November/December 2006 Newsletter

From the Editor

To end a very eventful year, I would like to quote from Paulo Coelho’s column in Odyssey magazine. On his pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela 20 years ago, a young Canadian girl told him the following:

'I am not the type of person who is looking for saints’ tombs, sacred rivers, and places of miracles or apparitions. For me, making a pilgrimage is celebrating. My father and sister died young, both of heart attacks, and maybe I have a propensity for that. So, since I might leave this life early, I have to know as much as possible of the world and relish all the happiness I deserve. When my mother died, I promised myself to be happy when the sun is reborn each and every morning. To look towards the future, but never sacrifice the present because of that. To always accept love whenever it crossed my path. To live each minute and never postpone anything that can make me happy.’

Let’s celebrate love and give thanks as this year ends and 2007 lies on the horizon. Thank you to all who showed me the Centre wellness concept can and does work! Thank you for your loyal support. We’re moving to new and bigger premises early 2007 to create a truly integrative wellness practice. Watch this space!

Thank you to Dr Marianne Duvenage, dermatologist, for her contribution on skin sense this summer, and to Pierre Cloete for the piece on forgiveness. As many of us prepare for time with family, we’d do well to remember that gratitude, acceptance and forgiveness of ourselves and our family members, would prevent many of the year end squabbles and unpleasantness that often surface when we’re among others who know us well and share memories, happy and unpleasant. Prevent those skeletons in closets from rearing their ugly heads. Practice forgiveness!

Special thanks to Craig Swanepoel, loyal supporter and assistant. You play a huge roll in making the Centre what it is! To all the loyal staff: Léan, Phineas, Agnes and Nomsa: Siyabonga! To our gifted instructors: Christiaan (yoga), Lisel (Nia), June (pilates, aquarobics, Nia), Zelda (yoga): A big thank you! To the health practitioners: Elsi (kinesiologist, psychologist), Lucille (dietician), Irene (psychologist, SHIP technique): thanks for making the wellness dream a practical reality! Thank you also to Marelise Halgreen, beauty & massage therapist: you have healing hands! Thank you for the value you add to the concept of wellness.

May you all be blessed this Festive Season. Drive safely and have a wonderful retreat, rest and renewal at home or away!

Skin sense

It is almost that time of the year again: Sun, sea and sand for many of us!

Sun protection has become so well known, yet many people still get burnt during the festive season. What are you going to do this year? Is this year going to be any different?

If you feel that your skin has already been ruined, please take charge of your child`s skin this year. Children do what we do and not what we tell them. So YOU have to set the example! In Australia the parents are charged with child abuse if they need to take their kids to the doctor with sunburn! Many kids spend the day in the sun with their parents, only to get just as burnt as their parents.

Mostly we all do apply sunscreen, but too little or wrongly. What is the correct way and amounts to apply sunscreen?

Apply it preferably at least 30 minutes before you go out. It allows the product to penetrate the skin before any activity causes the person to start sweating.
People usually apply far too little (probably because it is so expensive). Remember that to give a product its SPF number, it is applied at a volume of 2 gram per cm2 in the laboratory. That is about a half a teaspoon per cm2! The bottom line: you have to apply it in dollops. More is better! Don`t skimp!
Apply it to all exposed areas of the skin. It is no use to try for a tan on the legs ahead of everyone else, only to peel a few days later. Many individuals apply sunscreen only to the face, hoping that they will get a tan and not too much sun damage everywhere else.
A sun tan is your skin cells’ physiological reaction to protect you from the sun. Therefore getting a tan SLOWLY, is not necessarily bad, although some damage (i.e ageing) is done. It is getting burnt that is so bad for you. Remember that if you peel after being in the sun, it means that you got burnt to blistering - not the idea! Research has shown that burning to blistering 8 times on the same area gives us a 100% chance of developing skin cancer in that same area later on! Many people blister at least once in a summer on a specific area.
The average person gets at least 80 % of their total lifetime sun exposure before the age of 18. So, look after your kids!
It is important to apply the sunscreen first if you are also going to apply other products to your skin.
Buy large bottles of sunscreen for the holidays. You will be more comfortable to apply it liberally if it comes in a large container and it is more economical. Small bottles are only good if you need to carry it around in your handbag.
Which SPF number to buy? For South African made products a number 25-30 is adequate. Many of the overseas products are given high SPF`s, for example 60 or 100. This can be confusing. It all comes down to standardisation. Overseas shoes and clothing also comes in different sizes to ours. For example, size 12 pants correspond to a size 34 in SA. It doesn`t mean that the size 34 is 3 times bigger than a size 12! Same with sunscreen. Unfortunately some products have used it as a ploy to attract buyers by using the higher numbers as a unique selling point.

However, a sunscreen is only a cream, and no discussion on sun protection will be complete without mentioning the role of protective clothing.

Clothing must be of a tight weave to be of any value. Test it by holding it up to the sun. If you can see the rays of the sun, the sun can see you!
Hats are indispensable as sun protection. A baseball peak does not count as a hat! You need something with a brim, preferably a wide one.

What about your eyes? They are just as vulnerable when it comes to sun exposure. You and your kids need good sunglasses. Otherwise you will be struck with early blindness due to cataract formation (treatable) or macular degeneration (untreatable).

Note from the editor: Enjoy our wonderful summer, but have a little sun sense! Another piece of advice (not always practical, admitted!): try to stay out of the sun between 10h00-15h00! Early morning and late afternoon sun are the times when the therapeutic benefits of sunlight’s healing rays can benefit your health and wellbeing, while actually providing you with a great tan as well.

Marianne Duvenage; MBChB (Pret) MMed (Derm) Pret

Forgiveness

Metaphorically speaking, the base metal lead, is any form of unfinished business, such as hatred, bitterness, resentment, unrequited love, or regret. Forgiveness melts the “lead” of painful memories into the “gold” of understanding. Conversely, knowing that you should forgive, but choosing not to, adds “lead” to your psyche and spirit, which eventually accumulates as dead weight in the cell tissue. “Lead” emotions harm your body and your spirit. The more unfinished business, or history, you have, the heavier your “lead” will be.

An unforgiving attitude leads to premature aging and death. A Stanford research study showed that practicing forgiveness significantly decreases stress, rage and psychosomatic symptoms. Other studies support these findings and they also point out that unforgiveness depletes the immune system, increases blood pressure and hormonal function linked to heart disease and impairs neurological functioning such as memory. Forgiveness expels all this accumulated negative energy. Confucius said many years ago that if you devote your life to seeking revenge, first dig two graves.

It is also important to remember that we are not perfect and to admit that we also sometimes hurt others, even if it is unknowingly. One of Energy Psychiatry‘s main principles is that negativity breeds more of the same. Emotionally hurting someone else or ourselves, creates instant negative karma (what you sow shall you reap). It is therefore important to make a daily habit of becoming aware of your thoughts, emotions and reactions, to make amends where appropriate. When challenged with forgiving it can be helpful to remember that the act of forgiveness refers to the actor and not the act. You can pardon or forgive the woundedness and unconsciousness of the offender, while acknowledging the harmfulness of the offense. Forgiveness means that you are letting go, not excusing the other person or necessarily reconciling with them.

Wayne Dyer observes that when we are able to resist the temptation to judge others, we can see them as teachers of forgiveness in our lives, reminding us that we can only have peace of mind when we forgive instead of judge. To be able to do this we must return to the heart centre and develop an attitude of big heartedness, increasing loving kindness and compassion to others and the environment. Caroline Myss emphasises the heart centre as the keeper of all wisdom and the governor of transformation. She says “Where your heart is, there is your power. Without this energy nothing in your life can manifest or flourish.”

Forgiving is in our own best interest to regain our personal power and pull ourselves back from the past into the present, living lives in the here and the now. Extending this form of kindness improves our physical as well as our mental health. Wayne Dyer mentions research proving that giving, receiving or witnessing acts of kindness boosts the immune system and the secretion of serotonin which makes us feel good and assists the body in fighting depression. So let go of baggage, grudges and fears and extend an act of kindness by forgiving yourself and someone else.

Pierre Cloete, wellness specialist

Resources:

J. Orlofff. 2004. Positive Energy.
C. Myss. 2001. Sacred Contracts.
W. Dyer.2004. The Power of Intention.
J. Lewis and J. Adler. Forgive and Let Live. An article in Health for Life.