Transformational FACE-LIFT MASSAGE 2009 June 27  Level I – West LA July 8  Level I – Temecula July 9-11 Level II - Temecula

Learn to blend acupressure and facial rejuvenation techniques to bring softness and balance to your face, being and life energies

Lift Your Face, Lift Your Spirits!

Transformational Face-Lift massage is a blend of the best of traditional and modern healing touch. The acupressure work is rooted deep in Chinese tradition and was taught to Dr Susan Lange, OMD, L.Ac by her first acupuncture teacher, Dr. Frances Wong, in Hong Kong in the early 1970’s. We blend this with skillful gentle touch that comes from craniosacral roots to effectively transform the face, the body and its structural balance.

We will be teaching Self Help skills so you do not need to be a practitioner for Level 1

In this class you will learn information and skills that help you and your clients to:
 

Level  I

• Improve elasticity and tone in the skin, connective tissue and muscular layers of the face
• Enhance circulation of lymph, blood and chi
• Restore expressivity, joy and youthfulness to the face
• Bring relaxation to the whole body through contacting the social engagement nervous system
• Read and transform underlying stagnations, weaknesses and imbalances reflected in the face, - the yin and theyang.        
• Evaluate your face for before and after assessment - Bring a mirror to witness the immediate effects of this technique!

Level  II 

• Increases acupressure contacts and the in-depth understanding for more powerful effect
• Completes the Dr. Wong acupressure face-lift sequence for an easy daily routine you can teach your clients 
• Deepens exploration of fascial and muscular relationships of the face and neck for tighter, firmer skin
• Deepens understanding of the breathing face and tissue and bony relationships
• Deepens understanding of the five element personality and face shapes and their importance in face-lift massage to assess underlying issues. You will be learning an overview of Chinese Face Reading for this.
• Gives tools to specifically work with releasing the tensions and weaknesses that create wrinkles, lines, flab and sagging 
• Explores the complex issues that affect and are affected by face-lift massage, i.e. dental work, cosmetic surgery, environmental exposure and emotions

For students' stories from our most recent Level 1 Class click here: http://meridianholistic.com/healthyliving/natural-face-lift-massage-transformational-stories/ 

Mary Louise Muller, M.Ed., RCSTO, RPP, is a gifted biodynamic craniosacral therapist in private practice in Murrieta and Los Angeles, CA. She is the developer of Resonant Healing and an internationally recognized teacher and author. Mary Louise has been active in the healing arts for 35 years.

 

Susan Lange O.M.D., L.Ac. is a licensed acupuncturist and Doctor of Oriental Medicine in private practice in Santa Monica, CA. Trained in Hong Kong, and Europe, she has been teaching face-lift massage since the early 1980’s. She is also trained in Core Energetics (a form of body psychotherapy) and brings an in-depth knowledge of the 5 psycho types to the Face Lift massage work. Along with her husband Julian Lange O.M.D., L.Ac, she opened one of the first and finest non-toxic holistic healing centers in Santa Monica in 1990.

Contact us at:    
lifeshape@aol.com                    • 951-677-0652      
info@MeridianHolistic.com       • 310-395-9525 ext 2#

Find us online at:       
www.lifeshapes.org 
www.MeridianHolistic.com/HealthyLiving  
           
Course Tuition  Level   I One Day
   $250 - full payment includes 7 CE hrs 
   $197 - reduced price if paid by June 13 09  + CE hrs

Plus SPECIAL BONUS:  "Five Element Mini Face Lift Chart" to use at home
Level   II Three Day
   $597 - full payment includes 21 CE hrs
   $497 - reduced price if paid by June 13 09 + CE hrs

Another SPECIAL BONUS:
If you sign up & pay for both Level 1 & Level 2 more than 3 weeks in advance of taking your Level 1 class, the tuition for both Levels is $547 … TOTAL! (That's a $300 discount early bird special!)

Class Hours:  
Level 1 One Day   9:30 to 6:00
Level 2 Three Day   9:30 to 6:15  Days 1 and 2
                                   9:00 to 5:00  Day 3

Refund Policy- If a class participant finds it necessary to withdraw up to three weeks in advance, the full deposit is refunded. If a participant withdraws after that time, all tuition is nonrefundable, but may be applied to a future seminar.

Continuing Education Hours available.

Acupuncture Continuing Education Hours pending, 7 hours for Level I, 21 hours for Level II

Nursing Continuing Education Hours available. Provider approved by the Cal. Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number 12248 for 7 contact hours. Level I, for 21 contact hours Level II

LifeShapes is approved by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) as a continuing education Approved Provider. 7 continuing education hours are available for Level I, 21 continuing education hours for level II.

Contact:  Meridian Center 310 395 9525  info(@)MeridianHolistic.com 

or LifeShapes     951-677-0652  lifeshape@aol.com

For students' stories from our most recent Level 1 Class click here: http://meridianholistic.com/healthyliving/natural-face-lift-massage-transformational-stories/

 

 Acne and Pimples: Top 7 Factors to Healing Acne, Pimples and Other Skin Conditions with Chinese Medicine

Don't we all hanker after a healthy looking face and beautiful skin? Worrisome skin problems can range from symptoms as excruciating as acne, pimples, psoriasis and eczema to simply having a sallow dull skin complexion. In Chinese Medicine there are some basic principles that we follow to heal skin problems such as acne, pimples, eczema and psoriasis. No matter what type of skin problem we might have it can be very uncomfortable and embarrassing if it affects our face. For long term skin and face health you need a multi pronged approach. Don't get seduced by the single quick fixes for acne and pimples and other skin problems that you read about on the internet - especially the topical creams that you put on your face and skin. They may be simple but they are usually not effective enough for face and skin health.

There are seven key factors that need to be addressed to have a healthy face and healthy skin. They are as follows:  More on Acne and Pimples: Top 7 Factors to Healing Acne, Pimples & Other Skin Conditions with Chinese Medicine

Post surgery scarring binds the skin.  Keloids form when the scarring is extensive causing pain and numbness.  In more severe cases deep adhesions form between neighboring structures resulting in pain, compromised ability to freely move through the normal range of motion, and other more serious organ changes.

1.  Acupuncture Treatment:   Acupuncture treatment of "toxic" scarring by a qualified acupuncturist inserting acupuncture needles around the scarring can be very beneficial.

2.  Silica & Silicone Gels:   Silica (microscopic quartz crystals) gel and silicone (a polymer with silica as a component) gel impregnated sheets which promote healing of scarring and the skin.  The gel can be applied directly to the scarring and neighboring skin.  Re-usable adhesive strips of fabric that are impregnated with silicone are also available.  These strips may have an advantage over the gel because they are adhered directly over the scarring and can be worn for extended periods of time.  The gel has to be reapplied to the scarring through out the day, especially if covered by clothing.  Some people may find the adhesive on the strips irritating to their skin.

3.  Essential Oils:   These are extracted from plants and can be beneficial for scarring and skin healing.  Generally, essential oils should not be applied directly to the skin or the scarring.  Prepare a liniment by mixing 10 - 20 drops of the essential oil with 10 ml of a vegetable oil like apricot oil, grape seed oil, or almond oil. Helichrysum is a "skin regenerative", it is good for tissue trauma, reduces scarring and skin discoloration.  Geranium and Moroccan Blue Tansy are also good for repairing damaged skin.

4.  Herbs:   There are Chinese herbal formulas which are ideally administered about 6 hours after surgery in order to prevent adhesions from forming.  These formulas encourage intestinal peristalsis and the circulation of Qi in the abdomen.

The herbs, Arnica (Leopardbane) and/or Calendula (Marigold) promote healing and in a gel (preferably without alcohol or a petroleum base) can be applied to the vicinity of the surgery.

5.  Homeopathic Remedies:   A long history of use and can be very useful in addressing post surgery scarring.

• Arnica for bruising, any injury, and surgical trauma.
• Silica for scarring, keloids, and wounds that are slow to heal and suppurate.
• Graphites for scarring and keloids.
• Hypericum for painful scarring, and phantom limb pain.

6.  Massage:   The Wurn massage technique to reduce post surgery adhesions.

7.  Neural Therapy:   A scar therapy that is commonly used in Germany and Austria to treat pain and other conditions.  It involves the injection of procaine around scarring and other areas to normalize the electro chemical activity of the local cells.  Neural therapy is thought to correct regulatory dysfunction in the autonomic nervous system and because of this it is used to treat a surprising range of disorders in people with scarring of any kind.

BONUS TIP.  Enzymes:   Enzymatic action may make the scarring more elastic.  Bromelain for post surgery swelling and inflammation.  Injections of Hyaluronidase, a mucolytic enzyme, directly into the scarring to soften and break it down.

And if you would like further information about acupuncture treatment for post surgery scarring or to ask me any other questions visit: http://www.MeridianHolistic.com/askthedoctor.html Dr Julian Lange, OMD, LAc. "The Holistic Health Strategist."

Many people have post surgery pain and/or numbness that can often severely compromise the quality of their life and they have no idea how helpful acupuncture could actually be for their post surgery pain or post surgery pain and numbness.

Post surgery pain can be so strong that sufferers can't function normally.  Often drugs used for post surgery pain can only be taken for so long before something stronger and more habit forming needs to be used for that pain.

Or maybe the post surgery pain isn't as much of a problem as numbness.  Numbness can be challenging because the part of the body where the numbness is, just feels like it's missing or kind of dead.  Activities like bathing and sensing if something is too hot or cold, or even wet or if someone is touching you are hard when you have numbness and can't feel a part of yourself.

• A policeman in a shoot out had to throw himself down on the ground, just like in the movies.  His shoulder took the fall and, unlike the movies, it took a lot of damage.  Several surgeries later he had a working shoulder but also post surgery pain which nothing helped.  His post surgery pain forced him in to early retirement.  Three acupuncture treatments got rid of his post surgery pain.  He was amazed that acupuncture works that well.

• A woman had her tongue removed because of cancer.  Her amazing surgeon built her a new one using muscle from her forearm but this left her with a lot of post surgery pain and numbness in that area.  Her inner arm is totally numb and in pain; the post surgery pain goes to her fingers.  After five acupuncture treatments her post surgery pain is gone and she is recovering sensation.  Her numbness is also improving!  She feels lucky and is grateful to have found acupuncture to help her post surgery pain and numbness.

• A tourist visiting Israel had to have her arm amputated after the Jeep she was riding in rolled over and crushed it.  She had "phantom limb" post surgery pain, or pain in a limb that is no longer there.  She was suffering severe post surgery pain in the arm that had been removed!  Three acupuncture treatments later and her post surgery pain was gone when nothing else had helped.

Acupuncture has existed for 1,000s of years.  Millions of people all over the world have been treated with Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine.

Even though medical science has yet to figure out exactly how it works doctors commonly recommend acupuncture to their post surgery pain patients.  They have seen acupuncture treatment benefit many conditions and specifically post surgery pain and numbness.

These people are only a few of many cases of post surgery pain and numbness that I have treated in my decades' long career in acupuncture and Chinese Medicine and while on staff at San Pedro Peninsula Hospital, Pain Management Center.

For more information on acupuncture for post surgery pain and numbness contact me at:

http://www.MeridianHolistic.com. 

This is Dr Julian Lange, OMD, LAc. 

"The Holistic Health Strategist."

Would you like to create ECO Friendly holiday decorations for your home that are cheap and tasteful at the same time?

You have guests or family coming to visit, you want to make your home look welcoming, you don't want to spend any more money and you're almost too busy to think straight.

What can you do?

 It's still the holiday season and we're still having wonderful friends come to visit us at home.  But I want to give you some simple tips that I did for the holidays that can be used for any festive occasion throughout the year.

• My yard is full of shrubs that always need pruning.  I gathered up some over abundant branches of pepper trees that happened to have lots of reddish pink berries and spread them in layers along shelves and the mantelpiece.  Old Christmas decorations or  knick knacks from yard sales (or car boot sales in England) that I'd collected throughout the years were placed amongst the foliage.
• I even found some white narcissus in the garden that went beautifully with all the red berries 
• Old Christmas lights?. No time or money for a Christmas tree?  We piled our old glass hand painted balls and Christmas ornaments into bowls full of green foliage.  If you don't have old balls, what other  glittery or shiny  ornaments could you find lying around the house that when placed in a heap on a bed of leafy greens could look spectacular?
• Buy from your local farmers market.  You have to eat so why not pick up wonderful, luscious local  foods and homemade products to decorate your home. We filled up yet more bowls with tangerines, lemons, nuts, olive oil,  and homemade organic chocolates for our guests to enjoy looking at and munching on, for healthy seasonal snacks and gifts.  The decorations became the gifts so they have served double duty. They're good for our friends and good for our community.
• Fun for you!  The best part is for this to be more fun and satisfying for you!  At the end of the holidays the food is eaten, the colorful gifts have been given and you have not contributed to the ever growing landfills. There is less clean up and more green up.  You have just "Greened Up" your holidays. Congratulations! I hope that you have as much fun doing this as I did.  Stress free and fun.
• To learn more simple and economical ECO tips visit our blog at http://MeridianHolistic.com/HealthyLiving

 PS   My ECO Christmas and Holiday decorating tips were inspired by one of my favorite old fashioned books:  "Natural Christmas", a Madderlake book  by Tom Pritchard and Billy Jarecki.

by Dr Julian Lange, OMD, L.Ac., with Patricia Bisch, MA, MFT

Are you continually wrestling with your weight and feeling deprived by austere diet regimes? Maybe you are living on salads and forever counting calories?

Would you be suprised to know that eating nothing but salads can actually make you gain weight? Well it’s so!

What about weight loss without dieting? What a concept!

We always teach that to reach and maintain a healthy weight it’s important to have really healthy digestion. We believe that good digestion is the foundation for good health. If you would like to learn more you can listen to our FREE recordings where we talk about digestion that are archived under "resources" at our main website, www.MeridianHolistic.com <http://www.meridianholistic.com/>

We also offer a FREE monthly teleseminar on the first Monday of each month where we answer your questions and debunk myths about digestive health and digestive cleanses.

*But here’s a completely different “Quantum Weight Loss Approach” that we want to share with you …***

Yesterday, Susan and I had a fun visit with the psychotherapist and author of the book “Freedom from Food", Patricia Bisch. Patricia is a lovely person who drew largely from her own experience in creating her book. What I think is unique about her approach to weight loss is that she isn’t promoting a new kind of diet, instead she addresses one’s need to eat and what one is trying to emotionally fill or solve by eating. Her approach is directed towards identifying the psychological wounds that drive us to consume food and gain excess weight. She then gives really practical advice about how to resolve these issues with the ultimate goal being that we can eat what we want to without having to be over weight.

I believe “Freedom from Food” is a worthwhile read and presents a good method for anyone interested in weight loss without dieting. But the main reason I want to bring Patricia’s work to your attention is that it furthers the ideal of achieving better health through inner change and that is something that Susan and I will always support.

And by the way, when she wasn’t looking we spied in her refrigerator and it was stuffed with all kinds of goodies. She told us that she’s famous for having a fridge with no room in it. And Patricia really enjoys her food, we know, because we saw her freely savour several slices of the date bread we brought. I wonder how she stays so slim and gorgeous? Find out in her book which you can get, along with her CD, at her website www.FreedomFromFood.net <http://www.freedomfromfood.net/>

And if you'd like some ongoing tips and encouragement to reduce bloating, improve your digestion and to feel better about yourself join us on our free monthly conference calls at http://www.My-Digestive-Health.com 
 

 You guessed right!  Because of our Health. HEALTH is the missing link. Green is Great. Going Beyond Green is a necessity. We will be exploring these concepts in our upcoming series: "Seven Simple Steps to ECO-fitness"

Here are some new definitions that we have come up with to better explain what we mean by ECO-fitness and why it's so important

E-C-O-fit vs retrofit

To add a component or accessory or new technology, features or modifications to something that did not have it when it was manufactured (ie older systems) that is Ecological, Comfortable and Organic (if possible)

 ECO fitness

The practice of choosing materials and products with a primary concern for their influence upon the health and well being of all the organisms inhabiting that shared environment or ecosystem

 To E-C-O-fit your home is to modify your existing home to be more:

*           Ecological and Environmentally friendly

*           Comfortable to humans and all living creatures; Connected

*           Organic (food, products and materials)

Yesterday I interviewed Vicki Warren, Program Director and Head of the Institute for Bau-biologie and Ecologie in Clearwater, Florida for our series on "Seven Simple Steps to ECO-fitness"

We discussed some of the most dangerous indoor trends facing families in America today and she has solutions for you that are not only simple to implement, but also very cost effective. Some are even FREE.

We will be posting the audio file online shortly and Vicki explains why we have to think "Beyond Green" and how you can jumpstart the process. Our main concern in interviewing her is that many young families would like to think ECO and green but they believe that it is too complicated or too expensive so they don't bother to try.

But it may not be as difficult as you think!  We have great news for you which you will discover in our upcoming "Seven Simple Steps" Series.  The first e-book will be "Seven Simple Steps to ECO-fit your Home". Then we will give you the steps to ECO-fit your office, your kitchen, your bedroom, the nursery, your bathroom (and personal care products as well).  If you are a business owner we will have an e-book especially for you too.

Learn how to transform your Home and your Office, one week at a time - in "Seven Simple Steps".

Next week we will discuss the Meridian Center for Holistic Medicine's  definition of ECO-fitness and why it matters to you.

How to avoid the mistakes of the young and foolish when traveling, and to stay healthy and sound in your body, mind and spirit.  A parable by Dr Susan Lange, OMD, L.Ac (1996)

I first became intimately acquainted with parasites and digestive problems when I was twenty years old. I was hitchhiking from England to India during a University summer vacation. Having been berated by a fellow traveler in southern Iran for throwing away a date with a maggot in it (food was scarce in the desert and we needed our protein), I obediently - or was it foolishly? -drank the Holy water at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India - just like everybody else there. Along with the other worshippers, I took a bowl, dipped it into the turbid brown water and drank it reverently. Later, I watched idly as two old men washed themselves down in the very same temple pool. I was young …….

 That night we took a train to Delhi. The carriages were packed with families, children and animals. I was lucky because I managed to clamber up onto a narrow luggage rack where I would remain immobile until dawn, high above the cacophony and the struggle for space below. My triumph was short lived. To find out what happened next  click on the next page  

Susan and I have just returned from Santa Barbara where we spent the afternoon catching up with our old friend, an international authority and scholar of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, Giovanni Maciocia . We discussed his line of Chinese herbal  formulas and looked at his amazing library of Chinese language reference books.  He is doing such great work for everyone in our profession.  His most recent book, the subject of which I can’t reveal but which is with his publisher now and will be available in about 12 months (too long!) is going to be a revelation for the Chinese Medical community. 

The book at the top is Giovanni's copy of the "The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine", one of the oldest medical text books in the world. Susan and I often use some of the poetic quotes from this famous tome. This is what it looks like inside:

From Giovanni’s we drove to Joanne Hsian’s intimate restaurant, “Spirit Land Bistro” at 230 E. Victoria where we enjoyed a marvelous organic dining experience.  Ken, her maitre d’ steered us in the direction of a very pleasant glass of biodynamically grown 2004 Tempranillo wine from Hice Cellars in Paso Robles which Ken tells us uses “old world” methods in it’s production.  I am anticipating visiting Hice Cellars and seeing exactly what they do. 

We discovered that though Spirit Land Bistro is only a little over a year old Joanne has found the time to launch her free “Tuesday Night for Healing” series of dialogues where anyone who’s interested can hear a variety of local healers speak about their methods and philosophies.  These evenings are moderated by the nutritionist Dale Figtree and the speakers include acupuncturists, medical doctors, Hawaiian bodyworkers, cleansing experts, and many others. 

 Since Joanne is very interested in bringing Chinese Medicine and other healing modalities into the local community we have been invited to teach at Spiritland. We will keep you posted. Julian

Further information is available at:  www.spiritlandbistro.com or www.dalefigtree.com