Health

5 Beauty Industry Myths

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Camille Malcolm Spa Owner

Twenty-five years in the beauty and health industry have made me wary of promises made by manufacturers selling miracle cures for aging. The industry has very little regulation and in our pursuit of youth, we could be harming our skin and our health. At the very least we are wasting time and money. How to be a savvy buyer in an industry that is notorious for potions and lotions promising eternal youth?

These are just some of the things to watch out for when visiting a spa or esthetician.

Myth # 1 You get what you pay for. The more you spend, the better the results. This is simply not true. I have seen vendors come into Spa on the Plaza promising huge results if we buy their $25,000.00 machine. Upon closer inspection it was old technology, repackaged and rebranded at 8 times the cost! The same goes for product. The industry has tiers that have less to do about the product inside than the customer they are targeting. Caviar skincare anyone? Let’s put it in a glass jar and a gold top and charge $150.00 an ounce for the woman who has everything. A good esthetician and spa will steer you towards products that have results and will be considerate of your budget.

Myth # 2 Pigmentation. The promise that product will remove pigmentationFacial spots! After dozens of potions and peels, this is not my experience. In fact many of these treatments make your pigmentation worse. Unless you never let your face see the sun again, those dark spots come back and sometimes worse because the skin has been stripped of protection provided by its natural pigmentation. Instead, I recommend healing the cell with a micro-current treatment, an LED infrared light and an O2 infusion. Peels are over used and can make the skin thin and sensitive. Healing the skin with technological skincare, and healing touch is the focus of our estheticians at Spa on the Plaza.

Myth # 3 Facelifts are your only option. Not true! I recommend a monthly Micro-current Facial, which utilizes an electrical current to regenerate cellular activity. Used in the best spas for decades this is a very simple 5-minute treatment that is easily incorporated into a facial. Also, daily lymphatic drainage massage can make a huge improvement to your appearance. Facial massage is an ancient technique used by women for thousands of years because it works. Every facial at Spa on the Plaza includes lymphatic drainage massage but anybody can easily incorporate this into his or her daily routine. Finally, before you resort to surgery, I recommend Ultherapy. It is half the cost and has no down time. The results are remarkable and it looks more natural than most facelifts.

Myth # 4 Sun is bad for your skin. Not true! Early morning or late afternoon sun is excellent for our skin. It gives us our vitamin K and also a golden glow that signifies health and vibrancy. Get outside, move your body and you will emit a youthful appearance. The sun is good for us on many levels. Do not be afraid of it.

Myth # 5 Because it is natural, it is safe. Natural does not mean organic. Neither does it promise that the ingredients are safe. The ingredients in cosmetics are not regulated in the United States and yes, some are very dangerous for your health. Many ingredients used by the cosmetic industry have been proven to cause cancer and harm  the reproductive and endocrine systems. At Spa on the Plaza we do not sell or use any product unless it has been deemed safe by the highly reputable non-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG).

Be educated and informed with a healthy skepticsim and find an establishment you can trust.  We hope to see you soon at                     Spa on the Plaza.

Physical, Spiritual

Meditation Made Easy

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meditatingI used to swim daily in the warm ocean waters of La Jolla California. I remember my body felt light, buoyed by the salt water and the lapping waves. As I turned my face into the cold ocean I saw  tendrils of seaweed reaching towards me from the dark recesses of the ocean floor. The rhythm of my breath was the prominent sound and my mind became singularly focused on reaching the buoy in the far distance. For years I practiced this daily ritual and yet if someone asked if I meditated I would say, “no, I can’t sit still long enough.” This rather narrow perspective was altered when I studied the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh. He practices walking meditation and explains there are many opportunities throughout the day to reach deep meditative states by simply observing the subtle body through breath and mindful presence.

Years later, when I moved to the  Central California where the ocean water is an average frigid 57 degrees, I gave up ocean swimming for dance. Here too, I found an opportunity to go into a deep state of meditation. My teacher, Arjuna Vinn Marti, descInner Dancerribes the inner spiral and teaches a simple technique he calls the ABCDs. Assemble, Breathe, recognize that motion is Circular and when you are ready, Dissolve. Through this practice the dancer discovers an inner resonance unique to themselves which ultimately expresses itself in the dance.

Whether your movement is dancing, running or gardening, by bringing conscious breath and focused awareness to your activities, you can achieve deeper meditative states which can help to reduce stress, improve concentration, elevate mood, improve sleep…the benefits are multitude and varied but the proof is in, meditation enhances well being and changes brain function. So if, like me, you are a person in motion, stop, breath, pay attention and reach a whole new level of performance both physically, emotionally and spiritually. Namaste.

My thoughts, Spiritual

Like a Butterfly!

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ButterflyWhat secrets do I hold in my deep subconscious?  What is that quagmire of emotions where things go bump in the dark! There, in the belly of my soul, resides all the anger and disappointments swallowed whole and forgotten.

I was the pleasing child, full of smiles and sunny promises. Like most children I lived in a demanding world of needs and expectations and I became “the adaptive child.” Somewhere in my pleasing manner I lost my roots, my center, my personal barometer.

As a woman who chooses to step into my wisdom, I say enough! I no longer serve the voices of my mother, my father, my sisters and the barrage of imagery and hidden messages which tell me to hold my tongue and to diminish myself. In this new found space I shift my focus, for the first time in my long life, solely upon myself. The  roots of my consciousness are there waiting and they eagerly meet me in this realignment of my essence.

One of my favorite spiritual teachers, Bill Little, often compared this phase of life to that of a butterfly, who up until this momentous phase, thought she was a caterpillar! And like the caterpillar I will go inward, into a cocoon of self knowledge and love, so that I may fly like a butterfly.

Health, Spiritual

Happiness Challenge-Cherry Picked

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The 7-Day Happiness Challenge was profound. Writing about gratitude every morning for seven days increased my awareness of the negative chatter in my head and enabled me to more easily shift to positive thinking. It was a challenging week personally and professionally and yet this simple tool acted has a rudder while I navigated difficult waters. Because of this daily practice, I am a different person. Stronger,  wiser and oh yes, humbler.

Here is  a cherry picked version of my Happiness Journal.

I am grateful for:

My mom’s advice. “Eat healthy food, think happy thoughts and exercise regularly.” My sweet daughter Mira, who is full of ideas. For all the young people in my life who expand my percFullSizeRender (1)eptions and show me the future. 

For the abundant Huckleberries this fall. My home, my sweet home on top of a hill overlooking a blue bay where sometimes I see whales swimming. The Monterey Pines. Those gnarled, beautiful trees that give me so much joy when I walk in the woods.

The blueberries in my cereal. You dear reader, I am so thankful for your presence. The incredible joy of moving my body to music, my dad with his guitar and sweet voice and my mother’s dance.

I am thankful for this practice and how it is changing me. It teaches me to see the sacred in all life’s experiences and that love is not found in achievements but in celebrating others.

For this day and for every breath I take, I am grateful. It’s a great day to be alive!!

Namaste

 

Spiritual

4-Step Morning Ritual

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1. Begin the day with gratitude.

Turning over in my bed I watch the light of the sunrise fill my room with golden light and murmur my thanks for this new day, a thank you for my healthy body and my comfy bed. I rise in the still, semi-dark, a hushed time before most people stir and a time that feels sacred.

meditating2.Meditate.

I spread my prayer rug, light a candle and sit. I watch, a curious spectator, observing patterns of thought and following my breath. I begin a micro motion at the base of the spine. By focusing on the micro circular motion that moves up and down the spine, I can sit for extended time without pain.  I have learned there is no such thing as a static body but instead there is a beautiful array of micro motion that gives us the grace of a dancer even in a sitting meditation.  And so I sit, free of pain and without judgment.  I do not cast my thoughts away as pesky mosquitoes but rather view them as parent might observe a rambunctious toddler. I am finally at peace with my imperfections.

  1. Spinal warm up.

From sitting meditation I begin my kundilini spinal warm up starting with a mantra; Ong, Namo, Guru Dev, Namo, which means, I bow to the divine creator within. My breath is focused and my eyes are closed. Age is measured by the flexibility of the spine and so I begin with a spinal flex at the base of the spine. Holding the ankles I inhale and flex the spine forward, on the exhale I flex the spine backwards. The exercises move upward to the crown chakra utilizing the breath and full spinal movement to allow the “kundilini” energy to flow easily. It also has the added  benefit of curing me of all back pain. 

  1. Connection.

After the kundilini exercises I sit an additional five minutes in meditation and enjoy the fireworks! Pulsating vibrations and visions of electrical interconnectivity can often be felt and seen after this practice and upon opening my eyes I feel the possibilities of the day are limitlessness.

Namaste

Health, Physical

Gourmet Backpacking in Big Sur

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big sur coast
Looking South from Big Sur

We just got back from a gourmet backpacking trip in the Big Sur Wilderness  which was, in my expert opinion, the perfect spa vacation. It is low stress, great exercise and the solitude of the trail offers many opportunities for reflection. Why gourmet? You are rewarded for your exertion with two hot springs, delicious food, restorative yoga, 5-star views and excellent company!

The Pine Ridge Trail begins at the Big Sur Station just past the popular River Inn on Highway One. The destination is Tassajara, a Buddhist monastery deep in the Ventana Wilderness which offers lodging and sulphur hot springs. I recommend planning on taking four days, for although only 23 miles, the trail travels from river valleys to mountain peaks three times and can be very challenging depending on the weather and the conditions. Neck high brush and extreme temperatures are not uncommon on the eastern half the mountains. Also, it is nice to  relax in the afternoons and enjoy Sykes Hot Springs on the Big Sur River or have time to recover at Pine Ridge from what we laughingly call Agony Trail.

Tubs at Sykes Hot Springs

 

On day three we get up at  dawn in order to beat the heat as we climb a steep rocky faced path to Pine Ridge. Done in the early morning it is an easy three mile climb. If done in the afternoon, the brush, combined with the sun reflecting off the shale, can be agonizing. Hence the name, Agony Trail. This is when you begin to regret the extra granola you packed. Minimal is best when hiking this kind of terrain.

Wild flowers along the trail.
Wild flowers along the trail.
Pine Valley Overlook

There are rewards for at the end of this challenging hike however. The views and the wild flowers are spectacular from Pine Ridge and you can see vistas all the way to the Monterey. There is also a beautiful spring that comes right out of the mountain and is the sweetest water I have ever tasted. Restorative yoga, coffee and sweets are traditionally on the afternoon agenda.

Cave hands
Ancient Esalen Indian pictograhs

The next day is the trek to Pine Valley. An easy four miles that drops you into a low hanging valley covered in a field of lupine and poppies. Oak, Lucia Pines and Sugar Pines dominate the landscape and the sandstone cliffs harbor Indian caves where one can find mortars and ancient pictographs left by the Esalen indians.

The last day is a five mile run in order to make Tassajara by lunch. By day four a fresh salad and steamy bread are strong motivations to hike out early. Church Creek trail offers beautiful vistas of sandstone rock formations but is often poorly marked and brushy. No obstacles are great enough to slow down the pace as we imagine showers, hot springs and fresh food.

Monk crossing bridge.
Monk crossing bridge.

When entering Tassajara there is always a hush that comes over me. The monastery has a sacred energy due to the monks strong meditation practice. The lack of electricity and the constant gurgle of the river immediately soothes one’s soul. In the Japanese tradition the baths separate the sexes which leads to complete ease and fun conversations. The steam room is a testimony to the Zen aesthetic which combines beauty and simplicity. Lined in colorful river stones with solid redwood benches and a small window looking towards the river. It is by far the nicest sauna I have ever frequented.

I wanted to share this trip not only because it was so much fun but to remind people that a “spa vacation” can be inexpensive and free of the hassles of traveling in airports. We live in such an amazing state and have wilderness within short distances. The hiking equipment is lighter weight these days and the hike not only feels good at the end of the day but affords you privacy, a continual change of spectacular scenery and possible adventure!

 

Health

Remembering a Dream

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photo(1)As a young girl I was a voracious reader of historical novels. Gone with the WInd, Michener’s Hawaii,  I could  devour one a week. What came out of this love for epic historical novels was a secret desire to write. In college, after reading and loving Tolstoy’s War and Peace, I shared my dream with Brandon, my best friend and an aspiring writer. As if ashamed by my boldness, I tentatively told him “that someday I would like to write an historical novel but I would wait, until I was older, when I would actually have something to say.” Well, that dream like several others, was pushed aside in the dustbin of forgotten memories. I got on with my life, my career, marriage and motherhood.

Always surround yourself with people who believe in you. I have such an angel in my office at the spa. Alma, my CFO, and brain child read my last blog and told me I should write a book about my life. “No no, I said, I don’t want to write about myself but about one of Mother Jonesthe most fascinating women in history, Mother Jones.” Alma is from Romania and had never heard of Mother Jones and so I began an impassioned monologue of this great woman’s life. How she lived in the first Gilded Age, this being the second, and how she championed against child labor and for fair labor laws. I spoke of her wit, her charm and her tragic life. “Write the book, Alma exclaimed, it is a great gift if you do. You have the time now.” And she is right; I do!

I feel a renewal and a quickening in my soul as I write her story. A part of me that lie dormant begins to stir and I am excited by the vastness of life’s possibilities. It is never to late to dust off an old dream.

 

Health, Spiritual

Dancing in a Field of Flowers

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Dancing in flowersHaving a twenty year marriage to a wonderful man healed a sense of isolation rooted deep in my childhood experiences. The incredible nurturing of family strengthened me, making me more self-confident and emotionally flexible. Together we had a beautiful daughter named Mira, a home, a successful business and a remarkable community of friends. How then can anyone begin to understand why such a bond is broken?

There is such a strong cultural belief that if a marriage ends it is somehow a failure. Not at all, just the closure in a chapter of a life. Just an about face and a rebirth. I am testimony that divorce can be a liberating phenomena. As a mother, wife and business owner, time alone was rare and I craved it for twenty long years. Suddenly set free as an empty nester and a single woman I have a yawning space of time in which to renew myself.

My marriage had so much good that I wouldn’t change any of my choices. The memories we created and the lessons learned have made me who I am today and I am grateful to all those who played part in this wonderful drama called life. I give particular thanks to Roy, my soon to be ex-husband who stood by his family sometimes like a soldier whose sole purpose was to protect the homeland. Running a small business in a roller coaster economy is not easy.

I still cry sometimes and miss the intimacy found with family but I also know this too will pass and someday I will find myself again in a tight bond of community. But in the mean time I feel like I am god’s child dancing in a field of wildflowers.

Health

It’s Not How Much You Eat. It’s What You Eat.

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Fighting the bulge.
Fighting the bulge.

I love to eat and I love a trim, healthy body. I always thought my regular daily exercise program would keep my weight in check but one day I woke to the hard truth when I saw a photo of me from the back. I was was in a swimsuit and I hardly recognized myself.

I realized that my youthful metabolism was gone and if I wanted to be my ideal weight I’d have to change what I eat.  I started by eliminating all white flour and sugar but the big shift happened when I started to eat more green food.2_dark-green-vegetables Our energy ultimately comes from the sun. The green in vegetables comes from chlorophyll which absorbs the sunlight that creates energy. The cow eats the grass and when we eat the cow we are two steps from the sun’s energy. When we eat green vegetables we are much closer to the essence of all life. Make this shift  in your diet and you will notice an immediate change in how you feel and what you crave. One day before dinner you’ll find yourself craving a salty carrot instead of crackers and cheese. It’s a food revolution. Join us and feel good!

Health, Spiritual

I am the Master

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It is time to own my mastery and shed the persona of a young women and step into my power. Goddess-Dancing

Recently, while studying a form of dance called “Soul Motion” at Esalen, our revered dance teacher Vinn Marti alias “Arjuna”gathered us in a circle. He began the exercise by stating ” I am known by many as Vinni, but now I am Arjuna.” We were all asked to step forward with a form of self identification. In this group there were many name changes and unique expressions of self were offered.

I nervously waited my turn, doubting my creativity and my ability to speak coherently. I had some vague idea of what I was going to say but I was mostly mesmerized by the statements of those who came before me.

My turn came and with courage I stepped into the circle.  “As a child I was called Cammy, as a woman I became Camille and as an elder I am (here I raised my arms high and spoke with authority) the goddess.” Whew where did that come from and wow that felt great!

Stepping into our mastery as elders is the natural transition in our spiritual evolution. Do we have the confidence and the wisdom to own that role? This is a new journey for me and I plan to meet the challenge with joy and humility.

 

 

 

Well Being & Health