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Attention Men – Its Time To Organise Your Christmas Gift
For That Special Woman In Your Life.
Need Help? Then Check Out Careem’s Christmas Shopping Week Starting Tuesday 1^st December.

            Ever tried giving her a household commodity such as new iron and ironing board? Even if it is really needed? To women, that means “get on and iron my shirts, you slave”, not “thank you for all the hard work you do around the home every day, and here’s the tools to get the job done faster”. Now you’re getting the idea. Its about the different ways that men and women think about things (if you don’t believe me, read the book: Men Are From Mars & Women Are From Venus).

            If this sounds like you, and if you live in or around Rotorua, NZ, then I’ve got really good news. I already know what she would love you to buy her for Christmas, and where you need to look. Even better, it can be done without leaving your computer desk – just by a few clicks of the mouse. It will be delivered to your door, already gift wrapped, in time for Christmas. How easy is that?

On Line Shopping week ( New Zealand Only):
Bargains last for 24hrs,one new one each day, covering: massage deals, facials, skincare, spa gift boxes, and popular pamper packages.
Just send me your email by 30^th November and you can join in.

Email: carol@careem.co.nz

This week Air New Zealand has announced brand new direct flights from Sydney to Rotorua, New Zealand, starting in late November 2009.

Rotorua is a tourist town - well set up with lots of activities for all ages and all interests- and all the tourism companies are overjoyed. As are the locals who yearn for a weekend away in Sydney!

Rotorua is where I live and where I have my day spa.

I am passionate about helping people to destress and unwind with personal programmes created just for them. Natural health and naural beauty - it all works on the mind, body and spirit.

We are based in such a tranquil location, that it works its magic evey time. In all weathers. Although we don’t have on-site accommodation, there are some lovely BnBs really close by. A relaxing 5 minutes walk on safe, scenic routes from here. Lake Okareka is just 10 mins from the airport and 10 mins from downtown Rotorua. Its a little semi-rural community with a mixture of holiday accommodation and permanent residents.

Here is what Barbara had to say about her recent weekend at Careem Wellness Spa:

We’re back home safe and sound and totally revitalized after our weekend of total indulgence. The programme u set up for us was fantastic and was certainly a complete body and mind holistic experience. One to be repeated!

Keep balanced, keep well - naturally!

Carol Bannister

New products have been added. Many of these products have recently been reformulated with more active ingredients and a greater gel component,  giving a lighter feel on the skin and more hydrating properties. I am currently running a 6 week skincare product trial for locals to give me feedback about the new formulations.

If you are in or near  Rotorua and would like to be part of the trial, please send me an email : carol@careem.co.nz.
In the mean time people keep asking me for the price list, so here it is - finally!

The Low Down On Anti-aging Protection For Your Skin

Lately, I’ve been researching into anti-aging products and how they may help your skin stay fresher and younger-looking.  This is because I have discovered some great new ingredients to use in my skin care products that seem to work really well. And other ingredients that I know and prescribe as a naturopath to reverse the main causes of internal aging and illness (help! my body is degenerating). And now they are being used externally and promoted commercially as “new” magic anti-aging ingredients.

There is one common factor – INFLAMMATION. No, you can’t see it or feel it, but it is present in many of us at a cellular level, working away and damaging the integrity and structure of your body. This is caused by the activity of free radicals that create an “oxidation chain reaction”. This results in small, incremental damage over time, so that the results are not obvious until you have some niggly symptoms some time later - even years later. You may eventually feel less energetic, slightly creaky in the joints, have minor ongoing sinus, get eczema or allergies that you didn’t have before, have digestive issues….and start to show some of the 7 signs of aging. Including wrinkles.

If you were a “flower child” of the ‘1950s, 1960’s or even 1970s, its likely that you smothered yourself in oil and lay out in the sun to get an all over, even suntan. It was your number one beauty tool – or so we thought! Remember Q-tol to soothe sunburn? But where was our sunscreen in those days? Sitting in the shade or wearing a long sleeved shirt was the only sunscreen that I remember.

3. What Causes Age Spots?

Over your life time, ultra violet rays reach into your skin and stimulate the action of special pigmentation-generating cells called melanocytes, which increases melanin production. This is the basis of a sun tan.

How do you know if age spots are ready and waiting, under your skin? Beauty Therapists use a “black lamp” also known as a Skin Scanner or Woods Lamp which can see under the surface of your skin. What is visible on the surface can look totally different to what is actually happening underneath your skin. Scary!

4. What’s All The Fuss About Collagen?

If you watch the ads, you will know that boosting collagen is the key to anti-aging skin care. But what do you actually know about collagen?

Collagen is part of our “connective tissue”. It creates tensile strength and support to our bodies. Collagen is not only a component of skin, but also of the rest of our body. It is what gives our skin firmness and support. When it is depleted and not replaced quickly enough, skin starts to become slack and fine wrinkles begin to appear.

Depleted levels of collagen production are a “side effect” of decreasing hormone levels – especially accelerating around the time of menopause. Which is why all those thousands of women who used to take HRT also had nice skin. But now the alarming health risks of taking HRT are well known, and it is no longer a drug to be used lightly by the masses who are afraid of growing old, or of going through menopause naturally.

By applying collagen to the skin, we can only hope for one result – it helps retain moisture, thus plumping up fine lines and making wrinkles less obvious. But it doesn’t actually replace the lost collagen because the size of the molecule of collagen cannot penetrate the surface of your skin.

5. What about taking collagen internally?

I’m not convinced that this one action will result in your having beautiful, ageless skin. The trouble is that if your whole body is depleted in collagen, there is no way of telling the capsule contents to just to go to your skin. It will go wherever your body most needs it first.

And no doubt you have been reading all of this - with a furrowed brow!- thinking:

6. OK. So How Do I Stop My Aging Process?

Alright, maybe “stop” is too much to expect.
Would you be happy with “slowing down” the aging process?

• Stop those niggly health issues and create an anti-inflammatory lifestyle
• Eat plenty of anti-oxidant veges & fruit and collagen-containing broths
• Wear a daily broad spectrum sun block on your face winter and summer.
• Reduce superficial age spots with a series of beauty salon gentle fruit acid treatments –best done in winter
• Stimulate cellular production of collagen on your skin with a series of beauty salon electrical galvanic treatments
• Have a Skin Analysis and establish a daily skin care routine suited to
  your skin type
• Take supplements known to beautify your skin
• Sweat through your skin for 15 mins daily – exercise, brisk walk, sauna, bath
• Get enough sleep – exhaustion shows in your face
• Take control of your stress, so it doesn’t manage you. Worry makes wrinkles!

Its So Easy To Make Your Own Refreshing Herbal Tea! Healthier, More Cost Effective And Yummier.

Over-packaged herbal teas you find on the supermarket shelf  have a lot to answer for! They taste like card board, dry grass or lolly water and have put many people off even wanting to try them again.

Back in the days when the only medicine available was mainly sourced from plants, fresh herbal teas were the main method of adminstering healing.

Now here’s how you can be a natural healer of old. I’ll bet you have something in your garden or larder right now that could be used to make a refreshing herb tea.

Its really easy to make your own fresh tasting, herbal tea that hasn’t been packaged in a factory. Just select some fresh herbs ( eg I have these growing in my garden: rosemary, lemon thyme, lemon verbena, lemon grass mint, crush or chp them into a small teapot. Or jug. Add a few fragrant, aromatic seeds ( eg cardomom, carraway, fenugreek) and pour over 1-2 cups of boiling water. Leave for 5 minutes.

On a cold day, I grate fresh root ginger because I find it comforting and warming. I like to drink herbal tea weak without leaving it too long, otherwise the herbs will make your tea bitter. Another important point is to use only a small amount of herb - say a tablespoon of chopped leaf. This also saves it from getting bitter. 

Here is a list of common household herbs and how they help your body to maintain health and wellbeing:

Mint - calms the digestion, cools the body, refreshing drink on rising

Thyme - anti-microbial properties good for gargles, reduces hot sweats - take before bed

Parsley - high in iron, excellent fibre, liver cleansing properties

Dill seeds or leaf - calm irritable digestion - called gripe water - used for baby colic

Carraway seed - reduce gas in the gut, great flavouring for cakes

Celery seed - diuretic, aids arthritic joints

Lemons - alkaliniser, aids liver cleansing, good with barley water for urinary tract infections

Ginger - root or powder - stimulates the circulation, warms the body, calms nausea and travel sickness, settles stomach

Do you have any favourites?

Hapy drinking more healthily!

Carol

If you grew up in the days of the Beatles, flower power and wore psychedelic hippie clothing, when “ natural skincare” meant washing your face with soap and water, then your skin needs my help, NOW!

You probably weren’t shown how to look after your skin back then. Your mother had lived through the depression and endured food rationing during World War 2. Busy mothers didn’t paint their faces then –perhaps a touch of lipstick and rouge for a special night out- as the meagre family budget barely covered your schooling needs. Cosmetics were scare and a luxury item. Product choice was very limited. And those who wore more makeup than the norm were considered “ loose women”. So if Mum didn’t have many skills in makeup and personal grooming, then she couldn’t pass them on to you!  

Fast forward to the 70s when Mary Quant cosmetics were in vogue. Heavy, black eye lids. Thick mascara. Caked-on foundation that left a tell tale stripe around your jaw, racing-stripe blusher that swept skywards from your cheeks. It all took hours to put on. And its not a good look for today’s Baby Boomers to use any more.

If you are more of a practical Kiwi girl, then its likely that you barely use makeup. The rules have changed (what are they these days?), the old makeup comes out occasionally (how long have I had it?), but by the end of the night, the foundation sinks right into the wrinkles and shows them off a treat. The old sparkly eye shadow doesn’t stay either – it just slips off into the “crinkles” – those smile lines that seem to be gathering uninvited friends at the corners of your eyes. To make it even worse, the hot flushes reduce your makeup to watery streaks down your face! Since you go to the gym regularly, valiantly struggling against the never ending battle of the bulge, you just haven’t time to work at the makeup afterwards before you race out to your busy schedule.

Your skin changes as the decades slip by. What your skin could put up with in your youth is not what it can cope with today, if you still want to retain a youthful appearance. OK, so you’ve rushed out and bought the latest anti-wrinkle formula that has been advertised on TV. But it didn’t work. Again. You resolve never to be taken in again by emotive advertising claims. You’ve tried it. You’ve been around long enough to know that wrinkles don’t disappear from the application one tiny jar of incredibly expensive cream….but there’s always hope.

The good news is that is never too late to start caring for your skin properly. Naturally. Once you know what to do, its really easy!

These days its all about having nourished skin as a basis for a natural looking makeup. Having a correct skincare routine for your skin is the key. No, it won’t take you long – just pat it on as you are dressing for the day and undressing at night. A 40 minute skin assessment first will show us what your skin needs.

Mineral makeup is taking the world by storm, and for good reason:

• It is natural – like minerals from the earth that were used by Cleopatra!
• Fast to apply
• Easy to use
• Stays in place until you take it off
• Even resists hot sweats and gym workouts
• Has an SPF of 20
• Looks incredibly fresh and natural
• Even hides fine lines and wrinkles.

Come and let me show you how to update your look and become a beautifully groomed, natural woman – at any age!

89 Acacia Rd, Lake Okareka, RD5 Rotorua, New Zealand

We are well educated. We live in the "information age". There is plently of information on the web and in the media these days about healthy living. But how do you know if this advice is actually going to benefit you personally?

Today, it is considered that 75% of ill health comes from factors that you can control yourself. Known as lifestyle factors, it is just a matter of understanding exactly which factors are affecting your health right now.

Have you purchased vitamin bottle after vitamin bottle and still not found the result you were looking for? Often the answer is not just one magic pill. Why?

Because your body is not a machine that you just switch on and off, or simply change a spark plug and it bursts back into life, as good as new. Instead, your body is a complex, living organism that runs many overlapping "self-healing" systems at the same time.

When your body is no longer working well, there are lots of "fine tunings" that must be done to restore balance and return you to good health.

"It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen…"when your body is given the opportunity to heal itself.   

The key is in knowing exactly what you can do that will create the greatest improvement in the shortest possible time, that will last far into the future.

Finally, you can relax - because that’s what I’ve spent years training for. Based on my clinical experience, I know that there are many benefits that you will receive from a specially designed, personally targeted naturopathic health and wellness programme. Your programme will have many different facets that create building blocks to improving your health.

If you are in Rotorua, NZ and would like to come see me for an appointment, here are details of my clinic-based naturopathic programmes and packages.
There are two levels 
1. Wellness is for helping you to make healthy food & lifestyle choices - and I’ll give you the reasons why you need to change!

2. Naturopathic Health Improvement Programme is to help you manage and overcome chronic or ongoing health issues.

Careem Wellness Spa Natural Health Consultations Pricelist

Januuary 2009                                                                     07 362 8878

10 Benefits You Can Enjoy From

Regular Therapeutic Massage:

1. A better night’s sleep … after a massage, your body tells you it just wants you to go to sleep. No more tossing and turning, trying to get comfortable halfway through the night.

2. Less Stress… your mind is relaxed and soothed because you don’t have that nervous tension that keeps you lying wide awake, gazing at the ceiling.

3. A brighter outlook on life…with more sleep and less stress, you find that the world seems a happier place. Others around you notice that you smile more and have regained your sense of humour.  

4. Lowered blood pressure…stress raises blood pressure. Relaxation lowers it. You’ll quickly get used to the new sensation of letting your body relax …and reducing your blood pressure.

5. Fewer aches and pains…when one part of your body hurts, the muscles around it tighten up, in an attempt to “splint” the sore part, so that you don’t hurt it even more. Your tight muscles cause pain and discomfort too. Once these are relaxed, you will experience less pain and your body will feel whole again. Excellent for people who live with aches from a past injury.

6. Faster recovery from sport, recreation…..or the weekend gardening. Massage can ease off those parts of your muscle that tend to tighten under pressure of exertion …which are unable to let go. Left unattended, your muscle becomes less and less resilient to the demands you place on it. Instead of relaxing, your muscle becomes and more tight, with less capacity to “give”, making it liable to injury. Massage keeps you flexible and helps you recover from exertion more quickly.

7. Gentle detoxification… During massage, your muscles and surrounding tissues are squeezed and compressed, releasing lactic acid and unwanted waste products back into your blood stream and lymphatic system. This is an especially powerful effect when combined with an infra-red sauna. Remember to drink lots of pure water afterwards to help flush out your system, as your body continues to detox long after your massage has ended.

8. Better health and energy…when you regularly give yourself the time to relax and shut down your mind, your stress levels fall. When you are less stressed, your immune system is able to do its work of fighting off “invaders”. And when there is less adrenalin pumping around your body, it gets a chance to begin digesting your food properly and repairing itself. You will feel and look healthier and have a feeling of well being!

9. Greater productivity…because you begin to feel happier, healthier and more energetic, you find that you can achieve much more during the day than ever before. No more tension headaches to fog your brain, less pain so that you be more active, no sick days to stop you achieving what you want to in life.

So if you haven’t booked yourself some regular massages, then do it NOW!

If you have a nagging ache or can’t relax, then you’ll need a weekly massage, reducing to fortnightly when it starts to ease.

To keep you in balance, you’ll need to follow that with a monthly massage. Every month.

At Careem Wellness Spa, I have designed several packages for massage, which are booked into the clients’ diary 6-12 months ahead. That way,we both know they will remember to come regularly and take care of themselves.