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Leave a light environmental footprint by taking your relatives and friends to a local restaurant specializing in healthy, organic food rather than buying them a birthday gift this year, says Pamela McCurdy, marketing specialist with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. “It’s good for your friendship, good for your health, and good for the local restaurant industry.”
2
Don’t let the harsh winter elements mess with your mane. Use Bumble & Bumble Tonic each morning, followed by Ciment Thermique by Kerastase (use a tiny amount after your shower, and this leave-in heat-activated reconstructing milk for weakened hair will protect your ‘do from the heat of hairdryers, flatirons, curling irons, and our crazy Midwest climate), then once a week give your scalp a treatment with the Kerastase Resistance Age Recharge. Bumble & Bumble and Kerastase, both top-of-the-line hair care products, are now available at Tres Jolie Salon on Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis.
In addition to using the right hair care products, a new color, cut, texture change (curly, straight, shiny, or smooth), or the addition of natural-looking, damage-free extensions can help transform your image in 2009. Make an appointment with one of 11 talented stylists at this contemporary salon, or purchase a $100 gift card for a loved one and receive an additional $25 gift card for free.
3
No more excuses. Now is the perfect time to quit smoking. According to the American Heart Association’s website, “No matter how much or how long you’ve smoked, when you quit smoking, your risk of heart disease and stroke starts to drop. In time, your risk will be about the same as if you’ve never smoked.” The American Heart Association suggests four steps to quitting: Step One: List your reasons and read them several times a day, wrap your cigarette pack with paper and rubber bands, and each time you smoke, write down the time of day, how you feel, and how important that cigarette is to you on a scale of one to five, then rewrap the pack. Step Two: Keep reading and adding to your list of reasons, don’t carry matches, keep your cigarettes out of easy reach, and each day, try to cut down on the number of cigarettes you smoke. Step Three: Continue with step two and set a target date to quit, don’t buy a new pack until you finish the one you’re smoking, and try to stop for 48 hours at one time. Step Four: Quit smoking completely, throw out all cigarettes and matches, hide lighters and ashtrays, stay busy by going for long walks, biking, or going to the movies, avoid situations you relate with smoking, find healthy substitutes for smoking, carry sugarless gum or artificially sweetened mints, and do deep breathing exercises. Keep in mind that the urge to smoke will pass. The first two to five minutes will be the toughest. Remind yourself that once you quit smoking, your senses of smell and taste will return, your smoker’s cough will go away, your digestive system will return to normal, you’ll have more energy, and you won’t get winded as easily. For more information, call 1-800-242-8721 or visit www.americanheart.org
4
Been out of the exercise loop for a while? Get back in the game at Judy Beyers’ Power Source Personal Training at 76th and France in Edina. Fitness guru Judy Beyers has been helping people with nutrition and weight training since 1989. Her goal is to empower clients and let them know they are not victims of aging, heredity, or injury. There are five full-time trainers on staff to help men, women and families of all ages learn how to use free weights and nutrition to tone muscles, rehabilitate injuries, reverse the aging process, lose weight, fight osteoporosis, and build strength. The center’s specialty is teaching body sculpture—or toning muscles—and strength training. Clients are trained to be independent so they can keep the program going on their own once they leave Power Source. It can take as few as five training sessions before seeing real physical changes in about five weeks. There are classes to get your legs, abdominal muscles, and entire body into shape, as well as a class specifically for people 50 and over called “Getting Younger, Getting Stronger.”
www.powersourcepersonaltraining.com
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You don’t have to be Warren Buffet to be a philanthropist. People from all income levels give to the less fortunate—they often just need options and choices to determine how they can make an impact and change people’s lives. Community foundations are uniquely designed to help facilitate philanthropy for individuals and families. A community foundation streamlines the process, enabling people with philanthropic interests to easily and effectively support the issues they care about-immediately or through a charitable bequest. Donating through a foundation offers tax advantages, simplicity, and planning expertise.
Community foundations exist for everyone, created by and for local residents, says Jean Vukas Roberts, vice president of development for Minnesota Community Foundation and The Saint Paul Foundation. This type of giving is a thoughtful and strategic approach to giving that helps nonprofit organizations while advancing a person’s own financial and personal objectives, and most commonly can be made with cash, stocks, bonds, mutual funds and real estate.
www.mncommunityfoundation.org
www.saintpaulfoundation.org
6
Protect the skin you’re in by avoiding tanning beds and wearing sunscreen when outside. “The UV rays from either source greatly contribute to brown spots, redness, wrinkles, and most seriously, skin cancer,” says Dr. Elizabeth Hegberg of the Edina-based Skin Rejuvenation Clinic. “In fact, with the popularity of tanning beds, we’ve seen a frightening rise in cases of malignant melanoma in our younger population. If people protect their skin starting at a younger age, they can prolong—or quite possibly eliminate—the need for more aggressive cosmetic procedures in the future.”
Taking precautions such as limiting your time in the sun (and if you’re in the sun, wearing LaRoche Posay’s Anthelios sunscreen, available at Skin Rejuvenation Clinic), and avoiding smoking can help your skin age beautifully, she says, “however, despite such precautions, some people still have problematic skin.”
Whether your skin issue is hormone-related or genetic (thanks Mom and Dad), powerful medical-grade skin care products such as Obagi, SkinMedica, Clinical, and Vivite can work wonders.
She also says the North Star Peel treatment can “take many years off an aging face” (great if you’re worried about wrinkles, acne scars, age spots, or redness), and Botox is perfect for eliminating deep lines and creases.
“Skilled Botox injectors can soften persistent frown lines that have developed between your brows and around your eyes over time, creating a very natural look, not a tight, frozen face,” she says.
The husband-wife team of Drs. Elizabeth and Mark Hegberg administer all injectable and anti-aging laser treatments rather than passing the client to a nurse or aesthetician, enabling them to build a level of trust.
www.skinrejuvenationclinic.net
7
When your muscles are tense and you can’t stop thinking about the daily stressors of work, relationships, your aging parents, your strong-willed kids, or your mile-long “to-do” list (or maybe all of the above), you can soothe your mind and body at The Marsh, A Center for Balance and Fitness, located in Minnetonka. The all-encompassing spa, a 67,000-square-foot facility, was built on the foundation of providing a comprehensive, integrated approach to wellness, going beyond diet and exercise to focus on balance, rest and awareness—all factors that can lead to a happier, healthier life.
In order to meet this all-encompassing goal of wellness, The Marsh offers a full-service spa, a restaurant, a designer boutique, and spacious conference center—in addition to health and wellness programming such as Pilates, yoga, and Tai Chi. Individuals suffering from trauma, chronic pain or disease are referred by medical professionals to the spa for body work, acupuncture, and facial treatments. Therapists work closely with the medical practitioner to facilitate the healing process.
8
As the credit crunch continues, gone are the days of using credit cards and home equity loans to pay for whatever we want. Without the ability to borrow to pay for lavish vacations, new furniture, or home remodeling projects, we’ll need to pay the old-fashioned way—by setting aside money on a regular basis until we’ve saved enough to pay for what we want.
“Make it a goal in 2009 to create a personal financial plan,” says Anne Ward of JNBA Financial Advisors, located in Bloomington. “Don’t leave your future to chance. If you are unsure how to do that, utilize the help of a financial advisor. We can help you set goals and build a roadmap for achieving them. Take charge. Find ways to reduce expenses, save more, and reduce non-deductible debt. This may mean spending more time at home enjoying low-cost activities, making your own meals, and prioritizing spending each month. It is only by spending less than you earn that you can truly be free from financial worry and have the peace of mind that comes with knowing you are financially healthy.”
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Be kind to the environment, economy, and your health by joining a food co-op or simply shopping at one.
For more than 30 years, Twin Cities food co-ops have given shoppers access to an extensive and growing variety of local, organic, and sustainably produced food while building close relationships with the farmers, growers and artisans they know and trust. In the Twin Cities and surrounding metro areas, there are 11 community food co-ops—more per capita than in any other part of the country. Local al and organic vegetables, fruit, meat, cheese, and dairy products taste better and require less carbon-based fuel and fertilizer to get from the farm to your table.
“Co-ops also offer an incredible selection of bulk products, including whole grains, to help get you on the road to better health while making the most of your household’s budget, and an ample assortment of Fair Trade coffee, tea, and chocolate,” says Kim Kusnier, marketing programs specialist with the National Cooperative Grocers Association. “What’s more, they’re staffed by knowledgeable associates, whose job it is to help consumers make healthy nutritional choices.”
10
Don’t get stuck in a rut this year. Try a new activity and you’ll not only expand your perspective, you’ll also improve your mental health.
“The initiation of new experiences allows us to break current automatic patterns with the power of contrast,” says Patrick McMahon, a psychologist with Hennepin Faculty Associates. He explains, “We all have probably had the experience of getting stuck in a rut, and when it’s finally over, we might say “A weight has been lifted” or “What a breath of fresh air!” This draws attention to the beneficial effect of welcoming a new experience that strikes contrast to the previous context. In my work as a psychologist, a central component of what I do with patients is to encourage the addition of new experiences that allows their world perspectives to expand. We strike contrast with routines that feel confining, and as a result, we feel freed.”
The bottom line? Try something new in 2009. You’ll be doing your mind, body, and soul a favor.
