Innovative Phytobiodermie Technology Beautifies!

The Biodraineur™ (drainage machine) offers the possibility to incorporate a lymph drainage of your face and neck. The drainage takes place at the end of the first phase of the Basic Nine Step Phyto Facial.

The result is immediately visible and you will feel it as well.

When the Chromapuncteur™ (light machine) is used, the basic facial is enhanced in these exciting ways:

• your chakras (energy centers) are energized during each phase of treatment;
• a very beneficial lymph or energetic drainage is performed after the first mask;
• the Color Clay Mask treatment is energized with complementary light;
• select acupuncture points are addressed with the Chromapuncteur™ and/or the Biostimulator™ while you receive the clay mask treatment;
• wrinkles and the area around your eyes are addressed.

By receiving a treatment on just one half of the face, a very remarkable difference becomes visible and even felt.

Easy, Enjoyable, Effective, Non-Invasive Facelift!

BEFORE              AFTER

The Chromalift™ is the treatment for which Phytobiodermie received a Prize for Innovation at the 1998 Paris Beauty and Spa Trade Show. In addition to the Phyto 5™ products, it requires the use of at least two pieces of Phytobiodermie proprietary equipment: the Biodraineur™ (drainage machine) and the Chromapuncteur™ (light machine).

The Chromalift™ is a state-of-the-art treatment, a non-invasive facelift that is a very reasonable alternative to invasive modalities. It gives visible results after one treatment, but it is intended as a series of five although an abbreviated series of these is possible. 

It is recommended to let one to two days elapse between treatments in order to let the energetic work unfold before the next session. A series of five treatments based on the Five Elements provide pronounced results. The desirable effects of a series should be maintained on an ongoing basis by receiving a booster treatment–the Water facial or the Chromalift.™

A Good Drainage: Instantly Visible Beauty Results!

Bath therapy is an excellent and pleasant way to stimulate fluids for health and beauty. Phytobiodermie™ developed a number of bath additives to mix and hot bath water. Some of the additives are based on algae extract and others are oil-based. In both cases, they include natural essential oils that provide an excellent aromatherapy element and enhance the experience. The bath should last 15 to 20 minutes and be followed by a period of rest of 10 to 15 minutes in a lounging chair well wrapped in a long bathrobe or in towels to continue to promote detoxification and relaxation.

Massages are also recommended as a means to move fluids. Specially trained lymphatic therapists can do a very light and extremely slow massage targeting lymph. A good manual requires the rhythm of the movement to be painstakingly slow and the pressure extremely light requiring a sustained focus and significant effort by the therapist. A full body manual drainage takes well over one hour and a half of hard work. The Phytobiodermie™ Biodraineur™ (drainage machine) is a very practical alternative. The machine is steady, fast and tireless. It is also less demanding on the therapist although as effective when using the Biodraineur.™ The different rhythms of suction of the machine help target the various fluids. A more advanced and reliable way is when the Biodraineur™ is combined with the Chromapuncteur™ (light machine0 as we will review in future posts.

Although there are a few contraindications for lymph drainage, it is safe to say that as a generality most people would benefit from regular drainage, particularly the Earth type. A good drainage gives instantly visible results making lymphatic drainage a worthwhile spa treatment. It can be part of a facial taking an additional 10 minutes or can be offered as a specific body treatment of under an hour when using the equipment.

Water, Like Lymph

70% of the bodyweight is water. Cells are full of water and both blood and lymph are partly water. Unlike blood, water has no pump to move it around. Like lymph, water circulates because of gravity and body movement including breathing. If nothing else, this makes a strong case for being physically active and ensuring good breathing practices. Problems of water retention arise from poor water circulation. Lack of exercise can be mitigated by massage moving fluids throughout the body.

Water also has an energetic quality. Recent studies, particularly in Japan, show that the water molecules change their appearance according to various stimuli be they chemical or even emotional. For more on this subject, read The Hidden Messages in Water by Masaru Emoto.

Emoto, Masaru. The Hidden Messages in Water. Hillsboro, Or.: Beyond Words Pub., 2004. Print.

The Lymphatic System: So Important for Beauty and Health!

Lymphatic drainage can be incorporated in all facial and body treatments.

The lymphatic drainage is particularly recommended for pre-and post-surgery and always in all slimming and contouring treatments.

The proper lymphatic drainage must follow specific pathways in order to be effective.

Contraindications are few but important to respect. Licensed technicians are taught to be alert to them.

The application by the therapist of Phytobiodermie™ blends of essential oils such as the Balancing Esserine improves the movement of fluid and optimizes the results of drainage!

Unlike blood circulation that is assured by the heart, the movement of lymph is mostly the result of body movement and of breathing thanks to the attendant movement of the diaphragm. The diaphragm is the large muscle that separates the upper part of the thorax where heart and lungs are from the lower part where digestive and eliminating organs are.s.

A poorly performing lymph system includes insufficient movement of fluids and accumulation of cellular waste creating undesirable aesthetic conditions and potential health problems. Poor breathing, aging, and a physically inactive lifestyle, contribute to sluggish lymph circulation and inadequate purification of tissues. Poor diet, smoking, and pollution are aggravating factors. In addition, some people have a tendency to have a more toxic body condition than other people, what TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) refers to as an Earth condition or imbalance.

The Most Valuable Cleanse: Lymphatic Drainage

Lymph does not flow from the pumping of the heart. It moves by gravity, body movement, and breathing. Without a heart like pump, he lives can be subject to erratic and lazy flowing.

The importance of lymph and its role as part of the immune system received little recognition until the early 1930s when European doctors and therapists began to focus on it. The medical community by and large paid little attention, but professionals of the esthetics field did take notice. Progressively, but surely, lymphatic drainage became a systematic part of both face and body treatments in Europe. In this case, the drainage is simply a stimulation of the natural lymph movement within the body. It is worth repeating that no lymph is removed from the body in a lymphatic drainage. Nevertheless, the term can be intimidating when encountered for the first time.

Lymph is a part of the normal detoxification process. It plays the role of a waste removal and disposal system. It is critical to our defensive response to foreign bodies. It has a major responsibility to maintain healthy connective tissues.

The lymphatic system is also involved in fat absorption and removal. It is an additional reason for all slimming treatments to incorporate lymphatic drainage. The drainage is a specific massage by hand or with specialized equipment which stimulates lymph movement.

Lymphatic drainage aids in the treatment of virtually all skin conditions and improves both health and appearance of all skin types. As the treatment increases lymphatic flow, it also improves the flow of all fluids at and immediately below skin level. As a result, blood circulation also increases to the area with the attendant benefit of increased delivery of nutrients to the dermis and epidermis as well as acceleration of the removal of waste products and toxins all of which are most desirable effects.

Part Two: How to Achieve Proper Fluid Movement in the Body for Health and Beauty with Lymphatic Drainage

The lymphatic pathways of the lymph system are close to and parallel to the venous system throughout the body. The lymph system is present in every tissue of the body except the brain and the spinal cord. Because of its cleansing function, as well as the production of white blood cells in the lymph nodes, the lymph system is very much an active part of the immune system. The white blood cells are natural killer cells protecting the body from viruses, bacteria, chemicals, fungi, parasites, and allergic inflammation. Its role is essential for both health and beauty.

Understanding of the lymph system and its functions clearly points to the reasons why lymphatic drainage is important. We think of it as a major bridge between health and beauty both for face and body. Consequently, it is an important aspect of Phytobiodermie™ treatment protocols.

How to Achieve Proper Fluid Movement in the Body for Health and Beauty: Part One

The body is full of fluids. We get a sense of how complex and extensive the major fluid circulation system is when we learn that it contains ten billion capillaries extending in all the body tissues. Over 70% of our body weight is from fluids. Only a small part of it, arterial and venous blood, is tightly channeled and activated by the heart, a relentless pump-like organ. Water and lymph are more ambient and less channeled. They are activated only indirectly by breathing and movement. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), there are five major and critical fluids. Each one depends on the energy corresponding to one of the five elements. Four of the fluids are clearly matter (red blood, blue blood, lymph and water), but the fluid of the Wood element is simply energy. You could say it is the energy of the energy. Without Wood energy nothing happens! That is why, in any series of treatments, in TCM esthetics, the Wood treatment is the first one we do. It ensures that the initiating energy is balanced before going on to the other four fluids.

The five fluids are:

For Wood: Energy

For Fire: Red (arterial) blood

For Earth: Lymph

For Metal: Blue (venous) blood

For Water: Water

The proper flow of fluids depends on the proper flow of energy. Proper fluid movement is of major importance both for health and esthetics.

Toward Fuller Spirit–Mind–Body Realignment

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!

Ideal Alignment

For people who see humans as a trilogy – body/mind/spirit – there is the opportunity to establish a hierarchy whereby both body and mind are tools at the service of a superior entity, the spirit within, as our individual and unique expression. There are many exercises and disciplines that have demonstrated that mind has control over body. It is only spiritual discernment that confirms that spirit has dominion over mind, therefore the natural hierarchy of commands is from spirit to mind and from mind to body.

That hierarchy is congruent with the order of the energetic field of the vibrational body from the causal to the mental, then to the emotional, then to the ethereal, and finally to the physical or solid field. The body's intelligence is its instincts; in the emotional realm there are feelings spontaneously enveloping us. The mind's intelligence is the intellect. For the soul, the spiritual center of our higher self, it is spirit which operates as a higher form of intuition that can reach us in a flash. Mystics call this revelation. It is a knowing without process.

The ideal alignment of our centers of activity and modes of being occurs when the spirit takes charge directly, of mind and indirectly, through mind of the body. It is the ultimate achievement for any conscious being who subscribes to having a spiritual dimension. Human alienation stems from conditions that arise as a result of an ignorance of this cosmic reality. It is also the source of most medical problems and relational conflicts. They all reflect on our face and body. The need to gain perspective and dominion over what we feel and think is a part of our spiritual evolution. It is also a practice that benefits our health.

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.

The Profound Meaning of BODY, MIND and SPIRT

There are many commercial entities using the words body, mind, and spirit, particularly in the booming spa, wellness and retreat industry as if it communicated a reality evident to all. The terms make for almost impossible combination to decipher.  Yet, it seems to mean something to a lot of people. Intuitively, there is an acceptance of a reality worth knowing more about that could yield benefit for our state of wellness.

Clearly, the body is the easiest part to define although it includes many mechanisms that still escape clear comprehension. Nevertheless, it is the visible part of the individual and consequently that which most people accept as their real self. The five senses are the critical portals through which we experience the world. All our perceptions originate through our body.

The mind is a faculty with which we become acquainted later in our childhood. For some, its activity becomes so important as they grow into teenagers or young adults that they think of themselves mostly as a thinking entity. They see the body as what includes, protects, and carries around the brain.

Our Western civilization has a long-standing philosophical tradition that sees man as two parts: the visible body and the invisible mind. In eastern religions and philosophies, there is the view that man has a third and critical part that is also invisible – the spirit. For them, the nature of man is that of a trilogy.

In the West, the term soul is often considered similar to the term spirit, but for most, there is a muddy notion that the soul has to do with emotions. In reality, emotions are a byproduct of the activity of our mind and body. Many people live from their center of emotions just as others live from their physical center or their intellectual center as if that were there real and exclusive self.

Emotions stem from the body's experiences and it's mental interpretation. As a result, emotions are closely related to our body of which they are an extension. This notion is increasingly accepted by a growing part of the medical community. All emotions, pain in particular, are recorded at the cellular level. There is also evidence that mental pain and anguish have an impact on the body as if it were a bodily pain. Many massage therapists have experienced how their work might trigger an involuntary emotional reaction on the part of their customer such as unexplainable cries and sorrows revealed. This occurs as there is a release of some painful events stored in the body that has created a number of emotional and physical blockages.

More on how this applies to Traditional Chinese Medicine and YOU in tomorrow's post!

Internationally Known Green and Healthy Living Expert Sophie Uliano Reviews Ageless La cure Skincare Line

Sophie Uliano, left

by Sophie Uliano from her blog of 2/19/2015

Ageless La Cure sounds like something we all need, right? This anti-aging solution from Phyto5 is uber natural and holistic and comprises of a 3 week “cure” serum and moisturizer. I’m impressed by the ingredients that this Swiss company have chosen to formulate with. They use a natural botanical version of every ingredient we need for keeping our skins supple and glowing. For example, as an AHA (essential for daily exfoliation), they use tropical fruits such as mango, banana, and mombin plump. And they use Edelweiss and Algae for dealing with pigmentation due to sun damage. The products are very lightly scented with carefully chosen essential oils.

This is what Jon Canas, President and CEO of Ageless La Cure says:

“The skin as a vital organ cannot be excessively stripped, mechanically or with acids, injected with chemicals, cut, stretched and sewn, without consequences. Likewise, what you eat, drink, breathe, and how you exercise your body, or not, will have consequences on your health as much as on your skin. Skincare is caring for your entire body. That is why it is truly a holistic proposition. Anything else is a shortcut with potentially undesirable consequences.”

These are definitely products that pair beautifully with my Gorgeous for Good program!

6 Simple Springtime Exercises Anyone Can Do to Live in Concert with the Season

The seasons change. We change. When we move outside the laws of nature, or resist change, we encounter difficulty. If we learn to live within these laws we will know health as our friend. 

Here are 6 simple Springtime exercises positively anyone can do to live in concert with the season...

1. Do a liver cleanse. For a simple exercise, see YouTube video below.
2. Throw out the chaos: get rid of the mounds of paper and stuff you just don't need or ever use.
3. Let go of what happened in the past. It's just not worth it. 
4. Turn over a new leaf with your diet. It's time to eat fresh living greens and cut out white sugar and white flour. Eat in concert with the season!
5. In harmony with Spring rains, drink more water!
6. Venture outside the ordinary and try something new.

Holland Blogger Reviews Phyto 5™ Skincare

Check out what Jannicke from Holland (pictured above) has to say about Phyto 5™ skincare on her fashion, beauty and lifestyle blog called "Let's Have a Kiki."

Give Your Liver a Much Needed Spring Cleaning with Tree Shake Exercise

Spring is the season of renewal and though Spring officially begins on March 21 in the West, the Chinese feel that Spring energetically begins with the Chinese New Year. No matter which day we designate to launch the season of Spring, the energy is the same: new beginnings, fresh starts, rebirth, Spring cleaning and cleansing.

Spring's yin organ is Liver and the season signals it's time for a gentle liver cleanse.

Give Your Liver a Much Needed Spring Cleaning... Do the "Tree Shake" Exercise! 

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 ]

5 Ways to Thrive from the Good Energies of the Chinese New Year of the Blue Sheep

1) Take a moment to stop and visualize a reed bending in the wind. Affirm that you, too, are just as strong yet flexible, able to confidently handle whatever comes your way.

2) The Blue Sheep know how to have a solitary moment, literally blending into rock faces when necessary. After a hectic day, call on Blue Sheep's energy to share the feeling of stillness with you. Breathe it in and smile.

3) When a problem confronts, learn from it and move on. Don't belabor it. Know that you've embraced the lesson and there's no need to dwell on it anymore.

4) When you've got a big task to accomplish, stay in the moment-to-moment of it. Take it just one step at a time.

5) Practice being creative. If you've forgotten how, start anywhere doing anything that's the least bit creative. Build on that accomplishment by finding another creative discovery and then another one. They don't have to big and grandiose. Just a little here and there and soon you'll find your creative nature blossoming just like the Spring bringing you all the abundance promised by the good numerology of 2015.

A Practical Approach to Improve our Sense of 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. 

Lao-Tzu

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