We were just made aware of several great offerings at Canyon Ranch—both their Lenox and Tucson locations—and wanted to be sure to share them with you. Canyon Ranch is an HL&S fave- so if you can, visit!

Promotion for Tucson and Lenox:

Event for Tucson:Gotta Dance – Catch the Beat and Have a Ball

When: From May 02, 2010 to May 07, 2010 all day

Where: Tucson

Category: Fitness/Movement

Catch the beat, and get ready to groove. By popular demand, the smash-hit Gotta Dance! returns to Canyon Ranch.Are you a dancin’ demon already or just getting started? Exciting classes for all levels will be led by Ranch staff and professional dancers including Broadway veteran Russell Warfield, ballerina and ballet teacher Tracey Katona and choreographer Todd Wilson. They’ll show you their best moves and help bring out your star quality. The big finale comes with the fabulous guest recital, when you can dance with the stars! Gotta Dance!

Event for Lenox:Yoga and Vibrant Health

When: From Apr 24, 2010 to Apr 30, 2010 all day

Where: Lenox

Category: Fitness/Movement, Spirituality

Yoga is a discipline that unites mind, body and spirit. Whether you’re a beginner or practice yoga daily, our experts will give you caring hands-on guidance.In the latter half of this amazing week, our own Nina Molin, M.D., and guest speaker Dr. Shekhar Annambhotla will show you how to integrate ayurveda, the “sister science” of yoga, into your life, and will help you use this ancient paradigm of health to support your practice and enhance your joy, health and vibrancy.

Which oil is best?

In a clinical study conducted by The Centre for Nutritional Studies, Barlean’s Omega Swirl, a lemon flavored, emulsified fish oil product was found to be 90% more bio-available than standard fish oil.

In the study, the total percentage of oil that reached the blood stream was 10-times greater with Omega Swirl than the same dose of fish oil. Theoretically, it could take up to 20 standard fish oil gelcaps to equal the amount of Omega-3 delivered to the bloodstream by just one, two tsp. dose of Omega Swirl.

Barlean’s Fruit Swirl resembles the texture of a fruit smoothie and has a fruity flavor to match. According to Barlean’s, this texture allows the oil to more efficiently pass through the intestinal wall and into the bloodstream.

Barlean’s Omega Swirls have won multiple “Best of Supplement” and “Tasters Choice” awards and the company has captured national media attention, including our attention here at HL&S! (We also like their OliveLeaf complex oil, which has a nice minty flavor.)

Which oils are your fave?

For the week of February 21st to February 25th, the Suddenly Slimmer Spa, in Phoenix, Arizona, is offering the following specials:

1 Hour Hot Stone Massage or Aromatherapy Massage, $65!

Deep Pore, Acne Facial, or Rejuvenation Facial, $75!

These specials must be booked this week. Mention the HL&S special when you make your reservation.

“Hearts for Haiti” Natural Balance Massage & Wellness Center in Brooklyn, New York, has been spreading the love throughout the entire month of February with its’ “Hearts for Haiti” campaign. A portion of all Natural Balance Gift Card sales will go to benefit the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund and Doctors Without Borders. A minimum of $1000. has been pledged by Natural Balance towards this effort, but their goal is to exceed the pledge by 100%. So, as you give a spa gift of health and love, we will pay it forward to help those in dire need.

Visit Healing Lifestyles website today, and the first twenty-five entrants will each win a $25 gift card to Satya Jewelry, a unique line of gorgeous jewelry, inspired by healing elements found in nature as well as different spiritual symbols.PLUS, one lucky winner will also win a $500 gift certificate! Act fast!

Having worked in film off and on for a long time, I love a good movie—but I’m usually extremely disappointed by over-hyped product, and had put off seeing Avatar for that very reason. And, frankly, except for True Lies and the first Terminator movie, James Cameron has never been especially high on my list of creative talent (I actually fell asleep during Titanic). That said, I was pleasantly surprised—and rather moved—by his latest film, Avatar, and its strong underlying message of respect and honor for the natural world (despite the huge profits it stands to make).

I initially got talked into going because my husband loves animation and special effects, and because I adore the work of Sigourney Weaver. But as the story unfolded, I was struck not only by the beauty of the distant world the film portrays, but also by the apt depiction of modern society’s overwhelming greed and willingness to destroy things for a profit. Money and profit at the risk of anything and everything seems to be the motto of the Western world, sadly played out by the fact that corporations are given the same rights (and in many cases, more rights) as individuals. How that happened, and the fact that more than one Supreme Court ruling here in the US has guaranteed that gigantic corporations can make decisions that effect you, me, and our children in devastating ways, remains a matter of huge significance for us as a species. And, while some of us may be morally damaged beyond repair here on Planet Earth with regard to what’s important, what’s not, and how we treat the environment, at least we’re currently unable to damage other planets and their ecosystems.

I’ve always believed that if the moon really were made of cheese, the surface would be covered by now with huge corporate factories, all digging away at the direction of their CEOs, CFOs, and shareholders until there was simply no moon left at all. Perhaps the enormous number of children who have seen, or will see, Avatar will come away with their eyes opened, just a bit. It’s worth a hope, and a sincere thank you to the film’s creators. And yes, that includes you, Mr. Cameron.

with my hubby of course…

But, I’ve also fell in love with The Organic Pharmacy, an exquisite line of skincare based in the U.K. To be honest, I’ve heard of The Organic Pharmacy for several years, but never ventured out to actually try it. When I received a sample of their new Mommy & Baby Line, I immediately went to test it out on my daughter’s dry skin. My poor daughter inherited my dry (technically keratosis pilaris) skin condition, that leaves little red bumps all over her cute complexion. Their Apricot & Chamomile Baby Lotion almost instantly erased the redness. And, although she naturally smells sweet, this lotion smells incredible.. I wanted to bathe myself in it. But, alas, it is for her. I’ll have to go and buy my own bottle.

The entire line is free of petrochemicals and parabens, and highlights nature’s best ingredients from herbs to plants and flowers. And if you’re so lucky that your travels (or your life) take you to London, be sure to look for their spa.

Spa and Healing Arts Community sending a healing message of support to aid Haitian recovery

Joining healing resources together to help UNICEF’s ongoing efforts to help the children of Haiti, Healing Arts For Haiti will be sending its own personalized valentine to the children of Haiti on Friday, February 12, 2010, Noon to 8 pm, Grand Ballroom at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, 42nd Street, New York. This one-of-a-kind event will bolster the outstanding work that UNICEF has been a part of in Haiti especially for the children, many of whom have been injured and orphaned due to the January earthquakes and subsequent tremors. Healing Arts For Haiti is a collaboration bringing together over 200 professionals from the spa and healing arts community and the health and beauty industry of New York City metro area for an event to bring the art of healing to the act of giving all in one location. Participants in the event can partake of an extensive array of special services ranging from massages, manicures, facials, makeovers, acupuncture to yoga, exercise and fitness. Also, there will be opportunities to participate in the Healing Arts For Haiti silent auction featuring spa treatments, gift items, gift certificates, and more and to purchase products and services from retailers of specialized health and beauty items. One hundred percent of the proceeds will benefit efforts to assist the Haitian community to rebuild.

“The Grand Hyatt Hotel has graciously donated its showplace for everyday New Yorkers to show their love on the weekend of Valentine’s Day for UNICEF and its stellar efforts in Haiti,” states Bruce Schoenberg, Co-Founder, Oasis Day Spa and Fundraising Chair, Healing Arts For Haiti. “Our efforts are all voluntary and the support has been tremendous. We are planning an event to send love and support in our own way – through healing techniques and positive energy.”

UNICEF is the designated charity for the event because of its international role in aiding children. The event is open to the general public. The Grand Hyatt Hotel is located at 109 East 42nd Street at Grand Central Terminal, New York, NY 10017. We welcome your participation and sponsorships.

For more information and to find out how you can help Healing Arts For Haiti, call 646-328-1620. Check our website www.healingartsforhaiti.org or join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/HealingArtsForHaiti and Twitter: https://twitter.com/HealingHaiti.

Because I’ve been writing about health and wellbeing for most of my career, and because I’m a human being who genuinely cares about the welfare of others—especially those less fortunate than myself—I’m increasingly appalled at the resistance to health care reform in this country. The idea that lobbyists and special interest groups (read: insurance companies and pharmaceutical manufacturers), who reap HUGE financial gains from our current insurance and health system, are able to influence the public with deliberately misguided information is simply wrong. I mean wrong from every possible angle: morally, ethically, humanly, and from the perspective of the future of our children. Who, really, can justify the argument for not providing universal, government financed healthcare for those who have none? Who can justify that level of selfishness, and sleep at night knowing that the ever-growing population of unemployed stands to not only lose their homes, but will be unable to afford doctor’s visits and medication for themselves and their families?

While I love the US and am proud to be a citizen, I spend a lot of time in other countries on story assignments, and despite the trumped up ads that try to convince Americans that health care in Canada and the UK is substandard, I’ve never heard anyone who lives in either country voice a complaint about the fact that they have access to it. Some countries are so much further evolved than we are socially (Iceland is a great example), that not only do they provide their citizens with top-notch health care, but they also have free, advanced education. Want your doctorate? You can have it, without signing your life away in accrued debt to finance it. Your taxes pay for it instead. And to those who argue that they don’t want their tax dollars providing benefits to others, I say grow up and stop being so selfish. You’re just not that important. Maybe the fact that other countries also truly value education, and provide it to their citizens in the interest of having an informed population, is why they’re so much smarter than we are when it comes to things like healthcare.