Monday, October 26, 2009

Indulgence or Health Care?


I highly recommend trying bodywork or spa therapies while traveling as it really gives you a whole other view into a culture. For those of you who follow my Traveling Naturally blog, you might remember my somewhat comical post about a spa-massage experience I had in Provence, France almost two years ago. In Avignon I tried a Hammam-Spa-Massage package which consisted of a steam room, warm Jacuzzi and massage. Since that was so restorative, I decided to try the Hammam + Masaje (Hammam with Massage) here in Valencia, Spain. Thanks to the French spa, I was a bit prepared for the initial part of my spa session. Waiting for me in a neat pile on a bench by my locker was a towel - much larger than its French counterpart, and a disposable thong and slippers. So once again in all my middle-aged glory (or not so glorious as the case may be) I donned my basically non-existent groin-cloth and padded my way into an atmospheric room lit with candles and with soothing music playing in the background. Sweet Laresa brought me a warm infusion (herbal tea) and told me to relax. I sat naked (does a disposable thong really count as clothing? I think not) in a sling chair sipping my unusual and comforting brew.

Laresa reappeared in a short unitard, and instructed me to lie down, face up, on the massage table that was covered with a plastic sheet she had just thrown warm water on....hmmm this was going to be interesting. Indeed, and heavenly - I was basically rinsed, washed, massaged, scrubbed from head and hair to toe with giant piles of bubbles layered on my torso as a sort of cover. Once this luxurious cleansing was complete, Laresa had me move into a large bathtub filled with bubbly warm water. I lay soaking for a few minutes and then she escorted me to the nearby shower where I was told to alternate between hot and cold rinses. This was all divine, and I felt wonderful. I assumed my appointment was complete, having lost all sense of time. When I turned off the water and came out of the shower, Laresa appeared as if by magic and told me to dry off, wrap my hair in a towel, put on a new, dry thong and slippers and her colleague would come retrieve me for my massage. I could hardly believe my ears.

Sure enough, a lovely young woman appeared and led me down a dimly lit hallway into a cozy massage room. Here she massaged my whole body for what seemed a deliciously long amount of time, and spent an extensive amount of time on my head and face which were in dire need as I have taken to some kind of jaw clenching as part of my hormonal changes.

While different in many of the particulars of my French spa experience, the overall effect was quite similar - that is I felt quite nourished, nurtured, restored and rejuvenated. And while part of my brain was thinking of this as an indulgence, the rest of my brain and whole body were feeling the clear and absolute health benefits. This is truly health care - not sick care. This is treating the body well, taking care of it, investing in it, and allowing it to receive.

Imagine if this is what we were hoping to give everyone a right to....... how different the world would be.


This particular experience took place at the Navarro Spa Catala, Arzobispo Mayoral 11, 46001 Valencia Spain; Tel: 963 524 334; www.navarrospacatala.com

Thursday, October 22, 2009

The Hand to Heart Project Benefit Concert

Please share this information with everyone you think might be interested in supporting this local non-profit offering critical services in the Upper Valley:




The Hand to Heart Project, the Upper Valley nonprofit that provides massage and compassionate touch to people with advanced cancer, will stage a benefit concert this fall to help raise money for the services it provides.

Two outstanding performers will be on stage: Zuleikha is a storydancer from New Mexico who weaves many styles of dance with stories from around the world.  She works internationally as both performer and teacher.  And Eugene Friesen is a Grammy Award-winning cellist from Vermont who has been playing with the Paul Winter Consort, Trio Globo and other groups for years.  He is a master of improvisation, a truly wonderful artist. He is on the faculty of the Berklee School of Music in Boston, and is an artist-in-residence at the Cathedral or St. John the Divine in NYC.

The show is Saturday, November 14, at Flickinger Arts Center in Meriden, N.H., on the campus of Kimball Union Academy.  Tickets are $30.  For information about Hand to Heart or to order tickets, contact Steve Gordon at (603) 542-8367, or visit their Web site, www.handtoheartproject.org

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

An Unforunate but Important Note About Vaccines

This is a gem straight from the CDC website about vaccine additives - http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/additives.htm- "All routinely recommended pediatric vaccines manufactured for the U.S. market contain no thimerosal or only trace amounts."

Really-- how can they say contains NO thimerosal and then say "or only trace amounts"? As if like the slurring of words at the end of a sentence they are hoping no one will hear.... no mercury... or only trace amounts...shhhh, be wary wary quiet....and maybe no one will notice...

This from a School Nurse on the west coast: "There are nine different types of H1N1 vaccines, three of them are made with Thimerasol. Six are Thimerasol "free", or are they? My question is if they can make the vaccine without it why make ANY that have Thimerasol in it?"

Good question, especially when you are talking about Thimerasol, a mercury based preservative.

Please see the Guide blog post regarding mercury in vaccines - http://alternativehealthguides.blogspot.com/2007/10/more-headlines-vaccine-preservative.html

And if you are choosing do get the H1N1 vaccine, ask for Thimerasol-free.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Herb Stores in Spain and one with a Particular Story


Herbolarios and herboristerias are common in Spain and even though what Americans would consider alternative health care has only started to really blossom in Spain in the last few years, these, usually small, stores have been practicing herbal and nutritional medicine for what seems like forever.

While I was out walking in Valencia Spain, I came upon a  an herboristeria advertising herbal preparations by Maurice Messegue. It is unusual to see mention of Maurice Messegue so it caught my attention.

Messegue was an herbalist and natural healer from a small village in France who went on to treat famous people and be persecuted by the authorities. He wrote a number of books including Of Men and Plants, (Macmillan, 1973) which has appendices on his herbal preparations and growing tips for herb gardens. Laboratoires Messegue makes herbal preparations based on his work see http://www.messegue.com.

I had a specific herbal tincture I was looking for and had no success at the other stores I had tried. So I went in asking for uno extracto de Artemisia. The very nice storekeeper explained (all in Spanish) that she had no extractos, only herbs for infusiones (infusions or teas) and she did not have the kind of Artemisia I wanted. She pulled out one of her many wooden drawers filled with bags of herbs and showed me what she had.

As I was saying no thank you, she was continuing to talk in Spanish about the qualities and uses of the Artemisia she did stock, when I heard something about menopause, my ears perked up. Hmm, maybe I should reconsider. So I said, “Si, por favor”. She noticed my chronic reddish rash around my mouth and nose and was telling me how I should not eat trigo (wheat) or leche de vaca (cow milk). I assured her that I ate neither already.

She mixed up a personal tea blend of Artemisia vulgaris, sage, yarrow and mint with instructions for my daily use. She also handed me a foil sample pack of an aloe vera preparation to use directly on my rashy skin.

I left the little herboristeria quite impressed and continued on my errands. Once home, I dutifully made my tea and used the natural aloe vera sample. Well it was all somewhat miraculous, as the aloe vera worked beautifully on my skin, and the tea made me feel better within less than 24 hours.

I went back to the store to see if I could buy a larger container of the aloe vera product. As I was paying for my gel she noticed my change purse, a cloth zippered bag made in Nepal with an Om sign embroidered on it.

Standing behind the counter in her doctor-like white jacket, she became excited and started showing me all of her spiritual pictures and telling me (all in Spanish) that she meditates and chants Om. She then showed me a darling little book, El Corazon de Asia (The Heart of Asia) written by writer, painter and traveler Nicolas Roerich (see English version at http://www.roerich.org/nr.html?mid=wrtgs ). She leafed through the pages pointing out the photographs of sacred places in Tibet, Ladakh and other Asian countries where Roerich and his family had traveled almost ninety years ago. She was waxing poetic I am sure although I was only getting the gist of what she was saying about the mysticism, connections and beauty of the places and the quality of the spirit.

Our hearts connected and we held hands. She asked what my name was and when I asked hers this herbalist and light-filled person answered, “Remedias."