I don't watch the news and read very little of the newspaper.  I choose not to be part of the fear and lack that most news stories focus on.  That doesn't mean I don't know what's going on.  It's very easy to tap into the pulse of our economic times, political adventures and other news worthy stories because it's everywhere.  It's amazing how much I know without even trying.  And that's how I like it, I dip my toe into the flow of what's happening without jumping in and getting swept away by the current.  I am able to keep my focus on what makes a positive difference in my life and move forward without being caught up in the drama swirling all around me.  As I've gotten older, I find drama extremely fatiguing and chose not to engage as I am able.

Another factor that makes a huge difference in our lives, is that my husband and I created a living space that feels uplighting, inspiring, safe, and nuturing.   We incorporated chi enhancers with music, colors, smells, objects, furnishings and art that are chosen to create a vibe of health, abundance and well-being.  For example, in my office I have painted the walls a color that is very uplifting to me, hung art that I made myself, arranged the furniture to keep "chi" flowing easily, address clutter, play music while I work (when possible), light incense and candles regularly, added live plants, and placed meaningful objects on my office altar that includes a small fountain.  Over time, my husband and I did the same thing in our entire home. It's taken about eight years, and the payoff has been immeasurable.

The result of our diligent and purposeful creation of all our rooms, is we are refreshed and rejuvenated by our home.  Then, we are better able to be our best "out" in the world doing our work.  Our home supports us in every way, physically, emotional, mentally and spiritually.  It's like eating specific food in preparation for a running marathon.  The proper food provides the fuel in a vital, efficient way to best run in the race.  The same is true in our physical environments.  Our homes provide fuel for our bodies so we can operate efficiently and effectively "out" there.  I call that creating sacred space.  Creating space that honors our body temple on all levels.  Our sacred space can also provide rejuvenation, inspiration, etc. to all who spend time there.  It's a gift we give to ourselves and others.  Especially now with all the craziness happening all around us.

We deserve it and so do you.

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Steve goes on in the article to state, "But a little tech subtraction can add up to the weekend experience you really want, creating a sense of togetherness in what might some might consider a poorly equipped vacation house."   We have owned and operated another property, Casa Viva, for about 7 years. We have watched guests go through a process of detoxing from the need to be connected all the time.  You see them pacing, as if they have forget something or something has forgotten them.  Then eventually they sit, still, for a moment or maybe longer and they peer out farther than the distance between them and a screen (either in their hand or on a desk) and they see nature. They see the iguana basking in the sun of a nearby rock, the pelicans diving for fish in the shore just beyond, the fisherman tossing his net out to sea, and the moment grabs them and they reconnect.  Mr. Bailey, thank you for confirming our basic assumptions behind the design of Playa Viva.

The conductor nods us off the trolley and into the future.  We nod back into moments still undecided.  Smiles cease to be tools and become the bay windows they always were.  Ahead, on the side of the tavern, a girl paints a tropical mural from the higher rungs.  She includes the greenhouse architecture so we know she has nothing but truth for us.  I have nothing but truth for her as I keep my smile and this steady gait, through the parking lot splattered with green paints and into the post office lot.  Nothing is behind or in front of me.  Nothing is above or below.  I hold my breath under this water and watch the soft float and turn of things.  I am not going anywhere soon.  I will be here for a while. 

Neighbors are out, too, collecting the mail, walking the dog, just standing in the block of grass by the sidewalk--anything to break the mold of the day.  I nod, I close my eyes, I revel.  I do my best to forget that there are things like molds, things unbendable and cold.  I do my best to warm up to the late evening sun, even though it will soon go. 

You will go soon, too.  I don't doubt it.  This calm water is nothing more than a holding tank for us.  I know it to be true.  And soon it is off to the midwest, off to the Appalachians, off to different countries, family, the turbulence of the new instead of the calm of what is here.  I never looked the adventurous type to you, I know, I know, but for some there is a period of recovery necessary before re-entry into the wild.  I have been floating, been staring intently around.  Soon I will be ready.  Soon I will follow you into a place that longs for sun.  I have dreamed of it for so long.  It won't be long until we race into uncharted time.

I'm getting clear that weekends can be like mini-vacations for me. A time to relax and rejuvenate. In Stephen Covey's language, a time to sharpen the saw.

Today was successful in that respect. I chose from a place of feeling. "What do I feel like doing now?"

And I enjoyed the day.

This is a remembrance of an Ideal that was once born out of the fire of sacrifices. An Ideal that became free after crawling out of the jail of bondages. Spurred on by the vision of the founding fathers, an Ideal that found its feet on the sands of service.

That is the Ideal of ‘Peace with Prosperity’ – the Ideal of India.

Ever since, the Ideal has been sprinting towards the sky of perfection. Mustering every ounce of courage, the Ideal has been participating in a strange race. A race without the customary finishing line, a race where there are no competitors. Of course, the stadium of life is full, and the applause is immediate. But, the race is never-ending, and giving up running is the only way to lose.

In this race, the Ideal has covered 61 miles. 61 long miles that may seem miniscule in the face of infinity. However, the Ideal is tired and hungry.

The commitment is there, but the shoes of passion have worn out. Nevertheless, there is hope of reaching the next milestone because with every mile covered, the Ideal gets a timeout. A time not for rest or rejuvenation, rather a brief moment to look back at the path traversed, to rewind the journey in the mind’s eye, and to reaffirm the will to run again.

In such moments, the Ideal is often helped by some familiar entity in the crowd. This time a Historian, who was keeping track of her journey, chose to descend from the stands armed with a Big Blue Book in his hands. Quickly, he shuffled the pages to the very first chapter in the Book on which was written – ‘The Most Significant Achievement Ever’. The Historian went on to read:

“She is free today. She has to run. Only if she runs, can she win. Only if she wins, she will live. Only if she lives, can peace and prosperity live. And what a remarkable life that will be. Like her, many others will be inspired to be free and to run and to win and to live. The people in the stadium are there only because peace and prosperity are living. By keeping peace and prosperity alive, she has allowed freedom to survive.”

A whistle blew and it was time to continue the race. Suddenly, the Historian tore that page from the Book and handed it over to the Ideal with an unusual instruction – “It may sound awkward, but you must read this page backward”. Saying this, he started walking towards the stands.

The Ideal was confused and flustered. While jogging at a snail’s pace, she read out the page from the end to the beginning:

“By keeping peace and prosperity alive, she has allowed freedom to survive. The people in the stadium are there only because peace and prosperity are living. Like her, many others will be inspired to be free and to run and to win and to live. And what a remarkable life that will be. Only if she lives, can peace and prosperity live. Only if she wins, she will live. Only if she runs, can she win. She has to run. She is free today.”

It made sense to her – the beginning was also the end.

Within a second, the entire journey of 61 miles flashed before her eyes. Now, the Ideal felt her whole being vibrate with the same bliss that had engulfed her when she had begun this race. She was liberated for the second time.

The passion was back again. The passion to run and conquer the tiredness and hunger within. As the Ideal gained speed, she waved at the enthusiastic crowd who was cheering her lovingly. Her eyes were searching for the Historian.

He had disappeared, but in her hand was the page that she had folded multiple times. Now, her feet were pounding the ground with an intensity unmatched even by her heartbeat.

Lo and behold, the Ideal of ‘Peace with Prosperity’ had sprouted wings. The Ideal of India was ready to fly.

climate- ?- Heresy! My mother would have a fit!! ‘Did you die? When was that?

Nobody told me, your sister didn’t call.’ I hear her voice in the far reaches of my mind. Yes, mother, I answer back silently, yet equally as loudly. ‘There is value in not working’. For a short time, at least.

I have taken 5 days, for the first time since 1987, in which I am doing nothing…well not nothing, I did go to a few art galleries, and a few restaurants, had a pedicure and did a bit of shopping. I will spend 3 days with my niece and some family while attending her graduation from the University. But I have unplugged myself from work, ie: no laptop, no email, no electronic nada…well, except my cell phone. After all, the kids might want to chat. I have dropped myself off into one of my favorite cities, and plan to continue to do more of nothing. Dead silence was all I heard from the other side of my mind. Mother was trying to find something nice to say; in the meantime, she said nothing at all. I wonder if there will ever be a day when my mother no longer lives inside my head.

‘Well’, the disapproving voice finally found what she thought was something nice to say,

‘I suppose you should start to slow down, now, at your age and all’. Nice. But that’s not how I learned the value of not working.

As a writer, I write all the time. I usually have 3-5 scripts going at once, a few outlines for some novella or essay, and there is always some crazy, bizarre happenstance that I come across in my travels. Like the time in…sorry…we’ll save that one for later.

My friends often ask how I can keep everything straight. To me, it is as easy as a phone conversation. ‘You don’t get only one phone call in a day, do you?’ I ask. ‘No’ comes the reluctant response. ‘It makes sense when you put it that way’. ‘Call my mother’ I plead of them.

So, when I was challenged by a dear friend, whom I will leave anonymous for sake of brevity, to do nothing for a week, I couldn’t back down. Although I did negotiate a 5 day week as opposed to that traditional 7 day one. So, here I am….doing nothing… but… writing. I guess I’ve lost the bet.

Oh well, I did make it through a day and three quarters. And in that time I managed to have a small epiphany; I have learned the value of not working.

Mani/pedi’s and all meals out are luxuries I don’t allow myself often enough. So, the first day was a breeze. Quite enjoyable actually. Day two took a bit more concentration. As I sat staring out at the beautiful skyline before me from the 37^th floor of my somewhat swank hotel room, I pondered all the things that I wasn’t doing and how I was going to get through the challenge, let alone the next 4 days.

I paced about for a little while before reprimanding my senseless silliness-‘Get to it! You’re here to relax, now go out there, and enjoy yourself!’. As you can see, Mother is never far from home.

So, off I went to the galleries, more yummy lunch, and the park. Honestly, this wasn’t

so bad. I, indeed, was enjoying myself. The park was full of the city’s inhabitants, moms and their babies picnicking, young couples catching every moment of their lunch time together, others still working at their laptops while they ate, as well as the homeless. Being an ardent observer of social action, I could not help but to wonder.

I wonder about all kinds of things, but today, at the park, I was wondering about all the

homeless folks sitting about doing a lot of nothing. Well, not really nothing, some were panhandling. Some were eating; some were basking in the sun. There was one ol’ gal buzzing about like the busiest bee in the hive, collecting aluminum cans out of all the trash bins. She had such an intensity about her work. Such a sense of urgency, as if she had to complete her task before the day’s end. A deadline.

My mind wondered about the paradox before me, wrapped in that enigma. What is it that makes someone work, with such intensity and others not at all?

My Mother, being decidedly old school, never has much patience for the homeless. A choice she feels that should never be an option. ‘One can always work’ she’d end the conversation. My views tend to be a bit less Victorian. ‘Perhaps it wasn’t a choice, perhaps things happened, that were beyond their control’. ‘Nonsense, there is always a choice’ I could never engage her curiosity, she was always so unyielding. I stopped trying.

Luckily, I never stopped being curious about the world I share with so many fascinating others. The industrious, the indolent, the sublime, the obvious, the mediocre, the gifted and everything in between.

It was then that I realized that we all work, in our own way. Gathering cans, sunshine or words. And, that I love to work. That my work isn’t really work because it provides so much joy for me. Why then would I ever not want to do it? Yet, the only way to this epiphany was through the hours that I’d spent not working. And thus, in this most seemingly round about way, I learned the value of not working.

I didn’t lose the bet, and I’m sure that my darling girlfriend knew this all along. I won insight, and with that insight came the knowledge that I enjoy a level of freedom that many do not share. I enjoy a freedom to express my self through my work in a creative and rewarding manner that is most enjoyable to me.

I found more of myself that day then I had in a long time. I discovered that I am an industrious soul, much like the ol’gal collecting cans and if our roles were reversed,

we would still behave as we are behaving; industriously. And that is not such a bad thing.

So, after graciously letting me off the hook, my girlfriend reminded me to take a day off now and then. Just so I can remember why I love to work so much and how lucky I am to be able to do so.

So, before you baulk at the idea, take a moment to ensure that you understand these four pre-requisites which will help to make the retreat experience as beneficial as it can be.

You deserve it.

People can talk until they are blue in the face, but you have to believe that you deserve some time in a special place to nurture yourself before you can embark on setting up and committing to a personal retreat.

Day in and day out, year after year, whatever the weather, however miserable you feel with the flu or any number of life's discomforts, you get up each morning and put your hand to the wheel of your responsibilities.

That alone is enough to warrant regular peaceful times to step away from the rush and give yourself over to the nurturing of your body, your mind and your spirit. It is in that place, your personal haven that you enrich yourself to give your best in other areas of your life, and you deserve that.

You need it.

Are you willing to dispel the “super woman” myth and own up to the fact that you a human being with limitations? That is a start.

You see, your mind, your body and your spirit have their own signals to let you know that your nearing or have reached your time and energy limits. Your mind may slip into overdrive, taking you on a wild ride with disjointed and lost thoughts and blank moments. Your motor skills lose their usual speed, your muscles grow weary, your joints hurt and stress headaches are a daily feature. Plus, when your spirit no longer responds to inspiration, your hand slips out of God's hand and prayer vanishes from your days, you know you need to slow down or stop completely. You know that you are at the end of your mental, physical and spiritual rope and you need to flee to a quiet place, your personal retreat to give yourself some time and attention and ready yourself to resume the normal run of your daily life.

It is very common for people, especially women, to ignore these signals. Don’t be like one of them. Don’t ignore the signs that signal you need time in your personal space.

How you will use it.

To some people, a retreat represents time away from home and people, a spa experience, even if only for exterior pampering. To others it may mean a day at the beach with family and friends, a few hours at the mall, shopping and watching a movie. Then there those who would give just about anything for just half an hour, reading or writing in bed, in their favorite chair, on the porch, lounging in a hammock in the garage, puttering in their garden, and so on.

How you choose to use your retreat is entirely up to you. After all it is your space and your time. You have your own needs, your own dreams, your own preference.

However you use your personal retreat make sure that you expand your mind, relax and rejuvenate your body, resuscitate your spirit. Bask in the possibilities of your dreams, explore your creativity.

Make sure too, that when you leave your personal space, you are fully refreshed and re-energized and back on track with the things and people that are important to you.

When you will begin.

Even if you don’t have all the elements immediately available to set up your ideal personal retreat, you should schedule the first session as soon as possible. Don’t wait for the perfect time; it may never come on its own. You have to take responsibility for spending time there. Take the initiative; set aside the time and use it as you planned.

One of the similarities of our lives is that our days are hectic and full of responsibilities beyond our time and energy supplies. Yet, each of our lifestyles is different and that dictates the time we have or the time we can allot to the enjoyment of our personal retreats.

After surveying all the demands that clamor for your attention, find your ideal time. It may mean re-prioritizing your duties to give your retreat time a more prominent position on your To Do list. Or you might have to take more drastic action and remove some of the commitments that eat up every spare moment you have.

Identify a date, write it down and begin.

You make time for others. You fit them in even when you don’t have time. Give yourself the same attention. You don’t say “No” to people. Don’t continue to say “No” to yourself. Are you prepared for a personal retreat? If you know the four facts outlined above, you are indeed ready. Whatever it takes, make the sacrifices and the compromise, set aside the time and prepare to reap the benefits of your personal retreat.

Rejuvenation began in 1977 as an architectural salvage shop in a derelict North Portland saloon. Jim Kelly, who still owns the privately held company, began the business with $1,000 and an eye for discarded architectural treasures. When business was slow, Kelly rebuilt vintage light fixtures found amidst the castoffs. Demand for the fixtures grew until eventually Kelly began manufacturing period-authentic lighting in his Portland factory for customers throughout the United States.

 

Today, Rejuvenation is America's largest manufacturer and leading direct marketer of authentic reproduction lighting and house parts. Rejuvenation products are made-to-order and sold through the company's catalogue, website, and retail stores in Portland, Ore. and Seattle, Wash.”

More about the company history…

Given their ties to the Arts & Crafts movement which has had the concept of sustainability and appreciation of quality materials infused in its value system for over 100 years, I wanted to understand more about what their thoughts were on this “new fangled ‘green’ movement.” Below are some of the Q&A’s from that conversation.

What is Rejuvenation’s philosophy on sustainability?

Rejuvenation has been reticent to talk about how we operate or participate in the “larger world” or to the customer because we’ve been sensitive to companies that greenwash.

Side bar: Greenwashing is a relatively new term for me, as I’m just getting into this subject. But I can understand what he is talking about. When you see things like Monsanto talking about how green they are….you have to pause a moment. Check this out.

It’s difficult to come up with a message that makes sense when you are in the middle of it (the creation of something). Craftsmanship is a component of that in what we do. For us, the sustainability aspect has its roots in liberal politics. Jim is a fairly left leaning person and has built a business that reflects his values and interests.

At its core, Rejuvenation is a manufacturer and gets regulated so we have to keep track of the environmental impacts. We have always been aware of the environmental side of things. We’re in a an unusual position in that the engineering manger is the environmental & safety officer—so there isn’t much of a sell job necessary.”

Does Rejuvenation speak publically as influencers?

Members of the management team teach classes and give lectures. We also provide tour groups through the factory

Who do you talk to? What are some of the topics you concentrate on?

We speak to fair number of architects and specifiers, manufacturing folks and pollution prevention conferences

We talk about the process we went through to integrate sustainability. We worked with the Department of Environmental Quality and the Bureau of Environmental Services  to create a tool to do an environmental assessment of your business. This effort resulted in a rating tool based on the Natural Step Framework for businesses to objectively rate themselves.

Often when discussing the environment, you are really discussing your personal values. These debates tend to get reduced to emotional discussions v remaining fact-based. Being somewhat biased toward process and science, I appreciate the objectivity this brings to a business conversation. It cuts right to the important issues.   

Businesses that go through the value stream mapping and process flow mapping have learned valuable lessons they were able to apply to their businesses which immediately saved them money. People hear process flows, and they think it’s just for big business, but small businesses are prone to growing organically. They get out there and start doing their thing and wake up one day and ask “how did we get here?” At the very least, it will cause businesses to dissect what they want to do, and a map to go do it.

How does Rejuvenation apply the triple bottom line towards its people?

We believe in fairness to workers, etc. The Natural Step Framework is the first sort of environmental/philosophical thing that I’ve run into that included the people component. From a purely pragmatic standpoint, if you are asking someone to pick your cause while they are trying to put food on the table for their kids – I can tell you which one is going to win. It shouldn’t be a choice, but a way of doing business. We as a company have a history of trying to attend to that sort of thing.

We look at vendors for environmental and working conditions and don’t do business with companies that aren’t within our value system. We have a luxury--that our goods have a reasonable margin. If we were in the cut throat business of Intel servers we might not.

We have internal debates around what the components of a good work place. Fair wage, decent benefits, health care—which for a business our size is very difficult to provide.  We try and provide other benefits, for example: home buying benefit to help out with first time home buyers. Could we do more, maybe – but we always have to keep in mind that we can’t do good business if we’re out of business

How has remaining a privately held company influenced your thinking about the rate at which a company needs to maintain growth?

I do think that the Wall Street shareholder set up is the very worst thing you can do to business. There is no question that if we weren’t private there are things we couldn’t do; or had we done those things, they might become some public relations exercise. 

Some public companies spend more time managing messaging than really getting the things done that they intended. Being private affords that ability without the pressure of shareholders demanding a particular revenue number, without thought to what is getting created or its overall impact.

Last thoughts on Greenwashing? Do you think it’s just another phase? Do Americans have the attention span to make change?

I don’t like the idea of a company “going green” because it’s the new hot thing. Now, there is at least a little bit of a realization that no one is exempt from playing their part in realizing their impact on the world. As a country, we have some huge structural issues that will make green hard to adopt the way it was in Europe. The power structures here don’t hold those values. Companies are doing it bc it makes good business sense, and nothing more. It makes sense to adopt from a bottom line perspective.

Attention span? Well, it would need to be mandated over several generations for it to take, but I believe it can change. Our reputation (here in Oregon) for being lefty and strange is founded in reality in many ways, and it’s taken 2-3 generations for that reputation to stick. Take Oregon and Washington as examples. We should be more alike given our proximity; it goes back to the ‘60s when we had a progressive government and a legislature that worked together, unlike the folks up north.

Globalization will force it. The multinationals will have to deal with it whether they like it or not. When you are talking about global manufacturing, it doesn’t make sense to make different products for everyone. You make the same for both (countries) and you make them to the higher standard (in this case, sustainable).

Do you think Rejuvenation will face the same sort of competition others have from China (or other cheaper markets)?

Rejuvenation doesn’t compete with products from China. Our customers  are very knowledgeable about what they are looking for. In some cases, know more about our products than we do. They are looking for quality materials and a particular craftsmanship. Mass market products don’t provide that.

About Jeff Shay

Jeff has “a couple of old degrees in science.”  He started at Rejuvenation fifteen years ago on the sales floor as a day job,  after getting a degree in Fine Arts. When asked if he could supply a few power points of previous presentations, there was a slight pause. “I don’t do powerpoints, I talk. When I’m forced to do them, my wife (an IBM veteran) helps me.” Then he pointed me to his favorite presentation: The Gettysburg Address.

Point taken.

Links:

-          Oregon Natural Step Framework The Oregon Natural Step Network (the Network) was formed to support Oregon business, governmental, and educational organizations interested in using The Natural Step (TNS) framework for sustainability. The Network is a membership organization open to interested organizations and individuals.

"What is involved in these procedures is often unclear since recognised clinical nomenclature is not being used," it said in a position paper released this week.

The college labelled the procedures dangerous, expensive and unwarranted, and said it strongly discouraged surgery that was not backed by scientific evidence or clinical trials.

"The real risks of potential complications such as scarring, permanent disfigurement, infection, dyspareunia and altered sexual sensations should be discussed in detail with women seeking such treatments," it said.

The college said women should understand that there were a large number of variations in the appearance of normal female genitalia.

"The college is particularly concerned that such surgery may exploit vulnerable women," it said.

Ted Weaver, chairman of the college's women's health committee, said most of the operations cost at least 10,000 dollars (9,500 US), which he described as an "extraordinary amount of money".

"We feel these operations might prey on people with insecurities and fears who actually need psychological help," he told Australian Associated Press.

"They are also not very anatomically-based and have the potential to cause serious harm."

Doctors in the United States and Britain have raised similar concerns about the surgery.

I honestly can not tell you what I thought about while getting my pedicure.  I don't think I was thinking.  I can recall the tickling of my feet as different lotions or methods were used to get rid of my ugly calluses, but I don't recall thinking.  All I recall is the beauty of the pedicure, stress-free beauty.

Tonight, I look at my freshly manicured digits and my callous-free, pedicured feet and I think: Manicures and Pedicures are not luxury, they are a necessity every now and then.  I was not as snappy  with my family as I have been the last few days, some might argue weeks.  My husband went to a movie with friends and I wasn't agitated at all.  I am happy he is getting time with friends and able to enjoy himself.  Normally, I would feel perturbed that he would leave me all night after being gone all day.  Today I don't see that.  I have one word, rejuvenation.  Rejuvenation came and hopefully I can afford another vacation at the spa in the near future!

P.S.  Dear, when you want to go on a night out with the guys, send me to the spa that afternoon.  We are both happier this way! ;)

It is important to remain realistic. Some skins can start forming in etched lines from your twenties, others don’t. If you have no wrinkle in an area when the muscle is relaxed the application of Botox® will prevent the wrinkle from being established as it stops the underlying muscle working. The area treated will crease less when you make an expression. Once the wrinkle is firmly etched into the skin the Botox will soften it considerably but cannot eliminate it. Remaining lines can often be filled in with Restylane.
Some people have very expressive “hyperkinetic” faces- resulting in a very furrowed brow from an early age. Many have a fabulous response , that works very rapidly but it may wear off more quickly.

Botox® is an active ingredient and some eyebrow lift occurs when the horizontal  forehead lines are dealt with. With new patients one tries a conservative approach with a smaller dose to establish what works best for an individual. It is not Viridian Medicals policy to eliminate expressions or aim for a mask like face which could be considered unattractive. We have refined our injection technique to avoid pointed “spock brows” or having the over elevated brows.

You cannot contract Botulism through Botox® USED CORRECTLY. About 3,000 unit of active Botulinum toxin are needed to develop this disease. Cosmetically 20-75 units are used at any one time.

Because of variability in facial musculature some patients can form an eyebrow droop or lid droop, but this is more likely due to the technical ability of the practitioner. VM have a refined technique to avoid this occurring. Although rare this is obviously distressing to the patient & medical practitioner. It will reverse spontaneously over weeks but can take up to 3 months to fully recover. Bruising can occur and it is important to avoid aspirin or blood thinning products or exposure to alcohol or hot environment.

Although there is no evidence to the contrary Viridian medical will not perform Botox procedures on pregnant or breast feeding women. Its probably unnecessary to have it below the age of 26. Patients with neurological problems such as MS, motor neuron disease, immuno-suppression or those on wafarin would be unsuitable because of the uncertainty of the risk.

Botox takes 4-14 days to be fully effective. Some patients need a 2 week top up. Most fillers are instantaneous especially the nose to mouth lines have a great immediate effect, you can wear make up & go out usually that evening, but if it’s a very special occasion Viridian Medical would recommend  planning your filler procedures for a few days before.

Yes absolutely!! Botox® doses in men need to be doubled but all the procedures are available.

In the first year a maximum of 4 times, its recommended you have it 3-4 month intervals to maintain the effect. After that often fewer session are needed per year. It is important not to have it too often as you can be come immune to the effects and it will not be effective.

NO. Restylane hyaluronic products are semi-permanent fillers. Those unfortunate individuals probably has a permanent implant inserted  which cause an allergic reaction and  gross swelling. Restylane has been extensively tried & tested and is complication rate is very low. There will be some swelling for 2-5 days, 3 being the average.* see full text.

YES! YES!
And as the senior practitioner of Viridian Medical I have had Botox & several of the filler procedures and can speak from first hand experience as to the effects and benefits. Its because of first hand experience I have faith in the products and NSC in the right hands.

http://www.viridianmedical.co.uk

1. Hydrating well. Never underestimate your water needs or try to replace it with sodas and other unhealthy drinks. Water is good for your overall body because it flushes out toxins that can cause your health to deteriorate or your body to age faster. Water is one of the basic nourishments our body needs to keep it healthy and young.

2. Eating greens. While it may seem boring at times, the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables are endless. Taking in more of the healthy stuff than carbo- or sugar-loaded foods reflects on our looks as well.

3. Stretching your muscles. Living a sedentary life is one of the fastest ways to bulk up on the fats and lose your youthful figure. Stay active as much as possible either through sports, dance, or whatever is your passion. Hamper aging by keeping that blood flowing.

4. Rejuvenating! Stress is one of the leading factors of physical aging, and a person can look much older than she really is just because she’s stressed all the time. Take time to relax and do the things that calms and re-energizes you.

Care to share your natural ways to beautify?

Image from this site.

Nothing much to look for, but you can enjoy the nature and weather, very calm and peaceful place. I visited Yelagiri last week with my friends, for more on the trip check out Anand's post here