become teaching centers as well as places to practice and receive deep healing treatments.  Then beauty will naturally follow wellness — physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual — as health made visible!

The Eye Area–The First to Show Signs of Aging

The eye area is a sensitive one where signs of age manifest early. Not surprisingly, it is a very active energetic area with three meridians near the eye (bladder, stomach and gallbladder) and three meridians that end nearby (triple warmer, small intestine and large intestine). While product-only treatments can help, adding the energetic work of rebalancing all six meridians on each side is important. 

This can be very effectively accomplished by directing the color of light corresponding to each meridian to the area with Phytobiodermie's Biostimulateur™ in toning mode on all points. This energetic treatment is as good as it can get as a non-invasive and holistic treatment.

The eye-cup, a flat small glass cup used with the Biodraineur™ (drainage machine) is selected to darin the fluids around the eyes and to flatten away the small lines. There might be puffiness or dark circles under the eyes. This is a kidney reflex zone. Puffiness points to an excess of kidney energy and dark circles to a lack.

The Biostimulateur,™ thanks to its unique "disperse" and "tone" modes, is very useful in dispersing the excess of kidney energy or in toning the lack of it. It is done with the soft vibrations of the machine module tip in light contact with the skin while it is gently moved over the area. 

If It Is Good For Your Health, It Is Good For Your Skin!

Meditation can be practiced in a number of different ways...

Although it is a regular discipline for many spiritually motivated people, it can also be used in stress management, relaxation and generally, in most forms of self-healing.

Many progressive hospitals teach their patients some meditative practice because they have documented the related physical and emotional benefits.

If it is good for your health, it is good for your skin!

Our periods of mediation are antidotes to stress. They should result in a sense of calm and peace within our very core.

Anger: Potentially Just As Harmful As Viruses

Energy medicines are well aware of the facts that while we might breathe or ingest toxic substances our bodies can also be poisoned slowly but surely by our negative emotions. For that reason, we need to accept responsibility for our state of mind.

This conscious action is a major step toward wellness (physical and emotional health). 

Modern life is a constant source of stress–a permanent attack on our system.

While we might frequently live through a wide range of emotions, any negative emotion maintained for prolonged periods of time are just as harmful as viruses. Our livers can be just as poisoned by anger as by harmful eating and drinking habits.

Become conscious of your state of mind and practice getting away from negative emotions. A walk in the park, a talk with a good friend, or listening to soothing music are healing activities. 

Also consider some form of meditation. Many spas today even offer emotional detox programs.

Cleanse!

Eating the right food and exercising aren't all that are required to achieve and maintain ultimate vitality. Our intake of nutrients needs to be assimilated to become useful to the body and its waste must be eliminated. Unfortunately, a certain amount of what we eat might not get digested. It's frightening to think that undigested food stays in our gut and slowly putrefies as it accumulates! It clutters the system and reduces our ability to assimilate and to eliminate properly.

All this contributes to poor skin condition and will likely affect our body shape in addition to our health.

The term 'colon' is often used as a synonym for the large intestine. More properly, it is a part of the large intestine and ends at the anus. Burton Goldberg Group's Alternative Medicine Guide states:

"The colon along with the skin, kidneys and lungs, is a major organ for eliminating body waste."

This awareness points to the need to pay attention to the way your body eliminates and not simply focus on how to nourish it.

The older we get, the more we need internal cleansing. It is logical to start with the part of the system closest to the exit. Any blockage in the colon area will affect the elimination capacity of any other organ involved in assimilation and elimination. There is a variety of ways to flush the colon. They are worth reviewing with a naturopath. Some of those ways, such as a colonic irrigation, are offered at some wellness centers.

Other organs like the liver and gallbladder also benefit from periodic flushes. They can be simply induced by taking natural products over a short period of time. They are best done during the energetic season corresponding to the energy of the organs. For example, it would be during the spring (Wood element) for liver and gallbladder. In general, the best period for a colonic flush is the energetic fall because the large intestine belongs to the Metal element.

Some people recommend fasting as a means to achieve a general internal cleanse. That is best done according to the guidance of a trained practitioner. Certain spas and wellness centers specialize in cleansing cures of three to seven days or more. 

For more on this subject, consult The Detox Diet by Elson M. Haas, MD

Vital Nutrition Is Not Only Making the Right Choice of Food–It is HOW We Choose to Eat It

There is the danger of eliminating the vital and nutritional qualities of food in the cooking process. For many types of food, cooking improves the taste and the taste becomes the driving force in our practice of food prep. As a result, we lose track of our other objective–proper and vital nutrition.

In many cases, it is best to eat raw food. In others, we can improve texture and taste by breaking down rough fiber with a blender. High powered blenders are best. They allow for the preparation of tasteful smoothies mixing many different food elements. By making smoothies, we can add pleasant tasting food with what we need that might not necessarily be pleasant tasting.

If you're going to cook, use low heat because it does not substantially alter nutrients–in particular, necessary enzymes. High heat such as broiling, barbecuing and deep fat frying are medically recognized as dangerous. Worst is food cooked in a microwave oven because it so deeply modifies the molecular structure of food and beverages.

Symphony of Interdependence

The energies of the five seasons affect all things including your body and skin conditions. The workings of the five elements became the subject of a very detailed Law of the Five Elements with application to every domain. In the Western world that "law" is more skeptically referred to as the Theory of the Five Elements or Five Phases.

"In Taoist thought, the Five Elements are more than basic constituents of nature; they are aspects of the whole that a describe the energetic laws that govern both Nature and humans. Most important, they are specific adaptive and transformative attributes of the cycle of qi energy that defines the physical, emotional and spiritual state of the individual." (Moss 20)

J. R. Worsley (1923-2003), credited with bringing Five Element Acupuncture to the West said, "Every living thing and person is a unique embodiment and combination of the Five Elements."

The Five Elements are interdependent in each person, uniquely, including the movement of chi (qi) energy from the moment of birth to the moment of death, from sunrise to sundown and all through the night, and throughout the seasons of the year. In this symphony of interdependence, each person is able to meet (or not depending on the level of balance in this interdependence) his or her life challenges on a daily basis.

Moss, Charles A. Power of the Five Elements: The Chinese Medicine Path to Healthy Aging and Stress Resistance. Berkeley: North Atlantic, 2010. Print.

Roots of TCM (What is TCM, Anyway?)

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has ancient roots and evolved during an era when the metaphysical beliefs of Taoism prevailed in China and therefore it was influenced by Taoist beliefs and related cultural implications.

Taoists believed that to live harmoniously, man needs to be in accord with the energetic laws of nature. They saw a strong parallel between the cycles of nature (the days and the seasons) and the life cycle of man.

They also believed that man functions as a small individual ecosystem within a large cosmic ecosystem. The Taoism symbol is the well-known Yin and Yang shapes that together form a perfect circle, a symbol of eternal harmony.

As TCM involved, it came to include acupuncture, reflexology, herbal prescriptions, dietary principles, massage, and specific exercises such as tai chi, a gentle form of martial arts sometimes called shadowboxing.

Traders, missionaries and diplomats who visited Asia, particularly during the 18th and 19th centuries, returned home with reports of these classical practices. During the 19th century, waves of Chinese immigrants to the United States and Europe brought these traditions to their new countries and Westerners began to notice their positive results.

France and Great Britain, particularly, became well-informed of traditional Chinese medicine principles as a result of their colonial excursions during this period, yet it was not until the late 1970s, when Pres. Nixon opened diplomatic and cultural relations with Communist China, that the United States medical community became exposed to TCM. In the meantime, well aware of the benefits of energy medicines, Europeans were getting reimbursed by their Social Security and health insurance for such treatments.

Far Eastern concepts of vital energy are now getting broader recognition in North America as reflected by the popularity of acupuncture, herbal medicines, therapeutic exercise such as tai chi, yoga, and the more frequent Ayurvedic treatments in spas. The spa industry's continued exploration of new therapies for wellness and skincare creates renewed possibilities for TCM to flourish in aesthetics and wellness.

Take advantage of spas and wellness clinics offering TCM therapies. The higher the demand for such time-tested and proven therapies, the greater the opportunity the American healthcare system will eventually come to embrace it.