I first met Ashley Turner years ago when I was on my journey into the world of practicing and ultimately teaching yoga.  We were students together and 'retreat-mates' and I'll never forget this golden halo that seemed to follow her everywhere.  

There was no doubt that Ashley's career would soon flourish.  She grew into a full on yogini, meditation teacher and mind-body psychotherapist,  named by Yoga Journal as "Who's Who in Power Yoga" and now sits on the faculty at Kripalu and Loyola Marymount University's Yoga Philosophy.  Can you say OM(G)?! 

Now, she's bringing her expertise to the Spa Montage Laguna Beach with her  “E-volve” Wellness workshop and retreat series. 

Featuring workshops and a variety of quarterly retreats, each session is themed in alignment with the natural cycles of the solar calendar to target and address common mind-body issue areas for the time of year. 

Each of the retreats will include two-hour, twice daily yoga and meditation workshops and one customized 60 or 120 minute Surrender treatment to rebalance and address each client’s specific constitutional challenges.  B-R-E-A-T-H-E will me, people.

Each workshop is priced from $65 and includes a full day at Spa Montage with access to steam, sauna, relaxation areas and Oceanfront Spa Lap Pool.  

Talk about chillin' in the winter. 

Resolve to E-volve Workshop

January 8, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Reclaim Romance Workshop

February 12, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Change Your Mind. Change Your Body. Change Your Life Workshop

March 12, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Spring Detox: Clear Your Body, Mind + Soul Retreat

April 16 and 17

Indulge in a complete physical, mental and emotional detox to unleash your fullest potential for the year ahead. Our bodies and minds naturally accumulate stress, toxins and unprocessed emotions on a daily basis. Join us for this customized 2-day intensive to reclaim physical strength, mental clarity and emotional well-being. Release unwanted tension, toxins, unprocessed emotions, fear, grief and insecurity and learn the basics of a balanced, clean lifestyle to create radiant health, happiness & beauty from the inside out.

To further enhance the experience, guests can choose from a variety of customized, optional add-ons including: a private 30 minute consultation with Ashley, which will identify and explore underlying causes of the client’s existing symptoms or concerns; a group Moonlight Hike while observing the Full Moon; and a spa lunch daily from Mosaic Bar and Grille when booking the full retreat. 

For more information on the upcoming wellness series, please visit http://www.spamontage.com/lagunabeach/ or call (949) 715- 6010. 

http://www.ashleyturner.org/

www.montagelagunabeach.com.

Hope everyone had a fab xmas!  Just thought I'd give you a little post holiday distraction with this cute little piece on home beauty remedies – and what the deal-e-o is, as in: DO THEY WORK OR ARE THEY BULLDINKY?

Below, Dr. Hevia addresses some beauty concerns in a series of fact or fiction questions in hopes of putting these old-school home remedies to rest.

Dark Under-Eye Circles: To get rid of dark under-eye circles, apply cucumber juice under the eyes with cotton balls.

FICTION! Dark circles under the eyes are essentially dead fat, despite all the cucumber slices you see placed on the eye on TV.

FACT! The only thing that can help under-eye circles are items containing vitamin K, which can help shrink the blood vessels so they're not as dark. At home products include spinach, collards and turnips, to name a few.

Varicose Veins: To avoid varicose veins, don't take a shower after exercising.

FICTION! This would not address the underlying causes or known risk factors for varicose veins—such as heredity, prolonged standing, pregnancy, advanced age, obesity or sedentary lifestyle. It can be argued that standing in the hot shower for a prolonged period without moving your legs could be problematic, but most people do move their legs while showering. In fact exercise may reduce the risk for varicose veins.

 FACT! Exercise, good posture, sitting with your legs straight and wearing non constricting clothing are some ways to assist in preventing varicose veins. Unfortunately, the only way to treat would be through treatments such as Asclera, an injection therapy, a non-surgical procedure in which a solution is injected into the problem varicose veins or spider veins.

Stretch Marks: Cocoa Butter can correct stretch marks.

 FICTION! Stretch marks are tears in your collagen and cocoa butter cannot fix tears that are under the surface.

FACT! A lotion with vitamin a, vitamin c, peptides and even onion juice.  
 
Blemishes: To prevent acne, don't eat chocolate or soda.

FICTION! There is no scientific evidence linking ingestion of chocolate or soda to worsening acne symptoms. The only foods currently theorized to worsen acne are non-organic dairy products and possibly seafood—especially shellfish.

FACT! When you wake up in the morning with a big pimple, just grab a tube of plain white toothpaste and dab it on.  Let the toothpaste dry for 15 minutes or so.  Also, do not use whitening or brightening and red toothpastes or anything with cinnamon flavoring toothpastes because they can burn or irritate your skin.  

Pores: Cold water will shrink your pores

FICTION! Your pore size is genetic, not much will change the size. Cold water constricts blood vessels so skin only feels tighter.

FACT! You can minimize their appearance on the surface. When pores are clogged with oil and dead skin, they look bigger. A product with salicylic acid cleans them out. Pores also stretch as you lose collagen.