A Distinctive Style Magazine Winter 2012

ADISTINCTIVEStyle
MAGAZINE
WINTER 2012
Stella McCartneys
SUMMER FASHION
FOR BOOMERS Diane Keatons FAMIly MEMOIR
Jane Fondas Workout
TARZAN
Cindy Joseph
AModern Day
AgINg gRAcEFUlly
BOOM! By
A Distinctive style . com
PHOTOgRAPHER JOHN JANSHESkI
As far as I remember, Juilliard was the first time I was connected with people my age....people who had the same interests, people that had different interests, its all the same idea of going out there and doing something with your life on stage. Whether its dancing or acting or music, its all the same. I always felt a kind of reservation with classical music which I never understood, and I was always interested in how I could break the ice. Juilliard gave me a very good idea about what young people of my generation like to listen to. And funny enough its not the music itself which is the issue with classical music. Its the environment in which its presented, the way it is presented, and its also the mixture of music. Youve got to give people a little bit of something that they know, something that they feel comfortable with, and then they are going to feel comfortable with classical pieces like Bach, Brahms, etc. Thats my experience, and out of that essence, I started doing my programs. I try to give to people an experience that music was originally intended for a way of getting away from your troubles, a way of getting away from your everyday life problems, and having a good time. Somehow in the early 20th century classical music unfortunately started to become an elite thing...but the composers never felt that.
I think that classical music was always meant to be fun especially in the 18th and 19th century. People had such a great time going to the operait was a society event, people went to have a good time, people clapped between the pieces. Im just an interpreter of great music, and that should always be humbling. It should never make more out of who you are. I always try to serve the composer. In the end you really have to make sure that you deal with the music and the composer in a serious way... so you cant be full of yourself. Especially when you work the big classical sonatas, concerti, chamber music you know your place. In the end, those composers were the geniuses, not me. And I am merely trying to bring this music out for a lot of other people. So that kind of keeps me on the ground, artistically. Its about the dedication to really deliver and present great music on the highest level. Not even necessarily for the audience, but for the composers sake. That should always be the main concern as an artist, to really deliver the guy that wrote this stuff. In my personal life, there are probably other things which keep me on the groundfriends that I enjoy hanging out with, and familyall those things play a big role in my life.
clIck FOR VIDEO
Dav i D G a r r e t t
Photos by Christopher Dunlop
classical violinist and superstar
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tHe SacreD Feminine

By Sharyn Wynters, ND
Ushering in
2012
any dierent groups herald the year 2012 as a time of change a time of rebirth and a new beginning. But what does that mean? And what does it have to do with the sacred feminine? We live in a world that is spinning out of control. It reels with imbalance: violence, greed, starvation, cruelty, and above all, corruption. In these disturbing times, many are searching for the cause in the hope of nding solutions. The year 2012 is considered to be an opportunity to regain balance. The key lies in the return of the sacred feminine. Each of us has masculine and feminine aspects. The blending of both is what makes us divine. But for thousands of years the world has been dominated by masculine energy the need for control, power, and supremacy. This is reected in our governments, our nancial systems, our sciences, and in the way we treat the Earth. The feminine aspects (cooperation, compassion, sensitivity, nurturing, etc.) have long been associated with weakness. However, this was not always the case. Archaeology documents a time in history when many societies were organized around the feminine. These groups were connected with the Earth. Nature was revered and respected, not dominated and destroyed. Mother Earth, Gaia, the life force, was honored as the living organism that she is. The idea of the feminine as a nurturing life-giving force was much more central in these early societies. Women were revered as an embodiment of the Goddess (feminine). So what happened to the Goddess societies? Since these cultures were mostly non-violent, they were taken over by dominance-based cultures. Women suered many atrocities during the centuries of this take-over. Unfortunately, millions of healers, herbalists, and keepers of ancient wisdom were killed in an eort to destroy the old traditions and to replace them with aggressive, power-hungry ways based on greed and self-service. Yet, as out of control as the world appears to be, we are on the verge of change. 2012 marks the end of a 25,800-year cycle as the Earth moves through the galaxy. It is a time for
rebalance; a time to return to unity and harmony; a time to move from aggression to cooperation; from analytical to intuitive; and from the head to the heart. One way to do this is to consciously meld the positive aspects of the masculine with their corresponding feminine aspects in each area of our lives. In relationships, think about cooperation without codependence. In business, focus on integrity and discernment. In education, consider ways to teach respect for all life rather than focusing on competition. In the family, ponder ways to nurture both the masculine and the feminine aspects of both sexes so that especially our young men have an opportunity to explore qualities like sensitivity, gentleness, and compassion. Another way to participate in ushering in the sacred feminine is to honor the Earth. Become involved in sustainable (green) practices. This is a major theme of my latest book, SURVIVE! A Family Guide to Thriving in a Toxic World. We can never hope to thrive as long as we continue to destroy our natural resources. And we will never nd balance if we continue to disregard the source of our sustenance the Earth. Participating in sustainable practices includes everything from supporting organic, community agriculture to purchasing natural, non-toxic products. There are many ideas and practical solutions in the book. As the New Year unfolds, I invite you to be a part of the change. As Mahatma Gandhi said: Be the change you want to see. Ask yourself, What changes or corrections can I make to honor the Earth? How can I honor the sacred feminine in my work, relationships, and family? How can I honor the sacred feminine within myself? It is time to wake up. It is time to clean up our planet, our relationships, and our wounding of one another. 2012 allows us the opportunity to begin to nd the balance we desperately need. Ushering in the sacred feminine will help us to develop a harmonious inner balance that will assist us in holistic consciousness on a global scale. It is the way to wholeness for ourselves and as a human race. www.wyntersway.com www.cancerschmancer.org
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ADISTINCTIVEStyle
W I N T E R 2 012
M A S T H E A D I S S U E 17
cover photo
annie leibovitz
cover music performed by

WooDY allenS ManHattan (1979) RHaPSoDY in blUe intRo anD tHeMe PeRFoRMeD bY aRtURo toSCanini
editor in chief
DeniSe MaRie
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teReSa loUiSe joHnSon
graphic design
eRUM eHMaD
cinematographer
DaviD SoKol
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Matt KRaMeR | RaCHel SoKol | bRiana l PaCKen jane WaiDe | MiKaela joneS | blanCHe GaRCia
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SHaRYn WYnteRS | elizabetH SKYe | DoRee leWaK Ken CotteRill | jan DeniSe | CHRiStine K. CliFFoRD
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story ideas
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It has been scIentIfIcally proven that cows produce more mIlk when they lIsten to classIcal musIc. At the Dortmund Concert Hall, this inspired us to turn our music into a more tangible experience, a quest which took us all the way to Thomashof Burscheid. There we played an exclusive concert of selected classical music to 180 very lucky cows. The cows quickly acquired a taste for our classical strains, so we began treating them regularly to some of the greatest music of all time, performed by the best artists of the 2010/2011 Dortmund Concert Hall season. And because cows say thank you through their udders, these benevolent bovines have rewarded us with some very special milk.
clIck FOR VIDEO
ADISTINCTIVEStyle
WINTER 2012
CONTENTS ISSUE 17
IN THIS ISSUE
11 21 37
THE SACRED FEMINE bY DR. SHARYN WYNTERS WHAT A WONDERFUl WORlD GREEN INTERIOR DESIGN
39 GREEN bEAUTY PRODUCTS 42 PHOTOGRAPHER JOHN JANSHESKI 50 CATCH A DOllAR DOCUMENTARY 48 SAFE HORIzON bENEFIT W/ KEllY RUTHERFORD 56 THE lEAKEY COllECTION 59 SHINE YOUR lIGHT 60 ARTIST SPOTlIGHT 62 STEllA McCARTNEY FASHION 71 lAUGH TIl IT HURTS 72 JAN DENISE
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DIANE KEATON
24
CINDY JOSEPH
74
14
GRACEFUllY AGING
32
ANNIE lEIbOvITz
52
SHEA vAUGHN
54
KEvIN RICHARDSON
60
JUDITH JAMISON
44
zACHARY RICHARD
40
XANDER bERKElEY
DAvID GARRETT
28
JANE FONDA
34
TOM SHADYAC
51
SARA SNOW
15
16
17
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Diane Keatons memoir about her very american family with very american dreams, will remind you of yourself. Her bonds with her family will remind you of your own relationships with those you love the most.
By Elizabeth Skye
When you reach 60, people come to you and ask, why not a memoir? says Diane Keaton, Academy Awardwinning actress, 65, who resides in Los Angeles with her 15-year-old daughter Dexter and her 10-year-old son Duke. But Im not a writer! It wasnt until after my mother died that I wanted to do it.
is what ultimately moved her to read through her journals. "The two of us were partners in life. My mother really was this person who was in love with my aspirations," she says. "That's really why I forced myself to read them. And of course, I was completely unprepared for the depth that I encountered." Through the journals, Keaton learned of her mother's resolve to give her children the childhood she had never had. She also learned of her mother's sincere belief that her children had brilliant futures ahead of them. So Keaton Hall encouraged Keaton's brother to write poetry; one sister was a singer and another was known as the smart one in the family. As for Keaton, she discovered her path at 9 years old, when she saw her mother win Mrs. Highland Park, Los Angeles. "There was Ms. America, but there was also Mrs. America, and this was the world's greatest housekeeper," Keaton explains. "I saw my mother on the stage with other women, and suddenly they announced her name and she was crowned Mrs. Highland Park and the curtain opened and then there was this cornucopia of gifts. And all I remember was I wanted to be on that stage. It really did dene the fact that I was going to denitely go into the performing arts." In her new book, Then Again, the award-winning actress documents her rise from an everyday girl to an acclaimed performer while exploring her dening relationship with her mother, and how their shared and separate dreams inuenced their experiences.
Excerpt: Then Again Next Page
Im a hoarder, says Keaton, laughing. For me, documentation has always been key, and Ive kept everything from my past. And so it really was about grabbing bits and pieces here and there, adages and quotes, other peoples voices, and shaping my thoughts. As an actress, Im drawn to emotion and expressing the human condition in all its forms, and Im fortunate to have thoughts and feelings at my ngertips. Early in the mornings I would drive Dexter to swim practice, and I would sit in the car with my computer and coee as the sun rose, and it was just like old trips with my family, taking me to dierent places Id never been. In 1977, Woody Allen's Annie Hall earned Keaton an Oscar and turned her into the star she had dreamed of becoming since she was a little girl. Back then, no one believed Keaton would make it more than her own mother, Dorothy Keaton Hall. A child of the Depression who had been abandoned by her father, Keaton Hall lived for her children. So when she, after a slow decline from Alzheimer's disease, Keaton began writing a memoir for the both of them. Drawing from her mothers 85 journals, kept over the course of her life, Keaton tells us the depth of her mother's devotion
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excerpt: 'then again'

ThiNk
Mom loved adages, quotes, slogans. There were always little reminders pasted on the kitchen wall. For example, the word THINK. I found think thumbtacked on a bulletin board in her darkroom. I saw it Scotch-taped on a pencil box she'd collaged. I even found a pamphlet titled think on her bedside table. Mom liked to think. In a notebook she wrote, I'm reading Tom Robbins's book Even Cowgirls Get the Blues. The passage about marriage ties in with women's struggle for accomplishment. I'm writing this down for future THINKING She followed with a Robbins quote: "For most poor dumb brainwashed women marriage is the climactic experience. For men, marriage is a matter of ecient logistics: the male gets his food, bed, laundry, TVo- spring and creature comforts all under one roofBut for a woman, marriage is surrender. Marriage is when a girl gives up the ghtand from then on leaves the truly interesting and signicant action to her husband, who has bargained to 'take care' of herWomen live longer than men because they really haven't been living." Mom liked to think about life, especially the experience of being a woman. She liked to write about it too. In the mid-seventies on a visit home, I was printing some photographs I'd taken of Atlantic City in Mother's darkroom when I found something I'd never seen. It was some kind of, I don't know, sketchbook. On the cover was a collage she'd made out of family photographs with the words; It's the Journey That Counts, Not the Arrival. I picked it up and ipped through the pages. Although it included several collages made from snapshots and magazine cutouts, it was lled with page after page of writing. Had a productive day at Hunter's Bookstore. We re-arranged the art section and discovered many interesting books hidden away. It's been two weeks since I was hired. I make 3 dollars and thirty-ve cents an hour. Today I got paid 89 dollars in total. This wasn't one of Mom's typical scrapbooks, with the usual napkins from Clifton's Cafeteria, old black-and-white photographs, and my less-than-thrilling report cards. This was a journal. An entry dated August 2, 1976, read: WATCH OUT ON THIS PAGE. For you, the possible reader in the future, this takes courage. I'm speaking of what is on my mind. I am angry. Target Jack bad names, those he has ung at me NOT forgotten and that is undoubtedly the problem You frigin' bastard all said all felt. God, who the hell does he think he is? That was it for me. This was raw, too raw. I didn't want to know about an aspect of Mother and Father's life that could shatter my perception of their love. I put it down, walked out of the darkroom, and did not open another one of her eightyve journals until she died some thirty years later. But, of course, no matter how hard I tried to deny their presence, I couldn't help but see them resting on bookshelves, or placed underneath the telephone, or even staring up at me from inside a kitchen drawer. One time I began looking through Mom's new Georgia O'Keee One Hundred Flowers picture book on the coee table, only to nd a journal titled Who Says You Haven't Got a Chance? lying underneath. It was as if they were conspiring, "Pick us up, Diane. Pick us up." Forget it. There was no way I was going to go through that experience again. But I was impressed with Mom's tenacity. How could she keep writing without an audience, not even her own family? She just did. She wrote about going back to school at age forty. She wrote about being a teacher. She wrote about every stray cat she rescued. When her sister Marti got skin cancer and lost most of her nose, she wrote about that too. She wrote about her frustrations with aging. When Dad got sick in 1990, her journal raged at the injustice of the cancer that attacked his brain. The documentation of his passing proved to be some of Mom's nest reporting. It was as if taking care of Jack made her love him in a way that helped her become the person she always wished she could have been. I was trying to get Jack to eat today. But he couldn't. After a while, I took o my glasses. I put my head close to his, and I told him, I whispered to him, that I missed him. I started to cry. I didn't want him to see, so I turned my head away. And Jack, with what little strength remained in that damn body of his, took a napkin from my pocket and slowly, as with everything he did, slowly, so slowly, he looked at me with
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those piercing blue eyes and wiped the tears away from my face. We'll make it through this, Dorothy. " He didn't. In the end, Mom took care of Dad, just as she had taken care of Randy, Robin, Dorrie, and me all our lives. But who was there for her when she wrote in a shaky hand: June 1993. This is the day I heard I have the beginning of Alzheimer's disease. Scary. Thus began a fteen-year battle against the loss of memory. She kept writing. When she could no longer write paragraphs, she wrote sentences like: Would we hurt each other less if we touched each other more? and Honor thyself. And short questions and statements like: Quick. What's today's date? Or odd things like: My head is taking a turn. When she couldn't write sentences, she wrote words: RENT. CALL. FLOWERS. CAR. And even her favorite word, THINK. When she ran out of words, she wrote numbers, until she couldn't write anymore.
Finally freed from the constraints of this life, Mom has joined Dad just as she has joined her sisters, Orpha and Martha; her mother, Beulah; and all her dear cats, starting with Charcoal, ending with Cyrus. I promise to take care of her thoughts and words. I promise to THINK. And I promise to carry the legacy of beautiful, beautiful Dorothy Deanne Keaton Hall from Kansas, born on October thirty-rst, 1921 my mother. So why did I write a memoir? Because Mom lingers; because she tried to save our familys history through her words; because it took decades before I recognized that her most alluring trait was her complexity; because I dont want her to disappear even though she has.
FOR INFORMATION ABOUT AlZHEIMERS DISEASE:
NatioNal alzheimers associatioN | 24-hour Nationwide hotline: PhoNe: 1-800-272-3900 | Web site: www.alz.org NatioNal iNstitute oN agiNg |1-800-438-4380 | Web site: www.alzheimers.org
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What a wonderful world
clIck FOR VIDEO
PHOTO By STUck IN cUSTOMS

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aGe aint
nothing but a
By Rachel Sokol
nUmber
cINDy JOSEPH
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heres a rst time for everythingand entrepreneur Cindy Joseph knows that well. At the age of 49yes, 49Cindy became a supermodel. The cherry on top of this success story? Cindy, who has gorgeous, wavy grey hair and sparkling eyes, was discovered just walking down the street. In 1999, I was on a sidewalk in Manhattan chatting with a friend when a young woman walked up to me and asked if she could take a photo of me for a model casting. I did not believe herI thought friends were playing a joke on me, recalls Cindy, exclusively sharing her story with A Distinctive Style. Then she explained it was for Dolce and Gabanna and gave me the details. They called the next day and booked me for the shoot! Cindy signed with Ford Models and has since appeared in magazines such as O, Real Simple and Glamour. I still have to pinch myself to believe it really happened. I have a tremendous amount of gratitude for this career. Cindy grew up in Northern California. I was very self conscious and uncomfortable as a young teenager. I judged myself pretty harshly and I had very little self esteemI wore lots of make up to try and hide what I did not nd right about my face, she recalls. She struggled with various movements and message of the 60s and 70s; the battle between being yourself and independent, verses using makeup to enhance your looks. Curious to learn more about the beauty biz, Cindy worked as a makeup artist for photographers. She traveled the world, making up models and celebrities for national and international ad campaigns. Along the way, she studied tness, psychology and philosophy. Cindy, who is in her 60s, is happy to be traveling the world again, only this time in front of the camera lens. I am happy that modeling at my age has opened peoples minds to more possibilities in their own lives. Not necessarily modeling careers, but to what potential there is in being passionately engaged in life at every age, she says. No one asked me to model until I changed my attitude about myself and life. Not at all ashamed or embarrassed by her age, Cindy feels she has demonstrated that looking older is something to be proud of and celebrate. When approached by the model scout, the fashion and beauty industry saw the benet of representing a broader spectrum of ages in their advertising. Baby Boomers want to see their peers in advertising, as every generation does. Aging doesnt scare or worry Cindy. I experience life as a great mysterious adventure! she says. Mother Nature knows what she is doing. And besides, she continues, positively, I never viewed my grandmothers wrinkles or silver hair as anything bad. I watch my face and body change with fascination. Cindy also has her own cosmetics line, called BOOM! By
Cindy Joseph, the rst pro-age cosmetic line for women of every generation. BOOM! allows ones character and personality to come forth; the makeup enhances every womans natural beauty rather than masking it. I use no parabens or phthalates in any of my products, says Cindy, explaining that BOOMSTICK GLO, an organic moisturizer in a stick, and BOOMSILK body moisturizer, are made with the healing, protective and nurturing ingredients from the beehive, added to organic olive oil, and nothing more. BOOMSTICK Glimmer and BOOMSTICK Color are both lipstick formulas safe enough to ingest. Her handmade products are not tested on animals, and aimed at environmentally conscientious women. Cindys BOOM! products contain honey because, according to Cindy, propolis, pollen, honey and beeswax, have so many benets to human skin. Theyre an antiseptic, retain moisture, stimulate collagen, can be an anti-irritant, nutritious, and protective, to name a few miraculous benets. Medical science has only recently rediscovered the healing properties of honey in the last few years, she continues. Hospitals are using honey to heal burn victims. And honey has been found fresh and edible in jars that were stored more than 5,000 years ago! Although shes part of the Baby Boomer generation, Cindy says thats not quite how her makeup line got its name. That was my initial inspiration; Boom, Baby Boomer. Then I realized I would have been committing reverse ageism, she laughs. These products are for all women. All women received the message that looking younger is the key to being attractive. I have discovered that what makes a woman attractive has to do with how she feels about herself and her life, NOT her age. My other motivation for the name BOOM! is that BOOM! is the sound of a revolution! And this is the Pro-Age Revolution! According to Cindy, who always believes in getting plenty of rest, sunshine, fresh air and eating a diet full of fresh fruit and veggies, Baby Boomers are living dierently than any previous generation. I feel very lucky to have grown up in America in the 60s. It was a time of awakening and new vision. Boomers have been a generation of trailblazers, looking for new and better ways of living since youth and continuing to do so. Cindy sees beauty in innocence and naivety, as well as experience and wisdom. I see beauty in the way one moves. I see beauty in gratitude. I see beauty in courage. I see beauty in health, she says wisely. I see beauty in how comfortable someone is in their skin. I see beauty come and go across someones face in a eeting moment. Beauty is everywhere, inside and out. The trick is seeing it. www.boombycindyjoseph.com.
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I'm happier, sex is better and I understand life better. I don't want to be young again."
~Jane Fonda
By Elizabeth Skye
t 73-years-old actress Jane Fonda announced the release of a new line of tness DVDs this time targeting people in her own baby boomer generation. "I want to get to people who have stopped working out, or never did," Fonda says. The DVDs "will target an audience that has been left out: MY age group and the baby boomers. After undergoing hip and knee replacements, who better than the former 80s aerobics queen herself to relate to this audience? She also suers from osteoarthritisa condition that she said is genetic and not related to her years of hardcore exercise. Who can forget Fonda in her legwarmers, Lycra and sweatbands as she started the home workout craze with her 1982 video release, Jane Fonda's Workout, which sold 17 million copies. "I have to laugh when I think of when I did the rst ever ... still the largest selling home video of all time," she said. "We had no budget, no hair stylist or makeup artists. We did it all ourselves. I wrote the script on a ski trip in Calgary on the oor of my hotel room. Who knew that that video would launch the video business?" Fonda went on to successfully release 23 workout videos, ve books and 13 audio tapes. What's her secret to staying so t and looking so good? It's a combination of things if you ask her. "I owe 30 percent to genes, 30 percent to good sex, 30 percent because of sports and healthy lifestyle and for the remaining 10 percent, I have to thank my plastic surgeon. I'm happier, the sex is better and I understand life better. I don't want to be young again." Fonda, who has an articial hip and titanium knee, admits she's no longer as limber as she used to be, but says being an avid exerciser all her life has paid o. She now follows a healthy diet and does light weight-lifting to maintain her muscle tone. Every time I get out of the car, this thought comes into my mind, Thank God, Jane, youve done this work. Thank God you can get out of a car without getting help. Do I do it fast? No. If I have to cross the street, do I run? No. Do I watch where I walk very carefully? Youd better believe it, sister. Fonda, who once urged exercisers to "go for the burn,"
now embraces a more laidback approach to tness. "I dont do anything with impact," she says. "I walk, cycle, or use the elliptical three to ve times a week for 30 minutes, and I do strength training." When asked how her body has changed over the years, Jane replies: "In silhouette, I look the same. Naked, in full light, gravity has taken the inevitable tollso I dont walk around naked in full light." Fonda, who still has an enviably lithe physique, says her "small waist and nice bum" are her favorite body parts, and her guilty pleasure is chocolate. Fonda had a small breast-cancer tumor removed, reveals she had a facelift in her 40s and another one in February 2010. She also had breast implants when she was younger and recently had a chin lift as well as surgery to remove the bags under her eyes. Like many tness fanatics, Fonda exercises not only to look good, but also to feel good. "I know what exercise has done to my life profoundly not just my body, but my mind," she says. "I do what makes me feel good. "I don't wake up in the morning saying 'Great! I'm going to work out!' but I do it because I know how I'm going to feel when it's over. If I work out, I'll be thinking clearer and feeling better." I know from experience and from my research how critical it is for boomers and seniors to be physically active. Even if theyve never exercised in their lives, nows the time and my programs are a good, safe way to do it. The two CDs, Jane Fonda: Prime Time Walkout and Jane Fonda: Prime Time Fit & Strong are not only for the senior set. Fonda says she also hopes to inspire people who think that they are too far unt to get t again. I have gotten amazing, heartfelt feedback from people who are working out with my DVD's. One woman said she was 80 years old and had never exercised before in her life but was hooked by my videos (her son gave them to her) and felt better than ever. Younger people who have gotten out of shape are telling me the same thing, says Fonda.
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talks about
Lifes Third act
Jane Fonda
clIck FOR VIDEO

FROM .cOM
CliCk VideO fOr MOre
Within this generation, an extra 30 years have been added to our life expectancy -and these years arent just a footnote or a pathology. At TEDxWomen, Jane Fonda asks how we can think about this new phase of our lives. I've spent the last year researching and writing about this subject. And I have come to nd that a more appropriate metaphor for aging is a staircase -- the upward ascension of the human spirit, bringing us into wisdom, wholeness and authenticity.
Jane Fonda is an actor, author, producer, activist and exercise guru. Outspoken and committed, she supports environmental issues, peace, and female empowerment. She founded the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention, and established the Jane Fonda Center for Adolescent Reproductive Health at the Emory School of Medicine. She cofounded the Womens Media Center, and sits on the board of V-Day: Until The Violence Stops, a global eort to stop violence against women and girls. She is a former Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund.
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I hate the word celebrity. Ive always been more interested in what people do than who they are, and I hope that my photographs reflect that. I have the opportunity to work with people who are the best actors, and writers, and athletes, and dancersa broad spectrum. I feel like Im photographing people who matter, in one way or another. Im photographing my time.
~ ANNIE lEIBOVITZ
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annie Leibovitz is america's best portrait photographer who developed her trademark use of bold colors and poses while working at rolling Stone magazine
By Elizabeth Skye
I wasnt one of those people who always wanted to be a photographer and started when they were twelve. For me it came from wanting to do art, which is something I became aware of when I was at the San Francisco Art Institute in the 1960s. There was something wonderful about the whole processthe immediacy of taking pictures, and the license it gave you to go out in the world. Annie Leibovitz was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, Leibovitz is the third of six children. She is a third-generation American whose great-grandparents were Jewish immigrants, from Central and Eastern Europe. Her father's parents had emigrated from Romania. Her mother, Marilyn Leibovitz, was a modern dance instructor; her father, Sam Leibovitz, was a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force. The family moved frequently with her father's duty assignments, and she took her rst pictures when he was stationed in the Philippines during the vietnam war. In high school, she became interested in various artistic endeavors, and began to write and play music. She attended the San Francisco Art Institute, where she studied painting. For several years she continued to develop her photography skills while working various jobs, including a stint on a kibbutz in Amir, Israel, for several months in 1969. Leibovitz returned to the U.S., in 1970, and applied for a job with the start-up rock music magazine Rolling Stone. Editor Jann Wenner was impressed with Leibovitzs portfolio and oered her a job as a sta photographer. Within two years, the 23-year-old was promoted to chief photographer, a title she would keep for the next 10 years. Her position with the magazine aorded her the opportunity to accompany the Rolling Stones band on their 1975 international tour. On December 8, 1980, Leibovitz had a photo shoot with John Lennon for Rolling Stone, promising him that he would make the cover. She had initially tried to get a picture with just Lennon alone, which is what Rolling Stone wanted, but Lennon insisted that both he and Yoko Ono be on the cover. Leibovitz then tried to re-create something like the kissing scene from the Double Fantasy album cover, a picture that
she loved. She had John remove his clothes and curl up next to Yoko. Leibovitz recalls, "What is interesting is she said she'd take her top o and I said, 'Leave everything on' not really preconceiving the picture at all. Then he curled up next to her and it was very, very strong. You couldn't help but feel that she was cold and he looked like he was clinging on to her. I think it was amazing to look at the rst Polaroid and they were both very excited. John said, 'You've captured our relationship exactly. Promise me it'll be on the cover.' I looked him in the eye and we shook on it." Leibovitz was the last person to professionally photograph Lennonhe was shot and killed ve hours later In 1983, Leibovitz left Rolling Stone and began working for the entertainment magazine Vanity Fair. With a wider array of subjects, Leibovitzs photographs for Vanity Fair ranged from presidents to literary icons to teen heartthrobs. To date, a number of Vanity Fair covers have featured Leibovitzs stunning, and often controversial, portraits of celebrities. Demi Moore (very pregnant and very nude) and Whoopi Goldberg (half-submerged in a bathtub of milk) are among the most remembered actresses to grace the cover in recent years. Known for her ability to make her sitters become physically involved in her work, one of Leibovitzs most famous portraits is of the late artist Keith Haring, who painted himself like one of his canvases for the photo. Widely considered one of Americas best portrait photographers, Annie Leibovitz published the book Women (1999), which was accompanied by an essay by friend and novelist Susan Sontag. With its title subject matter, Leibovitz presented an array of female images from Supreme Court Justices to Vegas showgirls to coal miners and farmers. Currently, many of her original prints are housed in various galleries throughout the United States. Leibovitz continues to be in demand as portrait photographer, often capturing arresting images of todays celebrities. Annie Leibovitz is the mother of three children. At the age of 51, she had her daughter, Sarah. In 2005, her twin daughters, Susan and Samuelle, were born.
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Everyday, we are assaulted with messages, images, slogans, and sound bites, that tell us of our inadequacies, the sad state of affairs that is you and me: With this product, you can lose weight, with this one, you can gain muscle; if your breasts sag, our bra lifts them up; if you have wrinkles, this cream irons them out; if youre sad, we have a pill that will make you happy; if youre too happy, we have a pill that will bring you down; if youre not as much of a man as you used to be, this pill will straighten you out (literally!). And everyone whos anyone has itunes, the iphone, and the ipad, am iclear? And we participate in this maddening chatter unaware, telling our kids that in order to succeed they have to get the best grades, get into the right school, and get the right job. We tell them that one day they must stop all this horsing around and get serious with their lives; we ask them who they are going to be when they grow up, warning them that life is all down hill after 22, declaring college the best four years of their lives; and finally, if they are lucky, they just might make something of themselves in this dog eat dog world. Its enough to stress you out completely but of course theres a pill that can fix that, too. Is this how life really is? Is our identity simply conditional and fragile? Is who we are really defined by the things we own, our job status, and the social circles we run in?
~ TOM SHADyAc
Whats Wrong With Our World? What Can We Do About It?
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maKe a FreSH Start

Learn how to live a more sustainable life, one step at a time!
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i dont know about you but change is something i always want, or at least i think i do. but when it happens i always want to put it back in the box it popped out of. the New Year is one of the rare occasions that most of us cant wait for a fresh start. We have the best of intentions when joining the gym, decide to quit smoking, or when joining the local book club. For me, its to live a more sustainable life and to reduce my carbon footprint as much as possible. i used to try to tackle all of it at once, which was never realistic and just made me feel bad, even though i had made some distinctive changes, but never as many as i had hoped to. then i changed strategies and said im going to try a little at a time. and im happy to report that i am an ever changing work in progress. so dont think you have to start drawing up the plans just yet for that wind farm, lets start small. as an interior Designer i like to start with a product that covers the majority of the inside of your home, which is paint. low Voc paint (volatile organic compound) is easily found in the market today from brands you recognize like benjamin moore and sherwin Williams, to brands you may not be familiar with like www.bioshieldpaint.com. the kitchen also has areas for adjustment. For instance when buying or replacing your appliances, choose one that falls under the energy star seal of approval. You can research models by the manufacture at (www.energystar.gov). Water bills can also be cut down by adding a faucet attachment called a water aerator. it pumps air into the water so theres no need to run the water full blast. i hear that a composting pail is not as scary as it sounds or you may choose to use bio bags www.biobagusa.com. they look like regular garbage bags and compost in as little time as three months. Now when shopping for furniture or accessories the world is literally your oyster. the internet alone is full of second hand stores to find your treasures or new virtual stores that carry items made from recycled content. a few of my favorite places are www.richardnardone.com, www.joannedepalma.com and www.wisteria.com. Now curtains have long been labeled as a one show pony. but they are more than for pure decoration; they can also shield your home from the heat and cold weather, saving you tons on energy bills. try www.gaiam.com to view their cotton thermal drapes, they block the solar heat in the summer and catch it in the winter. id like to end our brief but hopefully informative tour in the bathroom. www.gothotwater.com has a recirculating water pump installed under the sink that provides hot water instantly. so no more icy water in the morning and it saves you water too. another water savor is the aerating shower-head by delta Fluidics; it saves about 2,500 gallons of water per person per year. it actually feels better than the old shower-heads. last but never to be mistaken for least is the toilet. choose a low flow toilet for around $200 which uses only 1.6 gallons of water per flush. most of the changes i mention here are only the tip of a very large and multilayered ice burg, but they are easy to accomplish little by little. if you try to do too much at once you run the risk of fizzling out quicker than you intended. so take the first step to a new you, because i truly believe it starts at home.
BlANcHE gARcIA
cERTIFIED INTERIOR DESIgNER lEED AP ASID ,
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add green to your beauty routine with products that beautify and protect the environment.
By Cheryl Crosby
We sought out some of the best, eco-friendly beauty products that will help keep both you and the planet looking and feeling gorgeous.
Buzz Worthy Burts Bees, a company that has always made it a priority to be a faithful friend to Mother Earth, welcomes a new line of Tinted Lip Balms to their family of products. Available in six all natural shades including: Hibiscus, Honeysuckle, Pink Blossom, Red Dahlia, Rose and Tiger Lily, youll love how soft they leave your pucker feeling while providing a hint of pretty color. www.burtsbees.com Nail It Available in either a soothing lavender or tea tree scent, Karma Organic Nail Polish Remover is 100% biodegradable, 100% soy-based and packaged in 100% recyclable glass bottles. Not only are you using a product thats safe for both you and the environment, its derived from farm crops which helps support American farming. www.armaorganicspa.com Pure and Good Take your locks to new heights with Pureology PureVolume BlowDry Amplier, a product that is 100% vegan and formulated strictly with organic botanicals. The volume booster handles color-treated tresses kindly and protects hair from thermal damage as well with its anti-fade complex. www. pureology.com Brush Up Earth Therapeutics brushes are derived from natural bamboo with natural bristles. They encourage scalp stimulation and aid in evenly distributing the scalps natural oils throughout your mane. www.earththerapeutics.com Pretty Paste CHI Organics Olive Nutrient Therapy Treatment Paste is paraben free and full of certied organic essential oils. The treatment is perfect for helping in the correction of dry, damaged and color treated strands that need a little tender loving care. www.chiretail.com Moroccan Magic Give your locks a luxurious vacation with Organix Renewing Moroccan Argan Oil Shampoo and Conditioner which is free of sulfates, phosphates and parabens. Packaged in eco-friendly bottles constructed from materials containing recycled postconsumer resin.
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i've always loved mixing it up between theater, tv and film and from big budget to low budget.
~ XANDER BERkElEy
renaissance man
By Rachel Sokol
sk any actor which book has changed their lives, and youll receive a plethora of responses, from the classics, to childrens literature, to twentieth century novellas. Mine is The Wisdom of Insecurity, by Alan Watts, replies seasoned actor Xander Berkeley. Its about Eastern thought and accepting the unpredictable flowing nature of things. I read it at about 14 and I think it changed my life then in ways that still affect me to this day. It strangely became the key for me in embracing the gypsy lifestyle of the actor/artist. Xander Berkeley is a multi-talented, Oh! That guy! Renaissance man, best known in Tinseltown for his roles in Terminator 2, Air Force One, the hit series 24 and CSI. His distinctive voice can also be heard in a variety of animated
shows and video games andfun fact! He even appeared in the Meat Loaf video I'd Lie For You (and That's the Truth). I've always loved mixing it up between theater, TV and film and from big budget to low budget, says Berkeley, who currently resides in Toronto with his wife, fellow actress Sarah Clarke who plays Renee, Bellas mom, in Twilightand their two daughters. Each has its joys, and accompanying woes, but somehow moving between them has always seemed like it could keep you growing along the way. Xander recently starred in a Hulu.com series The Booth at the End that combined elements of theater, film and TV. It was shot on one location, the back booth of an old diner on Route 66, and only in the theater have I ever experienced that, he says. The cameras were small and
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mobile and since we didn't have to keep changing location and set-ups, it became very much about the dialogue, performance and interaction between the characteralso a luxury of the theater. And yet it had the episodic extended format of television which allows for a deeper sense of character development. Xander grew up in New York, the son of an artist father a schoolteacher mother who enjoyed sewing costumes. He studied classical theatre, attended Hampshire College in Massachusetts, and even trained with the famous Lee Strasberg, acting coach who is famously known for being Marilyn Monroes career mentor. I was lucky enough to be around at the Actors Studio in LA when Strasberg was at the end of his life. I remember one day he said, "Some people bring me a painting and I say, where's the frame? Other people bring me the frame and I say, where's the painting? I don't care which one you start with, but you need both!" That always stayed with me, recalls Xander. Just like his favorite book. Like most actors, Xanders creativity manifests itself in other outlets. Colleagues are often times surprised to learn the Xander doesnt just paint portraits when hes not performinghes also a makeup artist. Make up for the stage was a natural direction for me as soon as I started doing theater at 15, he says. I had gotten this great book called Stage Makeup by Richard Corsona pretty decent kitand every chance I got to try something from that book out, I took it. Xander began doing the makeup for shows he was involved with as an actor, eventually landing gigs for shows that needed someone to design the makeup for a particular style of theater. As an actor it just expanded the range of roles you were right for. I would always get the biggest kick out of being able to transform myself so that people would have no idea who I was when I came out afterwards, or that I had been the same guy who played this other character in the last show. That thrill of transformation has never left me. Xander believes that his artistic history is intrinsically linked to the acting in a lot of ways. He elaborates: I've drawn, painted and sculpted since I was a kid. My father was a painter who had studied and taught at the Art Students League in New York. So I was given a lot of art supplies and room to experiment and offered guidance in different mediums. I went through a phase of really being into making monsters and creatures at first, but that morphed into humans pretty early on, moving into portraits, busts, masks and puppets over the years. I always felt an actor needs a creative outlet that isn't dependent upon the whim of others, so you have something creative that makes you happy while
waiting for an acting job to come along. For Xander, people watching taught him as much about acting as it has about art. As you draw, you see behavior and mannerisms, and what kinds of clothes certain types of people wear. All this data gets stored away for future reference. I always loved observing human behavior. The infinite world of characters out there and how they manifest themselves physically, emotionally, mentally, psychologically... is all just so fascinating to me. Xanderwho is such a delightful character, shares with A Distinctive Style some people-watching advice actor Barry Corbin (One Tree Hill, The Closer) gave him. Barry said to me when we were doing a movie together way back; "Why does everybody want to be famous? If you're famous, then everybody's watching and studying you. As an actor, you want to be the one studying other people, right? Corbins golden nugget of career advice has kept Xander grounded, meaning hes carved out a nice niche for himself in Hollywood, but isnt an over-the-top star whose face is plastered over every magazine cover. I came up with ways to try to shape, shift and dodge around a bitto try and fly underneath the radar and maintain a balance between being exposed enough to have a career, but not so exposed that I couldn't be invisible. So this idea of keeping your focus on 'the muse' of human behavior became a guiding principle to me, he says. And helped soften the blows when I didn't get the leading roles I wanted! Fans can next catch Xander in the Indie flick Cook County, which recently won the Audience Award at the SXSW Film Festival. Xander plays Sonny, a meth addict who hopes to reunite with his estranged teenage son. The script for Cook County appeared right when I was feeling this longing to play a redemption character. I'd been playing some bad men, and it was time to play someone who may have been bad, but was trying to be better. Someone who needed to make amends. And there it was. The movie is directed by Dave Pomes. Dave was a first-timer, a great guy. I liked him as soon as I talked to him on the phone, so I jumped right in. He was willing to go to some dark and revealing places regarding the scourge of meth addiction that was sweeping the country, and show it in all its ugly glory. Other projects Xander recently completed: I'm the resident evil on Nikita for the CW. Justice is a movie I did with Nick Cage that's coming out soon. Live at the Fox's Den is another little Indie film I did recently and this film called Entanglement, which I'm very excited about. It deals with the relationship between physics and metaphysics, of all things. For more info about Xander, and to view his artwork, visit www.xanderberkeley.net.
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The conveyance of what is being viewed through the camera in capturing a moment of the human spirit, a beautiful view, or just a face emoting such feeling that the intent is unmistakably and accurately captured for the observer.
~ JOHN JANSHESkI
JOHN JANSHESkI
For whatever meaning my art holds for you, I am grateful. all photography is pure art. There is something truly special in the manifestation of a magnificent idea turned into reality; regardless of the medium.
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When one hears the word artist, most imagine an easel cradling a canvas with the artist hunched over their masterpiece with dazzling air and intensity as their unique interpretation of their muse unfolds before the eyes of the world in the form of a magnicent creation; otherwise known as a work of art. If you consider this to be the conventional interpretation of the word artist, Miami, FL based photographer John Jansheski challenges this notion, successfully blending the gaps between fashion, music, conventional art and photography into an artistic hybrid; the likes of which the world has not yet seen. Jansheskis work involves collaborating with some of the worlds most amazing and celebrated artists in the worlds of fashion, music and painting such as Romero Britto, Zilando Freitas, Coldplay and Cintia Dicker. Jansheskis views photography as pure art, as he feels there is something truly special in the manifestation of a magnicent idea turned into reality; regardless of the medium. It is this mentality that he conveys to the world through his collaborations that transcend the traditional boundaries of what we have come to know as works of art." The conveyance of what is being viewed through the camera in capturing a moment of the human spirit, a beautiful view, or just a face emoting such feeling that the intent is unmistakably and accurately captured for the observer. This level of intensity is at the heart of his photography and allows the viewer to get lost in his or her own personal interpretation of the piece as they are inspired to assign to it their own meaning. It may be a love lost, the hope of nding the perfect love or the appreciation of nding it. It may inspire the emotion of success in life or simply the appreciation of raw beauty. As these arts combine synergistically into one expression, his hope is that they resonate deeply with the viewer and serve as a reminder of inspired meaning while convincingly demonstrating photography as art.
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I dont know whether well be able to counter the influence of corporate greed and indifference to suffering and all of the things which seem to be dragging this world in the wrong direction.
~ ZAcHARy RIcHARD
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By Jane Waide
ost of us recognize Zachary Richard from his Cajun/ Zydeco style music, which was laid down sweetly on the soundtrack of the lm, The Big Easy. However, some of us may have failed to keep up with his evolution, and while we were sleeping, Zachary Richard moved ahead to develop a broader, World Artist perspective that draws on a multitude of styles. Not only is Richard a musician, recording artist and composer of incredible note, he is also a gifted writer, author, poet, historian and documentarian. Born and raised just outside of Lafayette, his art (and heart) remain deeply rooted in the Acadian heritage of his native Southern Louisiana. Perhaps its this cultural aspect, more than any other, which continues to drive his great success as a French language singer and songwriter. As a writer of extraordinary talent, he maintains an ongoing blog that chronicles his life and his art. Its beautifully written, informative and oftentimes very poignant. In an recent blog post Zachary talks about getting back into the studio and recording once again, which prompts us to ask what hes been working on. I wanted to do a sort of return to the roots, traditional Cajun record. But I was also working on a French language recording. Then I realized that I shouldnt be segregating. So I put all the best tunes in a pile and thats what Im working ona French language record thats continental in scope. There are songs about caribou and theres also a lot of Louisiana inuenced material. Im in the process of concluding the rst steps, here in Montreal, and Im about to move everything down to Louisiana to record there. So in a real way its a symbol for my life: one foot in New Orleans and one foot in Montreal. In 1996, Richard co-founded Action Cadienne, an organization dedicated to the preservation of his French language Cajun culture. The years have seen a number of changes occur within this segment of Louisianas cultural makeup. I think the most obvious dierence between my grandfathers generation and mine is the question of language. Im in Quebec because Im primarily a French language songwriter. In Louisiana the French language has evolved into an element of folklore. There are a lot of facets to Cajun culture which I think we, as a people, have neglected in order to develop this tourist-based notion of ourselves as fun-loving, beer-drinking, all the girls are pretty and South Louisiana is paradise.
Its much more complex than that. And of course the inuence of the oil business and agro businessthe changes that Ive seen in my lifetime, have been elements which have eroded the specicity of the culture and made us more like everybody else in Americawhich is not a bad thing necessarily. But those things we have which are unique, from a cultural point of view, have been eroded signicantly. Last year, in the wake of the BP Deepwater Horizon catastrophe, Richard responded by helping to organize Gulf Aid Acadiana. The groups mission has been to help restore the coast and provide relief to sherman and other residents aected by the oil spill. Richard is an outspoken environmentalist and his observations on the delicate, coastal eco-system of Southern Louisiana are pointed and profound. We asked what he perceives to be the greatest, ongoing threat to this vulnerable coastal area and he responded: In South Louisiana the coastal areas are subsiding and the sea levels rising. So its not hard to imagine what the future holds. The only institution that has the means to address this problem, forget about solving it, is the Federal Government. For every mile of marshland, were aorded more and more protection against the storm surge of a possible hurricane. The tidal wave that comes in with the hurricane is going to be reduced by one foot for every mile of marshland that you have. And every mile that you lose means that foot of water is going to come deeper in shore. I have a friend, Tyrone Foremen, who is the most committed environmentalist Ive ever met. Hes got 80,000 salt-resistant cypress trees in his back yard that he goes out and plants every year because everyone of those cypress trees is going to solidify the marsh. I dont know whether well be able to counter the inuence of corporate greed and indierence to suering and all of the things which seem to be dragging this world in the wrong direction. But it makes me feel good to think that we can try. I dont consider myself to be a particularly generous or enlightened person, but there are things that I care a lot about. When you care about something, youre led to defend that thing when it is put at risk. There are people who have done things which are much more incredible than I can ever imagine doing. But in my own way, if Ive contributed to shining a little bit of light in the world, well then, thats the best that I know how to do, Richard concludes. www.zacharyrichard.com.
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kElly RUTHERFORD
horizon
safe
coNFiDeNce
By Briana Packen
Victims of VioleNce from crisis to
moVes
afe Horizons inuence reaches beyond what the eye can see. So it comes as no surprise that it is the leading victim assistance organization in the United States. Each year, the charity helps more than 250,000 victims of violence move from crisis to condence by providing both practical and emotional tools. Safe Horizon helps victims by providing 24-hour hotlines, lock changes, safe shelters and mental health and support services. For Safe Horizon and giving souls across the globe, December is Human Rights Awareness Month. On one crisp December evening in 2011, Urban Sanctuary VIPs gathered at Faonnable's agship store in Rockefeller Center the hub of Christmas in the Big Apple. Sipping on delicious Aliz cocktails and jamming to the sounds of Dee Jay Nicole of Nina Sky, some of New Yorks most elite walked the red carpet to drop o toys for Safe Horizon victims and to kick o a generous shopping spree. A portion of the proceeds of this two-day event were donated to the organization. Among the elite was Celebrity Spokesperson and Gossip Girl actress, Kelly Rutherford, who described the unique importance of Safe Horizon for victims of violent crime.
When you call to report a violent crime, you are directed to this organization. There arent many places like this in New York, she assured. Rutherford closed her speech with a heartfelt guarantee. If you like to give back please nd out about Safe Horizon, you will appreciate the rewards. Just who are these shoppers that are donating their time and money? A Distinctive Style had the honor of meeting Dyanna Moon, Safe Horizons Senior Director of Corporate Partnerships. Its the Holiday and were very excited about helping the children, she said as she gave us a more personal picture of who will benet from the event. We have something called the Child Advocacy Center where children who have been physically or sexually abused can come. Its an amazing place where they can talk to us but also work with the police, the DAs oce and child services. The children who come to our shelters will receive these fabulous toys and donations that have been donated this evening. Moon told us the importance of validating a child by listening to his or her story for the rst time. The Child Advocacy Center, found that children who were abused had to tell their story between 11 and 19 times at other facilities. But when [children] come to the Child Advocacy
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Center, they only have to tell their story once. Theres one person interviewing them, while associates observe and gather the information. The children feel safer. Child abuse is just one type of violence Safe Horizon helps victims overcome. We deal with all types of victims, but primarily those of domestic violence, child abuse and human tracking. We also work with homeless people who have been victimized, said Moon. While Safe Horizon provides the practical tools and emotional strength for these individuals to move forward, the organization also empowers them to become independent again. Each client that we deal with sets his or her own path to recovery. We dont dictate to them [the victims] what they need to do. Its really working with them to discover what they need, to get them to safety and into the next phase of their lives.
Awareness such as Urban Sanctuarys Faonnable Event are a big factor in helping to end the violence. We need to talk about these issues, said Moon. This agency has been around for thirty years, but the violence that we address has been around forever. We really need to talk about whats really going on and make people aware of its presence. It is not so shameful that you cant seek help and talk to others about it. In fact, talking about it is one of Safe Horizons most eective strategies. We have about 57 sites throughout New York City. We serve every borough so there is help for New Yorkers out there. Spread the word about what we do, said Moon with a condent smile.
Safe Horizon
www.safehorizon.org
Dyanna Moon
Briana Packen
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to catch
a DoLLar
Women rise from poverty by starting and growing their own businesses.
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An inspiring documentary by Gayle Ferraro. The lm follows Nobel Peace Prize winner Professor Yunus as he brings his unique and revolutionary micronance program to the US. Witness the birth of Grameen America and the compelling story of the rst women borrowers; from the challenges they face to the successes they achieve, as they learn to sustainably rise from poverty by starting and growing their own businesses with the education, support, and noncollateral microloans they receive.
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Sara Snow
A mom, daughter, wife and friend, a natural living expert, TV host, anchor, author and eco-lifestyle guru, Sara Snow, shares her knowledge and experience about living a greener lifestyle with people from around the world. Sara grew up surrounded by organic gardens, compost heaps and a family with a passion for green living. She says, I think theres a direct link between cosmetics and health. Some of the preservatives are hormone disruptors, so I go for organicand chemical free as much as possible. Tim Redmond, Snows dad, co-founded Eden Foods, American Soy Products and Blue Horizon Organic Seafood, so its no surprise that 7 years into her career as an Emmy Award-winning television producer and news reporter/anchor, Sara left and created her own TV series. Giving practical advice on living green for the Discovery Networks: Living Fresh and Get Fresh with Sara Snow, she found the perfect place to spread her message. Snow travels the country appearing on TV talk shows and speaks to diverse groups about simple and eective ways to green businesses, homes and communities and how to live in harmony with the environment. She says: It's not about tackling one big thing on your own, its about living a life in which you're mindful of the impact you have." Find out more about Sara Snow on her website at: www.sarasnow.com and dont forget to listen to our interview with her below.
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Sheanetics is for the person who really wants to make a change in life but just isnt sure how to get started much less how to sustain the effort.
By Rachel Sokol
he petite, spunky Shea Vaughn has been doing the talk show rounds promoting her latest book Shea Vaughns BreakthroughThe Five Living Principles to Defeat Stress, Look Great & Find Total Well-Being. A tness and lifestyle guruand actor Vince Vaughns mama!Shea is the founder of SheaNetics, which takes mind-body transformation to another level. According to Vaughn, SheaNetics, helps reshape and enhance the overall quality of your life. It gives you the mental strength and physical ability to make on-going life-healthy changes. Vaughns Five Living PrinciplesCommitment, Perseverance, Self-Control, Integrity and Loveinspire your workouts, as you build strength, exibility and Tri-Core Power and are with you throughout the day encouraging you to make positive and benecial choices in everything you do, she says. The Five Living Principles book is chock full of healthy recipes, such as Lentil Soup, step-by-step exercises, and Sheas personal stories of success, gratitude, and attitude! SheaNetics is for the person who really wants to make a change in life but just isnt sure how to get started much less how to sustain the eort, Shea, a Chicago native, stated. It gives you the mental and physical tools to make that desire into a lasting reality. In an exclusive interview with A Distictive Style magazine, Shea gives us more insight into her life, her health mission and her inspirations.
heels (minimum of 8 reps and try to get higher each time). 3. Standing with your feet slightly apart and one arm raised over your head keep your back and shoulders aligned and simply lean to the side opposite of the raised arm - feel the stretch along the upper torso on the side with the raised arm (minimum of 8 reps on each side and try to get deeper each time). 4. Sit and with legs set as widely apart as you can, reach in the direction of one foot using both hands and pushing your torso as far towards your foot and as close to your leg as you can (minimum of 8 reps on each side and try to get deeper each time). 5. Kneel upright and place your left hand on your left heal while raising your right arm aside your face turn your head facing over your left shoulder and looking at your heal (minimum of 8 reps on each side and try to get deeper each time). ADS: Why is meditation so important? What do you say to those who say they cannot meditate or sit still for very long? Shea: Meditation reduces stress. Who cant use that? However, you cant manage stress but you can give it a break and that is the rst step in promoting a healthy mind and body. Unfortunately, meditation is misunderstood. It is not sitting in a dark room with candles. Medication is simply ridding yourself of distractions by directing thought or concentration. So even when you are walking, playing sports or doing anything that requires focused thinking while you are in motion, you can achieve a meditative state along with all of its benets. This is what many experience with SheaNetics and we call it meditation in motion and thought ADS: Why do women--in your opinion--get so stressed out? What are some little things we can do to alleviate stress? Shea: Women seem to feel responsible for everyone else they spend so much time worrying about their work, friends, family, husband and kids that they forget to take care of themselves. What can they do? Read a book, take a walk, listen to music, have lunch with a friend doing something for yourself that makes you happy gives stress a break. ADS: What is your favorite mantra/expression? Shea: A new beginning is just a breakthrough away. To learn more about SheaNetics, visit www.sheanetics.com and begin with the SheaNetics DVD/CD collection.
ADS: It made me sad to read that women over 45 feel a sense of loss or an identity crisis. Why do you think that is? Shea: It is a natural time in the cycle of our lives for selfreection and evaluation. Sometimes the realization of our realities at work and/or in family life is that it didnt turn out the way we thought it would or there are challenges or roadblocks we cant seem to negotiate on our own and we need help. ADS: Can you explain the easiest, simplest of exercises women should do every day? Shea: Must-Do Stretches: 1. A forward bend both standing and seated (minimum of 8 reps and try to get deeper each time). 2. Lie on your back and stretch by lifting your hips up as high as you can and elevating your toes so you are pushing with your
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a modern Day tarzan
evin Richardson is an animal behaviorist and has done extensive research on native animals of Africa. He has been acknowledged into a pack of hyenas and pride of lions. He works with hyenas and big cats such as cheetahs and leopards. He specializes with lions and runs the Kingdom of the White Lion facility in the Lion Park in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Known around the world as the Lion Whisperer, Richardson is also an author and lm producer.
Documentaries such as Dangerous Companions, and shows like Growing Up Hyena further exposed Richardsons special animal-bonding gift. Richardson moved with the animals he works with to a larger farm nestled just outside the Cradle of Human Kind, 50-60km North of Johannesburg, called the Kingdom of the White Lion. He resides opposite the property where the animals are kept, and works closely with them on a daily basis. Richardson recently worked on the dramatic feature lm White Lion, a project in the making for 4 years, which details the life of a young white lion. When hes not whispering to the lions, Richardson is actively involved in various conservation and research projects in the Okavango Delta and Lydenberg area and as a result has produced another documentary on black leopard called In Search of a Legend. Im also working on a documentary called Lights, Camera, Lions! And a feature lm called African Safari 3D, he explains. Ive got more exciting documentaries coming. As for his person-to-person interactions, Richardson says, My life is very busy at the moment which takes me away from home a lot this past year. So, when I am home, I love to spend time with my two-year old-son and my wife. www.lionwhisperer.co.za
Richardson grew up in Orange Grove, Johannesburg South Africa which, was a city suburb and didnt have much wildlife, he explains to A Distinctive Style. From a young age I enjoyed spending time in the garden being outdoors and was amazed always by how much nature was right there in your back garden. I was inuenced by books I read and people like George Adamson and Harry Wolhuter. A lifelong animal lover and self-taught behaviorist, Richardson never believed that using any type of violence was an appropriate way to subdue wild animals. As a behaviorist, he uses a unique method of getting to know each wild animals personality. In return these animalslions in particularlearn to trust and accept Richardson. While working at Lion Park in Johannesburg, Richardson created a series of documentaries about his special bond with jungle animals. Award-winning lmmaker Michael Rosenberg was impressed with Richardsons animal bonding abilities, and decided to capture these special relationships on lm.
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clIck FOR VIDEO
clIck FOR VIDEO
if i havent learned something today, then today was a failure

By ken Cotterill
~ PHIlIP lEAkEy
clIck FOR VIDEO
sing natural elements such as fallen wood, grass and porcelain, these renowned designers create unique products while protecting the environment and providing economic opportunity to the local communities. Maasai necklaces, bracelets and jewellery, developed by Katy and Philip Leakey are sold commercially worldwide. In this interview the Leakeys tell how the collection came about, what it is like living with the Maasai, and how they see the future of their business. ADS: The Leakey Family is a well-established family in Kenya. How did your commercial relationship with the Maasai people come about? We live among the Maasai. A terrible drought that ended in 2001 lasted several years and devastated their pasturelands. The Maasai's livelihood disappeared as their cattle died. The men had to drive the few remaining cattle hundreds of miles to search for better grazing. We were supporting close to 100 families which was unsustainable. The long-term solution was to create a business that provided them with work opportunities without changing their culture. By combining a readily available, sustainable resource such as grass, along with the excellent beading abilities of the Maasai women, we designed a product for the contemporary global market. ADS: Did you have any diculties or challenges in commencing this venture? Yes. Traditionally Maasai women do not earn an income.They work hard around the home. The men initially kicked against their women's new economic independence. Gradually the men came to realize the tremendous nancial help the women were bringing to their families,so now they enthusiastically embrace their wives and daughters ability to earn an income. ADS: How is your business impacting on the Maasai people? The women use the income for everything, from the basics to improving their life styles, such as buying herds of goats, purchasing land and starting businesses. More children are receiving an education and the general overall health of the communities has improved. The Maasai are very entrepreneurial people, no dierent to us in the United States. ADS: The base materials for your necklaces and bracelets are environmentally sustainable. Tell us more about this? Philip is the brilliant mind behind using grass as one of the com-
ponents for the jewellery. With Philips expertise on environmental issues, and his ability to identify natures leftovers that can be recycled into beautiful products, the possibilities are endless. He often tells me, If I havent learned something today, then today was a failure. ADS: Do the various colours mean anything in Maasai culture? Red signies danger, ferocity, bravery, strength, and especially unity, because it is the colour of the blood of the cow that is slaughtered when the community comes together in celebration. Blue represents the sky, which provides water for the cows, while green represents the land which grows food for the cattle to eat ADS: The Great Rift Valley must be an incredible place to live. Tell us what it is like living there? We live in tents on a mountain in the East Rift Valley of Kenya. As a designer it is a paradise lled with inspiration. It is a place of incredible beauty alongside the cultural beauty of the Maasai people. Philip grew up with the Maasai. It is more common for Philip to speak Swahili than it is English. ADS: Philip, you were the rst white politician elected to Kenyas Parliament. How do you see Kenyas future? Kenya is the only African country where the bulk of the population owns property. When you have land ownership, you have access to capital and you can invest in your future. ADS: Katy, you explored ancient cultures in South America. Did this experience have any inuence on your creations for the Leakey Collection? Yes. The passion for my art is something that Ive had since I was young. I probably would have gone into cultural anthropology if it werent for my love of art. My intellectual passion is the understanding of mankind and human nature. I set about learning about that through art. So when I travel, I go to various places and study other tribes. These same principles are part of my designing process for The Leakey Collection. ADS: The Leakey Collection has been incredibly successful so far. Where do you see your business in say a decade from now? We are constantly thinking of new products. We are now making beautiful tabletop items out of fallen acacia wood and harvesting fallen marula nuts to make a skin care product, marula oil, which we will be launching in 2012.
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www.leakeycollection.com
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SHINE
Your Light
By Mikaela katherine Jones
Who Do You Want to be? O

ne of the most profound moments of my youth goes back to 7th grade history class, when on a day in which I was particularly sad, (the details of which escape me,) Keith Sarkisian hands me a small folded note. It reads: Tomorrow is the rst day of the rest of your life. With that hand-scrawled note, my life was forever changed. A freedom rose up within which I had never before experienced. Like many children, I had my secret traumas that I was living with, namely sexual abuse. The decisions Id made about myself based on those experiences were limiting at best. The note with its simple, yet powerful message somehow reminded me that no matter what had happened, I was still in charge of who I chose to be. Now as an adult who has not only survived, but thrives in life, I would add one more line. Today is the rst day of the rest of your life...Who do you want to Be? No matter what challenges you survived in 2011, or at any point in your lifes journey, they were experiences you had. Horrible perhaps, but still, simply experiences. They dont dene who you are because who you are is far bigger and much more powerful than that! You are a brave spiritual being, here on a wild physical adventure and it is your right to claim who you want to Be! When I reclaimed my own identity, it gave me the selfesteem and vision I needed to make the journey from darkness to light. Twenty years ago, courage and self-expression were the two ways of being I rst embodied to be able to share my own truth. Practicing them freed me, and transformed my life. Fortunately, many are waking up to the truth that joy in life isnt derived from our possessions, but rather from precious,
wondrous experiences. And your experience in life ows from your way of being in the world. So rather than create a list of things you want to do in 2012; I suggest you choose three ways of being, and commit to expressing those qualities as often and in as many ways as you can. With some dedication, by 2013 you will have become much more of the extraordinary person you want to be! I have been practicing this personal New Year ritual for a number of years now and one of my favorite methods to help me embody my new ways of being is in my Little Book of Light: 111 Ways to Bring Light Into Your Life. Act as if you already are the person you dream of becomingcourageous, compassionate, and self-expressed, for example. When you get anxious, ask yourself how would the I that I want to become act in this situation? Then trust it and follow through. Youll be amazed at how much you already are the you, you desire to be. So dear friend, reclaim your identity! Step into your light! You are free to choose who you want to be, no matter what. The world needs youso please, shine your light. All you need to do from where you are now is take the next step.
Mikaela Jones is an inspirational writer, speaker, hypnotherapist, and Delight Frequency Manifestation Meditation Teacher. For more tools to shine bright, (including some free ones) visit www.MikaelaJones.com. Mikaela's work will enable you to fulll your unique personal vision by helping you stay connected with your True Self, and nd delight dailyso you can shine.
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JUDITH JAMISON HAS REcEIVED NUMEROUS AwARDS AND HONORS INclUDINg A PRESIDENTIAl APPOINTMENT TO THE NATIONAl cOUNcIl OF THE ARTS THE 1972 DANcE MAgAZINE AwARD THE cANDAcE AwARD FROM THE NATIONAl cOAlITION OF ONE HUNDRED BlAck wOMEN
AS A DANcER JUDITH JAMISONS gREATEST AcHIEVEMENT wAS AN INSPIRINg ABIlITy TO SEEM SUPREMEly HUMAN AND EMOTIVE wITHIN AN ElASTIc AND POwERFUl DANcE TEcHNIqUE.
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Artist Spotlight
Judith Jamison
Born the younger of two children in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Jamison studied piano and violin as a child. Tall by the age of six, Jamison was enrolled in dance classes by her parents in an effort to complement her exceptional height with grace. She received most of her early dance training in classical ballet with master teachers Marion Cuyjet, Delores Brown and John Jones at the Judimar School of Dance. Jamison decided on a career in dance only after three semesters of coursework in psychology at Fisk University and she completed her education at the Philadelphia Dance Academy. In 1964 she was spotted by choreographer Agnes de Mille and invited to appear in de Mille's "The Four Marys" at the New York-based American Ballet Theatre. Jamison moved to New York in 1965 and that same year joined the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
Who or what have you sacriced for your art? I haven't had a family, but I don't think of that as a sacrice: my dancers are my family. And I'm fortunate enough to have spent my entire career doing what I love. Not many people can say that. When did you know you were going to be a dancer? Going to ballet school when I was six. I was a protege; by the age of 10, I was studying with ballet choreographer Anthony Tudor in a class of adults. What one song would feature on the soundtrack to your life? I would need a multiplicity of songs. There would be classical pieces, from my study of ballet; the operatic arias which my father sang; gospel music, from singing in church; and music by Duke Ellington, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles and Talking Heads. Do you suer for your art? The word suering is not in my vocabulary. It's been a long, hard road to get this far, but I'm now sitting in the largest dedicated dance building in the United States. I wouldn't call that suering. What was your big breakthrough? Coming to New York with dancer and choreographer Agnes DeMille in 1964. My life has been a series of leaps of faith. What's your favourite museum or art gallery? The Schomburg Center in Harlem. It's a wonderful space orart
exhibitions, performances and readings.
Is dance as strong as it used to be? Dance is not endangered - it will always nd a way to express itself. But we need to make sure we incorporate 21st-century media and technology into dance, while ensuring that the art form makes us remember our humanity. What advice would you give a young choreographer just starting out? Do it with love and humour, make sure you have good technique, and follow the three Ps: pray, prepare, and proceed. Which living artists do you most admire? In dance, choreographer and dancer Carmen DeLavallade. In writing, Maya Angelou and Toni Morrison. In music, Kanye West. He speaks from the heart. What's the best advice anyone ever gave you? My father told me to "be good." I have tried to explore every aspect of that. What is your favorite work of art? Any sculpture by the Dogon people in Mali. They have an amazing sense of history. And they're spiritually connected to both the earth and the sky, just as all artists should be. What do you consider to be your highest achievement? Opening the Joan Weill Center for Dance, my dance company's New York headquarters. Do you want to share one of your lowest points? If there has been one, nobody's going to know about it.
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STEllA MccARTNEy
SUMMER 2012
Eortless and optimistic, capturing the vibrant spirit of summer, the collection embraces a sense of movement and energy. Graphic wave motifs undulate on structured looks achieved through high frequency bonding. Crepe de chine silk day dresses and sharp shantung tailoring skim the body in a play of mixed whites, crisp cobalt blue and black. Sporty airtex mesh is cut and molded together with shiny silks and sleek cupro, with delicate lace then added to bring in contrasting emotions, accentuating a more feminine edge. Encouraging a laid back attitude through masculine inspired silhouettes, tailoring is uid with white tonal marquis diamond print details. A chunky sweater in shades of red as well as weightless cotton knits in micro jacquard patterns in pomegranate and ink, echo a feel1ng of the beach. Print is used as color. Paisleys, oriental circles and Bouillard spots are worked into multiple scales and mixed together in shades of Wedgewood blue and oyster on crepe de chine silks. Habotai silk, constructed rst in roul ribbons and then handwoven in a loose basket weave, create textures with pattern used as a modern twist on tailoring and knitwear. Scaled up and bonded for evening, dense stretch silk prints introduce body contouring silhouettes and all in one in ink and Syrah red paisley. Bold and asymmetric with engineered placements, embroidery nishes edges and hemlines. Swirls are made from intricately woven cord and mesh net giving it a 3D eect. Grace shoulder bags with brass chain is embossed or made of organic cotton in print. Clutches in onyx white perforated metal and padded scuba Angela with sculpted wave detail. Strappy sandal in nude or cognac and dark chocolate, with faux nappa and taupe, and biodegradable faux suede. Oversized printed sunglasses with circular lenses in square frames, Southern slides in bright colors, and printed Arizona quilted shoulder bags tied in a bow compliment a casual daywear feel.
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st ella m c c ar t N eY sum m er 2 0 1 2
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STEllA MccARTNEy
SUMMER 2012
Shopping on www.stellamcartney.com is now available in 30 countries worldwide.
about Stella
Born and raised in London and the English countryside, Stella McCartney was the second child of former Beatle bassist Sir Paul McCartney and Linda Eastman. Despite their fame, the McCartneys wanted their children to lead as normal a life as possible, so Stella and her siblings attended local state schools in East Sussex, one of them being Bexhill College. McCartney has said that while attending state school, she was a victim of bullying, as well as being a bully herself. Stella graduated from Central St Martins in 1995. A signature style of sharp tailoring, natural condence and sexy femininity was immediately apparent in her rst collection and after only two collections, in 1997, she was appointed the Creative Director of Chloe in Paris and enjoyed great success during her tenure. A lifelong vegetarian, Stella McCartney does not use any leather or fur in her designs and supports PETA. Some of McCartney's designs have text that elaborates on her "no animal" policy. For example, one of her jackets for Adidas says, "suitable for sporty vegetarians" on the sleeve. Stella McCartney now operates 15 freestanding stores in locations including Manhattans Meatpacking District, Londons Mayfair, LAs West Hollywood, Paris Palais Royal and Milan, and recently opened doors in Beirut, Las Vegas, Dallas and Rome. Her collections are now distributed in over 50 countries through 600 wholesale accounts including specialty shops and department stores.
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old World meets new World in bodytalk

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show up for my rst ever BodyTalk session with equal parts anticipation and regret. Anticipation for my inaugural foray into this holistic world that until now Ive only read about with fascination. Regret about not shaving my legs on this arctic December afternoon when I know my BodyTalk practitioner is bound to be disgusted by my caveman hygiene. If shes as enlightened as I hope she is, I think to myself about my practitioner, shell be more focused on my energy than on my Darwinian instinct to protect my body on a 22degree day.
By Doree Lewak
Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised on both counts: my certied practitioner, Jaclyn Sokol, put me at total ease in my quasi-anxious state plus, she never said a word about my porcupine stems. I liked her already! In preparation, I had a big Chinese lunch beforehand you know, to get in the mood as BodyTalk incorporates ancient Chinese elements combined with Western medicine. In truth, it feels like equal parts ancient Chinese medicine, psychology, psychiatry and therapy all seamlessly rolled into one nifty art.
Yet I was still gripped with fear: Will the therapist read my inner sanctum like a cheap, tawdry novel? I secretly fretted. Would she be able to read the fear inside me about my regifting for my boss, or my secret celebrity crush on Rob Kardashian, or whatever other deep, dark secret she can read through her mental x-ray machine? Can she take one look at me, feel the tension in my wrists and know the worry that my friend could tell I lied to my best friend about the dress she just bought?! I couldnt sleep the whole night before thinking my bodys going to sing like a canary once she discovers the tension, and shell soon realize Im a true menace to society a re-gifter! and to top it all o, a re-gifter who doesnt get nearly as much kale intake as she should! But BodyTalk was nothing like I thought it was. It was better. It wasnt necessarily the profound spiritual experience I might have expected, but that doesnt mean it wasnt meaningful and eective and for my part, right on the money. Sokol says shes one of a mushrooming team of BodyTalk enthusiasts around the country and around the world, espousing the virtues of this utterly holistic and utterly cool new-wave practice that believes in our ability to heal our body ourselves using various techniques, both old and new. Is she psychic? I think to myself many times throughout our hour-long session as Sokol correctly prognosticates a problem psychological area after she taps my knee. Would you say youre feeling insecure lately? How does Sokol explain this fascinating practice that supposed devotees like Oprah are embracing? No one has a problem accepting the premise of TV, she explains. Same for BodyTalk. Im helping the body send out a signal, to remote into someones power. The principles of energy medicine existed for 5000 years, yet BodyTalk was founded early 90s by a chiropractor and acupuncturist when he eventually realized you dont need needles to do acupuncture. He wholly believed in a body chemistry balance technique. So how does one prepare (in earnest) for their session? No prep for rst timers no ocial diet, sleep, and best part, no shaving! As for the session itself, I lie down relaxed on a massage table with lots of muscle-checking my wrist as Sokol looks for changes in muscle tone, using the wrist as tool for yes/ no answers to questions. She goes through a whole protocol of questioning for healing. And Im assured its a
xed protocol, meaning shes non-agenda focused. For example, if a client complains about a sore throat, Sokol wont solely focus on the throat. So whats the typical makeup of a BodyTalk client? According to Sokol, its a varied and diverse population: shes had clients come in with early-onset Parkinsons; another woman just wanted to be more artsy; another has Siatica; one woman had a double hysterectomy / mastectomy. We werent working on physical stu, but emotional stu, says Sokol. Re-synchronizing communication within the body, with systems and organs. BodyTalk walks o the premise that the body could heel itself; that its the best equipment we can have. Like a cut gushing blood, the body heals itself, Sokol explains. This all happens on a cellular level. But if the body can heal and x itself, then why arent we perpetually healthy all the time? Well, every cell is in communication with every other cell all the time, reaching homeostatis. Stress can break down these lines of communication. Communication systems could break down thanks in part due to environmental stress but our body is so highly adaptable, she explains. The bodys always doing the best it can, striving for homeostatic. In her sessions, Sokol is looking for areas of the body that need to facilitate communication with the body. Shes looking for missing pieces to the formula. Are most clients enlightened enough to digest all this? The fact that everything is connected in the body is mind-boggling to people, she says. Its also balancing this delicate principle where we have balance and control over our lives. One of the best things about BodyTalk isnt just that we get rid of whatever the problem is, but that were so much more intimately connected to your self. Or I m cutting that toxic friend out of my life. When were so connected with ourselves, that connection to our true essence comes really naturally. Yet 60% of clients said that they didnt need to go to a doctor once they used BodyTalk. For everyone else, one thorough session wont successfully remedy all of our problems. Most of us arent ready for our problems to go away in one session, Sokol says. Were so accustomed to the status quo of ourselves! that we cant even accept real change to their lives. Well, Sokol can shave o one from that number. She just converted a BodyTalk detractor! www.bodytalknyc.com
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Laugh til it Heals: Lifes newest Way to Get Fit!

By Christine k. Clifford, CSP
When my friend Denise Marie asked me to contribute to A Distinctive Style Magazine, I thought about the healing power of laughter. Many may not realize, but laughing out loud takes work and a lot of physical exercise! Make one of your New Years Resolutions to get t by laughing your way to good health. What kind of changes take place in your body when you laugh? Your breathing level changes; blood ow changes; muscle tension is reduced. Stress goes down. Physicians such as Lee Berk, M.D., O. Carl Simonton, M.D., and Patch Adams have proven that Dear Cancer Club, When I went for my rst chemo treatment, I had to ll out a health questionnaire about pre-existing problems, such as heart disease, kidney disease, lung disease and so on. After completing the form, the nurse said to the other sta nurses, Look at this: nothing checked. She is the healthiest person with cancer weve had in a long time! Made me feel good. NOT! I had to cross a parking lot during a wind storm, and I was concerned about my wig staying on. It did stay on, but I told my friend Chris how upset I would have been if it ew o in front of my coworkers. Chris suggested I should run after it, yelling Fluy! Get back here! Bad dog!She made me laugh. So now my wigs name is Fluy. I will tell my husband that tonight Fluy is getting a bath.
Leslie Warren | Toronto, OH
laughter can provide physiological benets, such as increasing natural killer cell activity, which is the bodys natural ghter for viruses and tumors; increasing T-cell activity; and reducing cortisone levels which tend to suppress the immune system. But not convinced that you can get your daily dose of exercise along the way? Read on and see how these cancer patients got a full work-out from the new book Laugh Til It Heals: Notes from the Worlds Funniest Cancer Mailbox! Warning: Humor May Be Hazardous to Your illness!
Dear Cancer Club, I am a double cancer survivor: rst colon, then breast, now eight years behind me. I was visiting my daughter in Florida. While there, we were working in her yard: planting, digging up weeds, and so forth. I was wearing a camp shirt that buttoned down the front, and a cool bra with my prosthesis. I had worn it before without any problems. It doesnt have prosthesis pockets, but I do have pocket bras that I wear most of the time. I was weeding around the stone walkway and came upon a weed that was connected to lots of o-shoots. I got a little too rambunctious, trying to pull the entire weed, when my prosthesis fell out on the sidewalk with a plop. I looked around and reached down, wiped my boob o very carefully and replaced it in the pocketless bra. I heard the snickers, but very nonchalantly went about my weeding chore. My daughter just about lost it when she realized what I had just done! We had some good laughs about it later. We need good laughter and serious hugs during our recovery. Norma Jones | Rising Sun,MD
christine clifford, csP, is ceo/President of the cancer club (www.cancerclub.com) and Divorcing Divas (www.divorcingdivas.net) and the author of eight books. she is an eighteen year breast cancer survivor, and speaks internationally on finding humor in the journey. Dont forget to laugh! email christine at: christine@christineclifford.com
Hopefully, you dont have anyone in your life or your family dealing with a diagnosis of cancer. But perhaps youve been touched by one of lifes other larger than life adversities: divorce. Its funny, but I learned about the healing power of humor when I faced and fought breast cancer in 1994. So when I found myself going through divorcenot just once, but twicethe same feelings of anger, fear, denial and grief paralleled that experience. Yet somehow, humor managed to nd me everywhere I looked as I endured ten months of chemotherapy, radiation, surgeries and the loss of my hair. The only dierence is that one was a struggle for my breast. The other was a struggle for my heart. So I started searching for humor in my divorce, and came up with You Might Be a Divorcing Diva If You burned your Unity Candle in the kids Jack-o-Lantern. You sent a Thank You note to the other woman. You threw away your Mom panties and bought a thong! Heres to your good health in 2012! Dont forget to laugh!
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We have a fundamental motivation to be accepted

By Jan Denise
Jan Denise is a self-esteem and relationships consultant, the author of innately good: Dispelling the myth that Youre Not (health communications) and Naked relationships: sharing Your authentic self to Find the Partner of Your Dreams (hampton roads), and the columnist who penned the nationally syndicated inside relationships for ten years. Denise conducts workshops, speaks professionally, serves on the faculty of omega institute, and consults with individuals and couples nationwide. she is silly and deeply in love with life and her husband sam Ferguson. they live in mcintosh, Florida, where their home in the woods is open to others as a sanctuary and retreat center.
FROM THE TIME wE lEARN THE wORD NO, we begin to get the message that what we would do naturally is bad. As young children, we cant make a distinction between our behavior and ourselves, so we buy into a liethe lie that in order to be good enough we have to sit still and be quiet, or look pretty, or SOMETHING. But you know as well as I do that some of the demands we place on children (and ourselves) are more apt to stifle them than make them good. Even if you were fortunate enough to grow up in a safe, nurturing environment, you still bear invisible scars from childhood, because from the very moment you were born you were a complex, dependent creature with a never-ending cycle of needs. Freud correctly labeled us insatiable beings. And no parents, no matter how devoted, are able to respond perfectly to all of these changing needs, says Harville Hendrix in his bestselling Getting the Love You Want. We have a fundamental motivation to be accepted, which is why you might jump to defend yourself, your parents, your children (even while reading this). Rejection used to point to a problem that needed our attention, and our survival depended on how sensitive and responsive we were. Yes, were programmed to be sensitive to rejection! There was a time in our history when being solitary meant being a meal. Unconscious feelings of inferiority are universal so, whether we realize it or not, we are driven to prove to ourselves and to the world that were worthwhile. My own life reads like a textbook example, and theres a really good chance that yours does, too. You might think that your pursuit of money, or sex, or fame, or happiness is just thata pursuit of money, or sex, or fame, or happiness. But if that were the case, would you still be striving and moving the bar for what constitutes enough? You can, as you may well know, create a pictureperfect life, and still have the same doubts, the same sense that somethings missing,
the same fear that youre innately lacking whatever it is. There is not enough success to make us feel the way we want to feel. We cant get pretty enough, or smart enough, or rich enough when what were really trying to do is get good enough. Any fix we find in drugs, or sex, or food, or work is temporary. So, we can hit one dead-end after another trying to fill a hole with something that cant fill it. The ultimate fear of not being good enough triggers empty pursuit, escape, and addiction, as well as all negative emotion. If deep down youre still trying to prove that youre worthwhile, afraid that its not apparent or true, please know that the fear is based on a lie! Seek not good from without; seek it from within yourselves, or you will never find it, said Epictetus. Unfortunately, religion sometimes promotes the notion that were tainted or flawed, rather than good. God didnt make us bad, though; he made us human. He gave us the knowledge of good and evil; he didnt want robots. And he knew that in order for us to feel good, we would have to be able to choose good. God has no religion, said Ghandi. And I suspect Jesus would have agreed. He said, For whoever has not known himself knows nothing, but whoever has known himself has simultaneously come to know the depth of all things. When you know yourself, what you really know is love. Your innate goodness is love. When you know it, you know the depth of all things. Thats why in my book Innately Good: Dispelling the Myth That Youre Not, I do my very best to help you rediscover your true self, your innately good self. When you distinguish fear from love as the driving force of your behavior, and choose love, you experience yourself as having all the potential of love.
www.NakedRelationships.com
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Soothes, speeds healing, kills germs, reduces inflammation and stops bleeding naturally. Made with organically grown calendula, yarrow, plantain and wild roses.
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We should be proud of everything about ourselves, including our age!

ENJOy A VITAl, FUlFIllINg lIFE REgARDlESS OF AgE
A quick web search on the term graceful aging brings up phrases like: Combat the signs of aging Who said that we have to age Defy the aging process More often than not, aging is viewed as something to be fought o for as long as possible. Regardless of how liberated weve become, many women and men still experience aging as a threat to their sense of self worth and quality of life. It is pretty much expected that middle age will bring a crisis and far too often we hear seniors lament that I thought these were supposed to be the golden years. Whole industries are built on the attempt to stay young from hair colors to face lifts to Viagra.
gRAcEFUlly AgINg
Martha Graham danced professionally until she was 76? Benjamin Franklin invented bifocals at the age of 78? Georgia OKeefe continued painting well into her 90s? Vitality in later life is not just for the famous. Undoubtedly everyone knows at least one person who is living a vital, fullling life despite their age. This is really the way it should be life should become better as we age.
TwO BASIc REqUIREMENTS OF gRAcEFUl AgINg

What Ive discovered is that there are two basic requirements of graceful aging. To borrow from the Serenity Prayer, graceful aging requires the serenity to accept the things we cannot change; courage to change the things we can; and wisdom to know the dierence. Certainly acceptance of aging is a key to aging gracefully but which of the changes that commonly come with age are the things we cannot change and which are the things we can change?
gREATNESS AFTER MENOPAUSE

There is a place for all of these things, of course, but if your reaction to the aging process has you racing to beat time, Id like to ask you to take a deep breath, relax, and give yourself some space to shift into a dierent perspective on aging. What if aging were equated with getting better rather than worse? What if you lived in a culture which reveres the elderly and views them as a repository of power and wisdom? What if it was understood that women really come into their greatness after menopause? Since how we age has so much to do with our attitudes and beliefs, such a shift in perspective could make a world of dierence.
THE ROlE OF ATTITUDE AND lIFESTylE

Its been discovered that attitude has an enormous role in how we age. Much of the decline that people experience with aging comes about due to the belief that decline in function and quality of life is part and parcel of aging. In addition, many of the problems of age are not due to the process of aging itself, but rather due to the eects of a lifetime of stress and poor health habits. Its never too late to change the two most important ingredients to graceful aging attitude and lifestyle.
AgINg wEll IN THE cUlTURE OF yOUTH

To age gracefully in a culture which idolizes youth requires inner strength and wisdom. Hopefully we can ask questions together about our common notions and experiences with aging, so that we can not only do away with some myths about aging which limit our quality of life, but also discover some of the perks of aging that we often ignore. There are lots of role models who have led the way for us. Did you know, for example, that:
FINDINg A BAlANcE
Graceful aging means nding a balance between acceptance of the inevitability of aging and doing what we can to remain vital and healthy as long as possible. Acceptance involves relaxation into life and the ability to ow with change. When we are relaxed, we stop ghting the inevitable. At the same time, relaxation is a key to better health and greater vitality. www.heartofhealing.net
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i am finally at peace with my looks, my life and my purpose.

~ AlESANDRA RAIN
I went from being a vibrant, healthy, attractive and accomplished woman to one that suered from horric pain from a spinal injury which led to years of procedures, pills and a life I wouldnt wish upon anyone. The passage of time took on a dierent meaning and I didnt care what I looked like. No one glanced my way. I lost the sense of who I once was, and instead became dened by the medical community. I have endured 34 surgeries and I lived my diagnosis and did nothing to change my world for ten years. Then one day I literally woke up. It started like any other day. I crawled out of bed, hunched over in pain and made the short distance to my medicine cabinet. As I reached to pop my pills I actually saw myself and the reection was shocking. Gone was my beauty and vibrancy. In its place was a broken woman, old, wrinkled and pitiful. At 45 I nally wanted more. Visits to my doctors provided the same prescriptions, but I wondered who I was without the thousand pills a month I was consuming. I wanted to nd out and this drive became the impetus for my transformation. Options were limited so I chose to go quit all the pills abruptly. It took months to surface and when I did, the exquisite beauty of nature held my deepest appreciation. The colors and dimensions had gone at over the years and experiencing the mesmerizing splendor was life changing. I wondered how many others were trapped and I had a deep desire to make a dierence. As I healed, my yearning became the formation of a nonprot called Point of Return. We have helped people in 63 countries to heal from the clutch of prescription pills and in the process I healed myself. Oh my looks returned and at the age of 54 I am nally comfortable in my skin. I look younger than I did when the whole debacle started and yes, I have some wrinkles and war wounds. But adversity dened my beauty and although it would be nice to have the knowledge of this decade in a body that was younger, I wouldnt change my experience. I am nally at peace with my looks, my life and my purpose.
Alesandra Rain is an author and cofounder of Point of Return www.PointofReturn.org; a prescription drug expert for ABC and Geraldo at Large (FNC); and has appeared on hundreds of radio shows and television interviews. www.alesandrarian.net
ging isnt faced with grace for most women, but rather we ght the changes that accumulate over time. Some feel cheated while others mourn. A rare few nd peace during this natural process. But then again, I live in Southern California where age is certainly not revered. In my 20s, aging wasnt on my radar and although I saw wrinkles on older women, it puzzled me that they were distraught. This perspective was easy from the stance of youth. Its impossible to feel what it is to age until you are in the skin of a body that is collecting time. I was given the gift of good looks and felt somewhat invincible. I grew accustomed to gazes of admiration and doors that were subsequently opened. I now realize that my viewpoint was skewed. It was in my mid-30s that my entire perception shifted, and for the next decade my appearance was the least important aspect of my world.
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my world really opened up for me when i stopped trying to control everything.

~ BARBARA ElAINE SINgER
days later, I went to a winery as a tourist and met Giuseppe, fell in love and stayed. Now I help market his wines in the USA and have become part of an amazing family and share my time in both countries. Health wise, my main doctor is a nutritional herbalist. Its all about eating and digesting. The book, Eat Right For Your Blood Type is a good place to start. Mentally, each morning, I start the day with gratitude for all the gifts in my life. Focusing on the good sets the day in motion. I read the The Secret about the Law of Attraction and practice it regularly. I use many mantras but my favorites are I am in the right place at the right time and all good things are coming to me now and I am open and eager to see what comes next. For exercise, walking outside in nature is greatwithout a phone or iPod observing its beauty and my breathing. This is how I change my chemistry, especially if I have been on the computer too much. For tness, I run 3-5 miles, do core oor work for strength and yoga. I dont use any secret lotions, just lots of moisturizer. Years ago I had a breast reduction and lift. It boosted my selfesteem, but I just found other areas to obsess about. Over time, I learned we all have our area and to just get over it. Do your best with the one you were given and move on to the good stu in lifelike travel, freedom and adventure. There is a whole world to explore and enjoy! The best part about aging is Its all about me! I had the big house, the big job, raised my daughter, participated in school and community and gave, gave, gave. Now I have downsized and liquidated to two suitcases and three monthly bills. This is the future. No more saving for retirement, sacricing or waiting. Now, living is the focus, not having. I collect experiences, not stu. My world really opened up for me when I stopped trying to control everything and just said yes. Yes to swimming in chilly, but crystal clear water to snorkel and see awesome sea life, yes to riding on the back of a Vespa through the winding hills of Chianti catching amazing views of the vineyards and yes to making love with the lights on even though Giuseppe is 13 years younger than me!
Barbara Elaine Singer | Author and Life Reinventor Coach www.facebook.com/LivingWithoutReservations www.LivingWithoutReservations.com
ge is at state of mind. It is not about wrinkles or grey hairits about living each day lled with passion and enthusiasm for your purpose. There are plenty of young people who act and feel old because they have "checked out" and given up on their lifes dreams way to early. My life "took o" at 44 years old when I started living my dreams. I have never felt younger, more alive and fullled than when I totally changed by life and started living with passion and purpose. I went from corporate sales executive, wife and mother living in the suburbs of Orlando to single, empty nest and living on a winery in Tuscany. After divorce and the sudden death of anc two years later, I quite my job, liquidated my possessions, rented my house and took o on a life-changing journey. First, on a road trip to Alaska with my 70 year old dad, then island hopping the Caribbean on a sailboat even though I barely knew Captain Pete and never sailed before and then nally to Italy, where I rented a room from a local woman I found on the internet, in spite of not knowing anyone or speaking the language. Ten
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this indeed is a new chapter as a widow, a three-time cancer survivor, and 16 surgeries, turning 74 shortly and still going strong
~ DR gAylE cARSON
have always been known for my adaptability and believe I am now going through my fth reinvention. Although a lot more creaks and aches come as I age, I welcome the fact that I can also do more zany things and get away with them. I have developed the handle of Dr. Gayle S.O.B--Spunky Old Broad, because that's who I am. And this indeed is a new chapter as a widow, a three-time cancer survivor, and 16 surgeries, turning 74 shortly and still going strong. However, my lotions and potions include working out every single day for at least 1 to 2 hours--and I mean working out. Kickboxing, body fusion, step aerobics, body sculpting, body pump etc. are all part of my repertoire. I also do my own facials twice a week and use anti-aging creams. I am a big vitamin and supplement person so I am doing everything possible to keep my parts oiled and working. However, I have never done any type of plastic surgery or used any kind of llers. After 16 unwanted surgeries, I sure don't want to go through any cosmetic procedures. So I guess the best part of aging is that I'm still here and feeling great. I have energy, enthusiasm, and a zest for life and keep looking for new successes in my business. I guess the journey I never expected to go on was being a widow. Although very independent and traveling on my own to 50 countries and 49 states as I pursued my speaking and consulting career, it was wonderful having a supportive spouse waiting when I got back. Although our roles were reversed way ahead of their time, we had a wonderful 45-year marriage.
Dr. Gayle Carson CSP CMC Radio Show Host and Columnist As seen on ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and in the WSJ, USA Today, Newsweek Author of Best Selling "Big Ideas for your Business," "Winning Ways," and "How to Be an S.O.B--A Spunky Old Broad Who Kicks Butt." Creator of "Living Regret Free"
I've already mentioned the physical things I do to stay healthy, but I am always stimulating my mind through books, CD's, DVD's, events, new people, challenging assignments, and most of all, my wonderful pets. I have loving children and am now a great-grandmother; so all in all, it's a well-rounded life. I also live on both coasts so have the best of many worlds. And that's why I am passing on the baton as I teach the "9 secrets to living regret free." We should never have regrets or wishes that are unfullled. It's out time and we deserve to have the happiness and joy that a wonderful life brings. I have a saying "Just like ne wine, women get better as they age, and they can also can be just a little naughty!"
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How you deal with life, growing old or surviving depends on attitude and good management.
~ lETIZIA c DE ROSA
place. It is a tricky thing, worrying but worth it for me. I think that if a woman can look good she feels good too. It certainly worked for me.
hoW haVe You embraceD this NeW chaPter oF Your liFe?

The new chapter in my life started soon after. I began writing. That too helped my self-esteem and ageing process. I could handle the future without looking back as much. I embraced the future dierently when I had a project to work on.
Letizia C De Rosa Author and Owner of Book Creators Circle www.bookcreatorscircle.com.au www.facebook.com/pages/book-creators-circle/
What Do You Feel has beeN the biggest chaNge/ challeNge You'Ve NoticeD?
The biggest challenge for me has been losing my eyesight. Suddenly I could see less. I hate wearing glasses but have had to do this. Growing old is all about getting used to things. Change or perish.
My mother used to use egg white beaten up and then spread on her face. She would leave it about half an hour. Sometimes she would use a drop of lemon in it too. It is like a tightening mask and works maybe because of the protein factor.
o You haVe aNY secret lotioNs or PotioNs that You use aND WoulD You like to share them With us?
share With us somethiNg You DiD iN the Past 5 Years that You NeVer thought You'D Do?
There have been some great challenges in my life of late. However the biggest and greatest achievement is forming the International Book Creators Circle. It has given me a new lease of life when I need it most. I turned 50 last year. Having something like this concept has meant facing the future, getting techno happy and soaring somewhere at any given moment. I think growing old is a bonus to life. It still means there is hope to do the thing you might not have had the chance to do earlier, when you were younger and less condent. How you deal with life, growing old or surviving depends on attitude and good management. I do believe looking good, dressing well and looking the part is essential in embracing the inevitable.
haVe You haD botox, Fillers or a Face-liFt? iF so has it helPeD Your selF esteem?
Yes I am not ashamed to say I have used other means. My mother was without wrinkles at 86. I instead took after my father and my face started sagging about ten years ago. I have had some things done to my face but minimal. It was the best thing I have ever done. I had just lost the babies at the time and felt bad. Anything I could do to help my self-esteem was important, so I did some injections to put things back in their
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as a restaurant and catering company owner my world consists of a lot of stress, very long hours and being pulled in a lot of different directions.
~ cHEF BETTy FRASER
hronological Age: 50 Energy Age: 25 Dog Age: 213
Someone once said, Youth is wasted on the young. But I think that person might have had a Bitter Sandwich before they wrote that. Youth isnt aboutyears. Youth is about attitude, about being inspired about taking risks. It about getting up each day ready for a new challenge and maintaining ones exuberance for their life and their work. As a restaurant and catering company owner my world consists of a lot of stress, very long hours and being pulled in a lot of dierent directions. In my 30s and early 40s I just put my head down and grinded it out. I gured I would rest when I retired. But as the years went by it became very clear that if I didnt take the time to take care of myself physically and emotionally I would not only be less eective at work but all facets of my life would suer. So I turned over a new leaf in regards to my health, which then had a direct impact on my appearance. I dont care what anyone says; approaching 50 can be a bit of an eye-opener and its natural to examine your life and where you want it to go. For me, I used it as a nish line for the rst part of my life so I could ready myself of Act 2. I set a goal to get my weight to where it was when I was much younger. No easy feat for a chef. But I really focused in on the date and while I came up about three pounds short of my goal, the
Chef Betty was on the Second Season of the Bravo hit Top Chef Co-owner Grub, an Award-Winning, Hollywood Restaurant Owner of As You Like It Catering www.facebook.com/bettythefoodchick www.grub-la.com
change was incredible. I had more energy, felt stronger and gained a lot from applying the self-discipline it takes to lose weight. The hours are still long but now so are the rest. Im still getting pulled in a lot of directions but not during my daily gym workout. The after work drink still happens but its one glass of red wine for the health benets. And while I still enjoy a nice sit down dinner with the grown ups I have just as much fun checking out the new hot spot with the kids. Yeah I keep my eyes open for the latest over the counter Fountain of Youth but I know its my lifestyle change that has helped me feeling, and hopefully looking, young more than anything else.
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avoid complaining, nobody likes a whiner. be proactive, nobodys going to come looking for us.
~ SUNIE lEVIN
Ive been doing right. Ive been making new friends and new friends open amazing new vistas for me. This extremely simple idea is one I should be transmitting to others. The result? My new book, Make New FriendsLive Longer. A lack of friends in our senior years saps the life out of anyone. Old friends inevitably dwindle in number. Some nd themselves housebound due to illness. Some get divorced. Some move to new communities and dont know a soul when they get there. Some are bereft of a spouse, or so tied down as caregiver and they nd themselves cut o from social contact. Im not saying its easy to make new friends, partly because were out of the habit and friendship circles are harder to break into now. But its doable and if you want a more vital life its mandatory. We need to project a sunny image. Avoid complaining, nobody likes a whiner. Be proactive, nobodys going to come looking for us, we have to look for them. How? Here are a few commonsense thoughts; scour the community newsletter, they tell you whats going on, and where. Join book groups. Invite new neighbors over for meals. Take classes. Volunteer. Become a good listener. Ask questions. Establishing relationships with new people means being able to remember their names, writing down how to contact them and being mindful of their interests. People are delighted when you remember things about them. The discipline of writing things down is a good way to remember, when short-term memory is pretty well history. Chances are you have a computer and social networking isnt just for teenagers. Youll be surprised how many seniors are on YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn. Instant messaging can be an invaluable way of maintaining relationships while nding new ones. Todays 80 is the new 60. Its a fact that making new friends can help you live longer. So join the fun. Your life may depend on it!
Sunie Levin www.makenewfriendslivelonger.com
orget the calendar. How old are you? No cheating allowed. Be honest. On my 80th birthday last month my oldest daughter informed me, You know, mom, 80 is actually todays 60. Sure, I thought to myself, easy for you to say. Say that when you have the same aches and pains I do. But then I had another thought, shes right. I may be 80, but I dont feel 80 and I dont act 80. Am I bragging? Maybe. But its the truth. And then I began thinking, If thats the case, what am I doing right? And as I pondered that question, I realized that consciously or not I really was doing some things that made me much younger than many of my friends and acquaintances. So what am I doing right? I keep interested and active. Big deal you might say. Who needs to hear that bromide again? Lots of people. Im amazed at how many friends I have who have given up on life, lonesome, sitting quietly watching life go by. Their old friends have died or moved away and it never occurs to them that is an unlimited supply of new ones waiting to be met. And then it hit me. Thats it. Thats what
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my recent new success has given me wings, faith and courage to take on anything life might throw at me.
~ PAUlIEN BATS
have no secret potions, no lotions, no Botox to keep me youthful. All I have and all I need are my mind and spirit to keep me young. I have no desire to change anything, except maybe the fact that I have MS. Every wrinkle I develop is merely a statement to the fact that I'm still here, still alive and kicking. I have no fear of getting older; as a matter of fact I look forward to it. Recently my career and life has taken a turn for the better. I have made some wonderful international contacts and I have just delivered my rst book cover illustration. It's one of the most exciting things I have done in the past 5 years. I never thought I would be able to this 5 years ago, when I was extremely disabled with MS. Although I have already been able to cross o heaps of major goals o my bucket list, there are still things on the list I hope to achieve in the future. My recent new success has given me wings, faith and courage to take on anything life might throw at me. I have learned how to be happy and satised just sitting in the sun on my balcony, sipping hot coee and listening to the birds sing. I take the world as it comes, day by day and I shake o the stress of every day struggles. I have learned that life is beautiful and I feel inspired. I look forward to new adventures and experiences in the coming year. Life is good. Life is beautiful. Celebrate!
Paulien Bats Graphic Artist | Illustrator Groningen, The Netherlands
Paulien Bats was born in Groningen, The Netherlands, in 1968. In 1985 she moved with her family to Tasmania, Australia, where she studied Graphic Design at the School of Art and Design. During that time she illustrated several poems by the poet June Perkins-Gerard, which have been published in local papers and magazines. After she returned to the Netherlands in the '90's Paulien worked for several advertising and design agencies in the north of the Netherlands. In 2003, 2004 and 2005 Paulien had several exhibitions of her work and the Multiple Sclerosis Society of the Netherlands bought several paintings which were auctioned in a fundraiser.
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i am both embracing my age with delight, and kicking and screaming. i love the ease of my life and my sense of being centered,
~ cyNTHIA BURNHAM
Cynthia Burnham www.cynthiaburnham.com
n 2004, when I was 52, I had a mid-life crisis. I was living in New York and had a high-powered, highpaid, high-status, high-stress, highly toxic Wall Street job. One beautiful Saturday afternoon in early July, after having spent most of the day in the oce, I stood on the southwest corner of Broadway and 79th Street, waiting to cross. I had the sudden, clear, undeniable thought: This is killing me. My older friends had warned me that many women go through a reassessment somewhere around 50. At 50, I was busy going through a divorce, from a man who wanted to recapture his own lost youth, so I guess I delayed a little. When it hit me, it hit me hard. Instead of trying to make myself seem younger dyed hair, surgery, new car, and young friend I knew I needed to save my own life. I walked into my bosss oce the next week and to everyones shock, I quit my job. Six months later I moved back to my hometown near San Diego to start over. I wanted to spend time with my sister, her family and my then 85-year-old mother, and hopefully have a
life of greater joy and meaning. The funny thing is, no one has ever asked me if it was worth it. I miss New York and yet I am happier now than I have ever been in my life. My mom is 91 and in great shape, and to my great surprise, I have a new life partner, whom I love and adore. At 59-1/2 years old 60 in April I am both embracing my age with delight, and kicking and screaming. I love the ease of my life and my sense of being centered. I love the fact that people tell me I am beautiful, which they didn't when I was younger. And, I dont have as much energy. Words slip. I am far more aware of the time whizzing by with shocking speed. I resent the wrinkles, and fantasize about having surgery. Like every woman I know, I stand in front of the mirror with my hands on my cheeks, pulling back slightly to make the sags and lines disappear. So, I stay out of the sun, use sunscreen and good but relatively inexpensive face creams (Oil of Olay products, Roc). I do yoga both real and Laughter Yoga and I walk hoping to slow down the clock to have more time to appreciate what I have. Still, my 50s have been the best decade of my life so far. I do work I love helping others. After my return to San Diego, I became a Charisma Coach. (People want a coach that looks wise so the grey hair is not a disadvantage!) I just published my rst book: The Charisma Edge: A How-To Guide For Turning On Your Leadership Power, which represents my conviction that everyone can become more condent, inspirational and authentic in their own work and lives. If I get too serious, I just have to look to my husband, a lifelong fulltime musician, who has never matured mostly in a good way who greets every day as if it were his last, or his rst. Every night, we list o what we are grateful for. The list is a long one. The strands of my life have come together, right on time.
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i never thought in a million years that i would run the boston marathon.
~MARy McMANUS
embrace my age with gusto! My body broke down 5 years ago at the age of 53, when I was diagnosed with post polio syndrome, a 'progressive neurological disease,' the result of paralytic polio I contracted at the age of 5. The years of going through life as a stressed out overachiever with Type A personality disorder, and a disconnected mind/body that had nally caught up with me. I realized I was at a crossroads in my life. I quit my full time award-winning career at the VA, went through intensive outpatient physical rehab, starting writing poetry and realized that life wasn't going to wait for me. Although I had a relapse in October 2009, after running the Boston Marathon, I faced it with a renewed strength and courage, realizing that my mind, body and spirit were crying out for more healing. I am writing my 3rd book of inspirational poetry and my autobiography. I blog. I embrace having an empty nest and my husband and I are rekindling our relationship of 34 years. My wrinkles reect the wisdom I have gathered through the years and my eyes sparkle with a knowing that, had I not lived through severe childhood trauma (along with the polio I suered abuse at the hands of an alcoholic father and a neglectful mother), I would not be the phenomenal woman I am today, in better physical, spiritual and emotional health than I could have ever imagined in my wildest dreams. My skin stays youthful because twice a day I massage my elbows and knees with olive oil and use it on my face at night. I use fragrance free Lubriderm after I shower and before I go to bed at night. I have done nothing to alter my appearance with llers or surgery. I am growing my hair long and I allow the grey to be a reection of the years I have lived. I speak the truth of my life and don't care what other people think about me. I have nally broken the silence of the childhood abuse I experienced and am more creative than I've ever been in my life. I feel incredible joy and gratitude and a
Mary McManus www.marymcmanus.com sense of appreciation for the wonder and mystery that every day holds for me. I am a mentor and a role model for young women and have discovered the most amazing friendships among women in mid life, who are also experiencing the second act in their life. I dont eat red meat. I watch my intake of rened sugars and gluten and I dont drink caeine. I drink a lot of water, eat fresh fruits and vegetables and take magnesium twice a day. I have a daily practice of meditation, breath work and attend yoga classes. I go for regular massages and have gone through a series of KMI Body Work. I journal. I write poetry and share my inspirational journey whenever and wherever I can! I never thought in a million years that I would run the Boston Marathon and then go on to have a daily practice of yoga. I never pursued any athletic endeavors and until the age of 54, never owned a pair of running shoes but there I was at the age of 55, running my rst ever marathonthe grand daddy of them all The Boston Marathon!
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i am on a continuous diet of creating smiles, warming hearts and helping people around me, day by day.
~ kATIE HAwN
can transform, given the right support. That would include healthy lifestyle habits and natural organic beauty products. But the most important thing that must be done is to change the mind dont accept the long slow decline that society teaches. Do nd support systems that empower and enlighten. Find therapies like CranioSacral Therapy that will holistically create core strength, immune strength and get you out of any mental ruts you may have unknowingly slipped into. So far, so good. I am not on any medication and have already cured a few incurable health conditions during my life. I am always improving my body with movement, dance and great wellness support. But I believe in working from spirit to mind, supporting my body in revealing that healing and enlightenment back to me when I look in the mirror. And I am on a continuous diet of creating smiles, warming hearts and helping people around me, day by day. So I would say enjoy the moment, face a future full of new possibility and honor your past, no matter where your feet carry you, no matter what you look like or how long it takes. Luckily, as Abraham-Hicks says; All is well, we are never done, we cant get it wrong since life is a journey of lessons, and everything we do counts. What a relief!
Katie Hawn www.MagicNightsBook.com
My life has certainly not been as I predicted, but has given me strength, wisdom and many stories to tell. When I approached the age of fty I knew it was my time to tell the stories, to pass along the wisdom and continue my journey to wellness on all levels. So over the past two years I wrote a self-help book that teaches how to program your sleep, called Magic Nights, and I put myself through the paces of self-publishing. I bought that fancy car my competitive mother, now passed on, would never have approved of and went on a trip to Egypt. Now at the dawn of 2012 its time for a new year-long resolution to be kind to my body. As my spirit grows happier, lighter and more resilient, my body does show typical signs of aging, but I trust in its ability to heal. My many years as a holistic therapist have taught me how miraculously the body
urning 50 was a true owering of my true potential, a personal renaissance for me.
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Positive energy is tattooed on my soul

~ ElIZABETH HARPER
rankly I dont think about how old I am that might be one of the secrets to aging or rather to youngling. On a recent visit to our local history room I recognized a number of everyday items from my childhood labeled antiques. Age is all about perspective. New Thought Guru, Deepak Chopra says that time is just a thought were having, but then I suppose it largely depends upon whos thought it is! I stay healthy and young because my focus is not on comparing my body or my life to anyone elses. I focus on my spirit and on having fun. My work embraces my spiritual life (or maybe its the other way around) so I am living my life on purpose, which in turn brings me enormous fulllment. This has a nice domino anti-aging eect. Of course, I look after my body; I do yoga, I slap on Dr Hauschkas Rose Day face cream morning and night and I love myself thats a biggie! I love all my bumps and curves. Yoga is very popular today, its a wonderful way to stay t and I probably owe my exibility to my mothers practice. I had an unusual upbringing in that my mother was one of the pioneers of yoga in Britain during its advent in the 50s and 60s. She regularly positioned me into increasingly complex pretzel-twisted asana or yoga poses. This early start shaped the foundations of my body, but she also molded my inner world. Her innovative approach to life introduced me to spirituality, alternative medicine and to all things metaphysical. She encouraged me to accept myself for who I was plus she repeatedly told me how much she loved me. If I were a tree then her words were fertilizer. I grew! Think about it, how often do you say, I love myself? Its not aggrandizement. Loving yourself isnt just a physical adoration its acknowledgment of your inner beauty and a profound love for ones true self has a direct impact on your sense of self. I remember looking at a woman who was a little overweight by todays standards. She was wearing a bikini eortlessly revealing a rotund potbelly, but what was more obvious was how she carried herself. She loved herself and her aura glowed with appreciation from the inside out. This luminosity cant be added by the ick of a soft focus setting on a camera.
Elizabeth Harper www.sealedwithlove.com It is a light that emanates from within. I know, that loving myself might not diminish wrinkles or shed pounds, but I am happy to exchange the conventional concept of looking young for an inner radiance. Thankfully, this positive energy is tattooed on my soul and at the same time it is only one of the ingredients to staying and feeling young. The other elements are a blend of my beliefs, my purpose and my ability to laugh at everything in my life, including myself. If I could put into a nutshell why I think I look younger than my years I would say its because I live according to my beliefs and values. My beliefs might not be everyones cup of tea but they help me stay in the present moment and in this moment I have no worries or judgments, emotions that can accelerate aging. In this present moment I have happiness, laughter, fulllment, purpose, and love. What else do I need? Oh yes, Rose Day face cream! My creaming regimen started in my teens when a chance encounter when a beautician inspired me to stop using soap on my face and start using cream. I have never looked back.
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being comfortable with myself, and opening arms to the universe for whatever it sends has enriched my life.
~ HAZEl MENEHIRA
Secret lotions, potions? not any more. botox or fillers what for?
Hazel Menehira
hat ageing process? Living is the process and knowing how blessed I am to have a life at all, is the secret of moving comfortably with the tidal ow of it. Each part of the journey between birth and spinning o the planet brings its own changes, highs, lows, challenges, sorrows and joys. Being comfortable with myself, and opening arms to the universe for whatever it sends has enriched my life- and it still works for me every day in my 78th year. Blessed with intelligence I have learned to eat, drink, spend, travel, and indulge with discernment. Being comfortable with solitude and silence, replenishing energy with the beauty of nature, nurturing creative sparks are timeless joys that keep the heart alive. Now for those questions:
I like the next question about embracing change. Well, I opened my arms to the universe after my partner of 34 years died suddenly and six months later at 76 I fell in love again with a wonderful man the same age as my son. Yeah! A new life again. I think falling in love frequently keeps you wonderfully alive. It has been a recurring theme in my life and as time passes one can recognise the many dimensions and faces of love. I think the most challenging experience in the past ve years for me is contained in the last paragraph. Oh, you can add to that being patient with family members who thought I was crazy even contemplating a new life. Then there was launching ve of my books, a yukky colonoscopy, and recently attending my rst senior Christmas party where no one seemed to have the energy or enthusiasm to pull their crackers!! Never mind it will make a good short story.
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the key point is that i've committed to exercise every day for the rest of my life.
~ANITA MAHFFEy
fter beating cancer three times and losing my left eye and eyelid in the process, I decided that my only insurance policy would be to be more mindful and live life in the best way possible. It was not in my nature to sulk in a corner and hide behind my prosthetic face. Instead, I decided to make some serious changes knowing that I never wanted to suer through another bout of cancer in my lifetime. With these changes, I noticed a side benet. Strangely, I seemed to be aging much slower and had more energy than before. After so many surgeries just to save my life, I certainly was not a fan of plastic surgery or invasive cosmetic procedures, so looking younger has been an added bonus. For me, being mindful and staying healthy is just a way of life. Let me explain some of the changes that I've made. 1) Always stay positive and take steps toward any problems that I might have. Inaction causes worry, worry causes me to waste precious energy. This is a mindset that I have chosen to make part of my being since I choose to use my energy for positive purposes. 2) Start my day by thinking how I can make life good for those around me. I try to commit to at least 10 random acts of kindness each day. By doing this, I'm also encouraging those around me to do the same. When those around me are positive and happy, it comes back to me in a big way. 3) Exercise every day. When I'm tired or worn out, I listen to my body and go on a mellow walk or practice restorative yoga. When I'm more energetic, I go on a long hike, run or practice Pilates or strength yoga. The key point is that I've committed to exercise every day for the rest of my life. 4) Eating close to nature: I try to stick with natural unprocessed foods fresh vegetables and fruits, whole grain breads and cereals, nuts, lean proteins and low fat dairy. I don't
Anita Mahffey www.cool-jams.com
drink soda; just water, tea, coee and I have an occasional glass of wine or champagne. Life is a continuous celebration, which should never be squandered. 5) Chocolate: I love chocolate, so I indulge in a little bit each day, but always just an ounce or two. Around 4:00 each day, I have my chocolate, my latte and I think about all the things that I'm grateful for.... especially my health. 6) I do what I love and I love what I do. If I don't love it anymore, I don't do it anymore. This philosophy is simple. My passions include my family, my business Cool-jams, a wicking pajama company which manufactures pajamas for night sweats and temperature regulation, public speaking, mentoring young business women, reading, volunteer work with Voices For Children and exercise. My hope is to inspire and encourage others to make mindful, positive changes in their lives as well. These simple yet eective life changes have allowed me to stay energetic, happy and healthy despite the diculties I've faced.
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