April 2007 Newsletter

An Inspirational Quote

"If you feel loved you remain healthy and make healthy choices. If you are not, your chances of having a major illness and being an addict of some sort by midlife are over 90 percent."

Bernie Siegel, author, Love, Medicine and Miracles

How to Have Beautiful Skin
by Catherine Carrigan, catherine@totalfitness.net

Growing up in Savannah, Georgia, my earliest memories of what it meant to become an attractive woman were shaped by accompanying my mother on her weekly trips to the local beauty parlour.

I remember being bored out of my mind while she sat, seemingly forever, with her locks rolled in pink curlers under the helmet-shaped hair dryer. She sat patiently while the stylist combed her curls and sprayed her head with sticky aerosol to glue her looks in place for another week. "It's painful to be beautiful," she used to say to me.

Today, I have learned that a lot of things we women do to try to look attractive are not only painful, but potentially deadly. And I'm not just talking about overly strict dieting or over-exercising - I'm talking about what we women put on our skin, hair and nails. For more inspiration, I encourage everyone to listen to our recent interview with Kim Erickson, author of Drop-Dead Gorgeous: Protecting Yourself From the Hidden Dangers of Cosmetics at this link: http://www.totalfitness.net/radio_show_past_shows.htm

Over the years, I have had many clients who owned spas, gave facials and sold cosmetics. They were all well-meaning women who truly wanted to help their customers look and feel better about themselves. Unfortunately they had little understanding that many of the products they were selling were actually causing breakouts, contributing to their customers' total toxic load, and even interfering with their own ability to reduce body fat.

A simple fact to remember: You hold toxins in your fat cells. Understanding this fact, why would you ever want to eat aspartame, consume food laced with artificial hormones, or slather chemicals on your skin that your body can't process?

These professionals would bring their products to me and I would test them using kinesiology. Although I had studied the chemical effects of these substances, it was actually testing the cleansers, toners, and supposed "miracle" creams myself that made me a believer in the importance of organic cosmetics.

With kinesiology, I can test how any substance affects a person's liver, kidneys or any other organ. When you smear anything on your skin, your body absorbs that substance into your bloodstream and into your organs. That's why medical doctors can prescribe hormone creams or patches. When I began testing cosmetics, I quickly saw that the majority of what is being marketed is actually toxic. It's a new kind of pain to realize that the $100 product you thought was going to erase your wrinkles is actually clogging your liver. Many products work like colored wall filler - they literally fill in the wrinkles on your face, and do nothing to restore the health of your skin cells - they just pollute and suffocate them with a toxic plastic-like substance. A colleague of mine had told me that many of her clients were not able to achieve their ideal size until they gave up their toxic personal care products.

Being a true Southern woman and an unapologetic girly girl, I am not about to give up my beauty regime and walk around au naturel. I just chose the healthiest products I can find and I have noticed an improvement in my own complexion. I still love to receive manicures and pedicures, but now I ask the technicians to buff my nails instead of painting them with toxic polishes.

Realizing that we women are still going to try to become more beautiful than we already are, here are my suggestions for naturally beautiful skin:

1. Drink enough water. Many of our clients are chronically dehydrated. If you are not properly hydrated, you can't release toxins out of your cells. Your skin is 70 percent water and reflects your level of hydration. Your complexion will be clearer when you drink 5oz spring water for every 10Ibs of body weight
2. Keep your colon moving. Your skin is your largest organ of detoxification, but your detoxification system also includes your large intestine, liver and kidneys. Consider colonics or enemas.
3. Make sure you are getting enough essential fatty acids. The side effects of adequate fish oil consumption include shiny hair and glowing skin. Healthy fats are essential for beautiful, shiny and manageable hair.
4. Drink fresh vegetable juice daily. Although I understood the many benefits of juicing, what actually convinced me to start making my own juice every day was reading a testimonial from a doctor whose women clients who juiced still had beautiful skin into their 70s.
5. Eat unprocessed organic food. Lower your toxic load by choosing the cleanest diet possible free of hormones, artificial colourings and chemical additives. Remember that organic junk foods are no healthier than non-organic ones.
6. Use a mini trampoline to improve your circulation. Although many forms of exercise increase the circulation of blood and lymph, bouncing is one of the best for exercising and detoxifying the cells. If you have foot, knee, back or neck problems then go for a brisk walk instead.
7. Meditate and practice yoga. One of the most inspiring things about going to yoga conventions is meeting fellow yoginis - you can't tell how old they are! Contrast this with meeting tri-athletes - they often look tired.
8. Ask me to test your personal care products. If you are unsure how your cosmetics are affecting you, bring them to your next appointment and ask me to test them using kinesiology. You can quickly discover which ones actually work.
9. Download "The Top 10 Cosmetic Ingredients You Should Avoid" contributed by author Kim Erickson.
10. Ask me about the healing benefits of organic essential oils. I love perfume as much as any girly girl. You don't have to give up beautiful scents - just learn about the many emotional and spiritual benefits of the healthier alternatives.

Further Resources:
www.kindredspiritskincare.com - The website of our client Sally Larsen. You can also purchase her organic line here at our Total Fitness office.

www.thebodydeli.com - This company based in Palm Desert, California, makes organic personal care products, including shampoo and conditioner.

www.creatinghealthybeauty.com - Kim Erickson's website. Kim is creating a whole new line of organic skin care. Visit her website to print out recipes for products you can make yourself.

Client Story: Sally Larsen

Although I had tested many cosmetics for many clients over the years, working with Sally Larsen has taken my dedication to organic cosmetics to a whole new level.

When Sally first came to me, she was unable to lose weight despite eating very little food. After hearing Sally's plight, I remembered that 40 percent of people have impaired Phase II detoxification - which means their liver doesn't break down toxins fully. This may predispose them not only to cancer but also to having a hard time processing alcoholic beverages and reducing body fat.

Seventeen years ago, Sally had cancer. Like many other former cancer patients, Sally had the good fortune to be cured, but unfortunately the doctors had not worked with her to change the underlying biological terrain that led to her cancer in the first place. Using kinesiology, I quickly determined that Sally's liver and kidneys were highly stressed. We ran a medical test on Sally's detoxification capacity and the doctors at the lab were so alarmed at her results they called me repeatedly to make sure she was getting the best care available.

Meanwhile, Sally would come in and tell me about her hives. We identified her sensitivity to wheat and gluten grains, and removing the gluten out of her diet made a big difference. But we also noticed that when she would experiment with new cosmetics or skin creams, she would experience hives and other unpleasant symptoms. One of those side effects was that she would stop losing weight. I tested her personal care products and we probably threw away about 95 percent of what she had been using.

We also had many discussions about the spiritual aspects of her business, kindredspiritskincare.com, and now, when Sally makes skin care products for her clients, she realizes she is feeding their skin and organs right down to the cellular level. I am proud to offer Sally Larsen's skin care at Total Fitness. Ask me to show you the mineral foundations that - unlike most mineral foundations - are free of parabens. Try her hand creams and body scrubs and feel the difference for yourself.

Upcoming Seminar In Atlanta: Gorgeous Skin Naturally

Have you been wondering how your cosmetics are affecting your health? Join Catherine Carrigan, president of totalfitness.net, and Sally Larsen, president of kindredspiritskincare.com, for a seminar on healthy skin care on Wednesday, May 9 2007. You can bring your cleansers, moisturizers, lipsticks, nail polishes and other items and Catherine will use kinesiology to show you if they're right for you and how these products may have been affecting your health. Sally Larsen will discuss how she makes her organic lotions. Find out how to be beautiful AND healthy!

For more information:
contact Sally Larsen at sallybl@aol.com
or Catherine Carrigan at catherine@totalfitness.net

Upcoming Guests, Total Fitness Radio Show

Tune in every Friday at 7 a.m. PST/10 a.m. EST for the latest edition of Total Fitness. Have your fitness, nutrition and healing questions answered for FREE by Catherine and James and our guest experts by calling toll-free, 1-866-472-5792, during the LIVE broadcast.

Afterwards, listen to the archives for FREE, 24/7, by visiting this link: http://www.totalfitness.net/radio_show_past_shows.htm

April 27: Dr. Diana Schwarzbein, author, The Schwarzbein Principle
May4: Brooke Siler, author, The Pilates Body: The Ultimate At-Home Guide to Strengthening, Lengthening, and Toning Your Body-- Without Machines,
May11: Dan Millman, author, The Way of the Peaceful Warrior
May18, Cyndi Dale, author, Attracting Your Perfect Body Through the Chakras
May25, Lynn Elliot-Harding, eating disorders expert, "Food and Chemical Dependency"

Yoga and Qi Gong Classes in Atlanta

Yoga Classes: Every Tuesday and Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
Holy Spirit Catholic Church
4465 Northside Drive, Atlanta, GA.
$15 per class or $65 per calendar month.

NEW Yoga Classes: Every Wednesday at 3:15 p.m.
Atlanta Speech School
3160 Northside Parkway.
For more information about this class, please call 404-350-8581.

Qi Gong Class: Every Wednesday, 5:30 p.m. 1951 Northside Drive, Atlanta, GA. $15 per class.

Booking appointments with Total Fitness

To schedule an appointment to find out about a personalized fitness, nutrition or healing program that will help you get results, please contact us:

In Atlanta

Catherine Carrigan catherine@totalfitness.net

James Williams james@totalfitness.net

In California

Nina Lynn nina@totalfitness.net

You can also visit us on the web at www.totalfitness.net