
To get the most out of our Skin Care Routine and Skin Care Products we must learn and understand certain important key points about ourselves, our skin and our body.
1. We are 100% responsible for how our skin looks, feels and how our features our formed. Although our Ancestral Legacy (also referred to as our genes, Constitutuional Elements or Primary Doshas) will play a part but as humans we have the amazing ability to transform, change and heal ourselves - sometimes more than than we think could ever be possible! Everything we eat, every word we say and think, every move we make shapes our health, our skin, how we look and feel. It can be hard to acknowledge this kind of responsibility but with acknowledgment comes infinite power. When we start to step into our 'Skin Power' radiant, vital skin becomes not only possible but easy!
2. Everything is connected: How our skin looks is no random accident, it is intricately connected to our health, diet and lifestyle. Beautiful skin is all about balancing the Jigsaw: Skin, body, mind and soul.
3. Celebrating the Positive: We must learn to embrace what we do have. A daily Gratitude Practice helps shift negative energy and move towards a healthy appreciation of our skin, body and life.
4. Understand our skin is simply a mirror of our inner health and well being.
5. We are perfect (just exactly as we are right now). Nurturing a deep rooted self-love, truly seeing and believing that we are perfect just as we are is perhaps our most challenging and most important Practice.
6. It's not about youth, instead it's all about vitality. With vitality comes luminous energy and glowing skin. Just as vitality can be missing at any age, so it can be present at any age radiating from every pore. Stop focusing on the negativity of 'anti-ageing' and instead celebrate the privilege of getting older with the positivity and joy of Better Ageing.
7. Transform our Skin Care Routine into a ritual of honour and care by setting a clear Intention of love and well-being as we touch and tend to our skin allowing us to nuture our skin, body, mind and soul. This is a small, but powerful, way of expressing our self-love every day.
How to Get Yourself Connected
Our true beauty comes from within yet it is with our daily self-care routines, Skin Care Rituals, exercise, diet and spiritual Practices that we magnify our inner vitality. These Practices are not always easy and it takes strength, courage and dedication to get in touch with our authentic inner beauty. Here are some suggestions to help you get connected:
1. Be Grateful
2. Breathe
3. Meditate
4. Massage with Intent
6. Move
7. Eat Well
Be Grateful
Receive blessings and challenges gratefully. Receive love, trials and tribulations gratefully. See challenges as opportunities to grow. Being grateful is an essential part of Better Ageing. We are all human and part of the human condition means that it is all too easy to listen to the negative voice in our head which can be particularly down on our skin and face as we get older.
Breathe
One we do without thinking and yet it's so easy to forget! Breathing mindfully and deeply nourishes our body and our soul. With every inhalation we flood our cells with oxygen which sustains us and nurtures our skin. With every exhalation we release and let go: With every exhalation we die and with every inhalation we are born again.
Meditate
Meditation transforms our skin at a cellular level by restoring balance and harmony in our 'Qi' (Qi is the energy that flows through us in 'rivers' known as Meridians). When Qi flows freely it nourishes our skin with life essence and vitality. Meditation encourages our bodies and minds to relax deeply, releasing long-held emotions, fears and anxieties, even if it is just for a short while. Meditation allows us breathe better, feel lighter, get grounded and connect to our real beauty.
Massage with Intent
By massaging our Skin Care Products into our skin we magnify their power. Instead of quickly skimming our serums, oils and moisturiser over our skin (as most of us are guilty of doing) let's consciously breathe into our Skin Care Ritual, set our Intention to that of love and well-being and use our greatest Better Ageing 'tools' - our hands - to massage our face. Massage allows us to get the best out of our Skin Care Products by lifting muscle off bone and working out areas of tension and soreness in our face. It enables us to draw blood up into soft tissue which in turn oxygenises our skin, redefining contours and plumping fine lines.
Move
We all have a good idea that exercise is good for us but regular excerise is key for a spring in our step and a healthy glow in our cheeks. It helps to regulate our insulin, glucose and leptin levels along with releasing mood boosting hormones like serotonin. Moving everyday is one of the simple secrets to a long, healthy and happy life.
Eat Well
Nourish our body with wholesome foods. Eating a wide, fresh and varied diet ensures our skin gets all the nutrients it needs. Remember a vibrant diet means vibrant skin!
"All you have to do is learn to read your own book - the words of which are written on the features of your body."
Reading the Body: Ohashi's Book of Oriental Diagnosis: Ohashi with Tom Monte
Compass 1991: 2
Fiona Harlowe is an International Facialist, Better Ageing Expert & Skin Care Consultant. Passionate about helping women learn to love themselves more, Fiona believes the skin is a pretty good place to start. Fiona is a trusted authority on skin and sees our Skin Care Rituals as part of our daily Spiritual Practice.
Follow Fiona on Twitter: @FionaHarlowe
Visit Fiona's website: www.fionaharlowe.com
Intellectual Property and Copy Rights: Fiona Harlowe