The Life Coach Approach
It’s a lot easier to be happy with somebody else when you’re feeling satisfied about yourself. If you stop paying attention to what you’re all about, your romantic life will suffer — it’s like losing your mojo. Luckily, there are experts out there who can help.

"Life coaching can have a powerful effect on relationships," says Kay Richardson, a San Diego-based life coach. Life coaching, which helps individuals figure out who they are and how to achieve what they want out of life, is a growing national trend.

"Since life coaching supports the client in discovering and really being their true self, doing this with a partner can be an incredible way to get to know and support each other at a much deeper level," Richardson explains.

"Coaching also opens space for dreaming big and setting goals in a way that supports each partner and the relationship as a whole. This work can pave the way for real intimacy and heartfelt romance."

She adds that singles can benefit from a life coach, as well. "When you’re focused on looking for ‘the one,’ it can be a long, draining search. Shifting your focus to being your own unique, best self and creating real fulfillment in your life will help you naturally attract a much better fit."

At the Scripps Center for Integrated Medicine, Robert J. Solomon, MD, a psychiatrist, believes that feeling good is our natural state. He uses a holistic approach to help people find what he describes as "innate wellness." He helps people define "the essence of who and what they are."

Solomon — who holds group sessions every Thursday — claims it’s a "busy mind" that produces stress and hampers our ability to connect to ourselves and to others. Learning to find inner tranquility can alleviate many relationship issues.

"Your perspective broadens," he explains. "You see things in different ways. What often looked like a problem doesn’t exist or looks very different. When you’re angry, you have tunnel vision. When your mind is quiet, things are lighter and you can communicate more effectively." — AnnaMaria Stephens


Skin Sanctuary
Flickering candles, new-age music, and luxurious potions that smell as if they’ve been plucked from a perfumed rain forest are standard fare for spa pampering, but you won’t find any of that at Solana Beach’s Oxygen Medical Spa. "When it comes to the skin, we mean business," says owner Kimberly Running. Oxygen’s aestheticians and nurses take a dermatological approach, using a variety of peels, dermabrasions, lasers, and filler injections to rejuvenate skin in a lasting way. For best results, ask for the customized facial, a combination of treatments designed to best serve your particular needs. For example, Running took one look at the broken red capillaries scattered across my nose and cheeks — a common issue for men and women of Anglo descent — and used a tiny cauterizing needle to zap them away. The results, though not complete after one treatment, were noticeable and elicited countless compliments. (858/792-7111, www.oxygenmedicalspa.com) — AnnaMaria Stephens, photo by Kristy Ann Mann
Tracy Childs

Recipe For Fighting Cancer
The Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center has teamed up with the Cancer Project to offer Food for Life, a six-part nutrition and cooking class designed for cancer prevention and survival at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center’s Royston Family Auditorium. Though classes began in January, three remain on February 6, February 26, and March 4. The topics include Replacing Meat, Planning Healthy Meals & Antioxidants and Phytochemicals, and Immune-Boosting Foods. Taught by Tracy Childs, who’s been teaching nutrition and cooking for the Cancer Project since 2006, the classes offer information about how certain foods and nutrients work to promote or discourage cancer growth, and also include cooking demonstrations of healthy recipes that can be recreated at home. "The goal of this program is to empower cancer survivors, their friends, and their family members with easy-to-implement cooking skills that turn every meal into a delicious dose of healthy nutrition," says Childs. (858/450-5990, www.skcc.org)
— Alicia Garcia, photo by Kristy Ann Mann
Before (top) and after (bottom)

The Resurgence Of Silicon
Silicon oil gets a bad rap, says Paul Chasan, MD, a La Jolla-based plastic surgeon. Older forms of silicon were bulky and difficult to sterilize. When used for off-label cosmetic procedures, injected silicon often led to infection and migration. "It was a disaster!" Chasan exclaims. Despite such setbacks, he never gave up on silicon oil, and today routinely uses it to plump deflated lips and cheeks. "Silicon designed for injection is more viscous now," he says. "Practitioners using small amounts have been very happy and pleased with it." Though it’s been offered for years in Europe and Latin America, many American doctors are hesitant because of its checkered past. To educate his peers about silicon’s benefits and utility, Chasan recently published "The History of Silicon Oil for Soft Tissue Augmentation" in the esteemed Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. (858/450-1555, www.drchasan.com)
— AnnaMaria Stephens

 
 
 
 
 


© 2008 Rocket Publishing Company, Inc.    760.942.2330     P.O. Box 676130, Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067