Anyone who knows me, knows I am abnormally preoccupied with my under eye bags. I consider myself a fairly reasonable person – I try to have a grounded perspective on life, set realistic goals and accept the beauty of human imperfection. But somehow, the wires in my mind disconnect when it comes to my eye bags. So when I saw “diminishes eye bags and dark circles” in the description for the Eye Zone Eye Massager, it was like my fingers were on autopilot clicking “Buy! Buy! Buy!”

Now, before you laugh at loud at the image of what the Eye Zone looks like – the premise of it is only half silly. While the website states that it stimulates the acupuncture points around the eyes and helps remove toxins which build up in the delicate eye area, the pure circulation increase on its own promises drainage and anti-aging.

Maybe its because this week I have performed a number of Lymphomaniac Facials on press, but the importance of circulation has been on floating around in my head – and I wanted to highlight this importance in a posting. Many people think of massage as important to relax their minds and relieve tension in their muscles, but the simple increase in circulation promotes the reoxygenation of our tissues and transportation away of waste via our blood. This, to me, is the biggest benefit of any physical manipulation.

Circulation keeps our skin bright and youthful looking – and we should note how dry and devitalized the skin on our extremities (hands, feet and scalp) become when our circulation is low (this is evident most obviously in winter in we are especially taxed). It also increases our collagen production. If you examine any anti-aging treatment, whether it is Microdermabrasion, Chemical Peels, Light therapy or Laser, it involves the increase of circulation and blood flow.

So, when Ben scoffs at my new Eye Zone, I inform him he won’t be laughing when I maintain my youthful looks and he doesn’t – then I do a model’s strut with the white plastic goggles strapped around my head and put it on the double time vibration setting.

Yes, Movement is an important concept in Eastern Medicine as the flow of Qi and Prana is thoroughly discussed. It is when we have stagnation within our bodies do we accumulate blockages – which can be seen in the form of cysts, dullness, heaviness and fluid turbidity. Acupuncture’s role itself is to puncture energy centres to release stagnation.

Unfortunately, the Eye Zone doesn’t solve all my problems. Like I thought, the Eye Zone does make a difference and takes away superficial swollenness moving the excess water and lessening the retention of fluid around my eyes. I am happy to see my morning puffiness if gone – and I keep thinking about the time my mother asked my people call Puff Daddy “Puffy”. Who wants to be called Puffy? I do everything I can so I’m not to be called Puffy?!! But it doesn’t take away the perma-puff along the lower portion of my eye socket. Sigh – Back to the drawing board – revisiting my kidney function and adrenal examination.

My only other complaint about my new vibrating glasses is that it leaves pink marks on my face so I can’t use them if I’m in rush to get to work as I need to wait for the indents to fade.

Ah well, I guess I will just have to use my Eye Zone at night while listening to Corey Hart. Don’t put the blame on the gal in shades.

I am flying home today- and while I actually enjoy my time armed with only an ipod and a few good books- I hate what it does to my skin.

Air travel is incredibly drying, and between the increase in Vata (through excess movement) and the re-circulated air, I usually end up with dehydrated skin, some mild swelling and a few break outs. In my acne hay-day, I would say that the moment I stepped off that plane I knew a few blemishes would have popped up.

For those of your who haven’t heard the Pure + Simple credo: dehydration is the cause of almost every skin-imbalance – so treat this and you’ll be on your way to flawless skin.

But this time I am going to be prepared. Here are my tips for globetrotters to stay gorgeous:

1. Oil yourself from head to toe. The most important thing to do is oil your body down. Since Vata is increased Sesame oil is best as it promotes circulation, is warming and is rich in texture. And when I say oil yourself from head to toe, I mean it – every inch of it. From the scalp to the soles of the feet. I even apply a rich cream mask over top of the oil on my face (one that looks like a moisturizer so you cannot see it. While I may look like a grease ball, I won’t look like a pizza face.
2. Take a ginger bath. A ginger bath before and after the flight is ideal. Not only will it nourish your body and support your immune system, but it will increase your circulation (and remember that flying impedes circulation making us puff out and swell). You do this with 1 part ginger powder and 1 part baking soda – I usually use a cup of each. Taking ginger capsules also helps to prevent jet lag as it pacifies Vata.
3. Wear pressure socks. I bought a pair of these at a trade show in Vancouver and they hugged me all the way home. Pressure socks are great for flights as they will prevent edema (swolleness). I try to wear them even around the city as they will help prevent varicose and spider veins. They come in a variety of colours and materials…even some sexy stockings.
4. Take oils internally. After flying to Australia and breaking out massively with eczema all over my face from the extreme dehydration, I started taking flax seed oil capsules when I travel. They helped me a lot when I was backpacking and flying all over the map, preventing dryness and also regulation my bowels. But you don’t have to be limited to flax seed oil, you can take fish oils or evening primrose etc. depending on the contingencies of your own body. Here again, I am pretty liberal taking more before a flight than I would on a daily basis.
5. Stay away from drying foods. When travelling, stay away from Vata aggravating foods. These foods will only dry out your intestines which will not only dry out your skin, but possibly constipate you and make you feel bloated. So, anything dry is off-limits: crackers, dried fruit, bread, dense meat (avoid meat in general if you can), anything that depletes water in our bodies instead of hydrating it. I find this difficult because I used to like to travel with granola bars or dry-fruit bars as they are portable and convenient, but now I only pack fruits and veggies as they are full of cellular water. Cooked foods are better for pacifying Vata, but good luck sneaking a pot of stew past security. I suggest a nice warm bowl of oatmeal the morning you leave, and a nice hearty soup when you land.

Gwyneth Paltrow and I are in competition to see who is more alternative.

A few years ago when I decided to become an Ayurvedic-inspired vegan, she went Macrobiotic. My neighbour Kat and I got really into the Hot Yoga studio up the street, she and her best friend Madonna became spokespeople to the yoga trend and were shot by the paparazzi on their way to downward dog together. I started stewing apples as a healthy breakfast option, she named her first born after one (she wins the last round). But when I saw the photo of Gwenyth’s back after cupping on the Internet, I thought to myself “those small cups? I can beat that – no problem.”

Now since becoming an Ayurvedic Practitioner, I have become a little obsessive about my blood. Sounds odd, but, since the blood nourishes and transports waste away from all of our tissues and circulates our entire body, the its quality is extremely important. While, heat in the blood will cause skin sensitivity, impurities in it can contribute to acne.

So, many a time, I have gotten a treatment touted by Traditional Chinese Medicine called “cupping” in which glass cups are made into suction cups as fire is applied to the air within them, and these suctions are placed on our fleshy parts – most popularly the back. This draws up impure blood, promotes the circulation of fresh blood, clears heat and stagnation as well as opens our channels. Its also good for pain relief as it draws toxins and turbid fluid away from the muscle area.

Ayurveda also has a treatment similar to this, but instead they use leeches for suction. But I opt for cupping because I cannot find a practitioner in the city who uses leeches, as well as I would have to do many grounding mantras to get over the idea of those slimy slitherers being placed all over my body. Shiver.

So, determined to top a turbo celeb, I went to the Xiaolan Health Centre to get another round of cupping. And while I paid double what I usually do for acupuncture and cupping, stepping into this clinic is like stepping into Shangrila. And my body thanked me too — as my CMD, Amanda, applied the cups, they didn’t hurt but felt good in a squeezing, stimulating way. Now I won’t lie and say it is a relaxing treatment, but it definitely is satisfying (like how a deep massage can be uncomfortable but relieving). I also asked Amanda if this could be good for cellulite as cellulite is simply toxic fat that has impeded circulation and therefore water-retention, and she cheerfully replied absolutely! I note that I should try a series on my thighs.

Cupping also gives you insight to your internal body. Where the suction marks are darker indicates which organs need the most help. For me, it showed that my lungs and kidneys were weakest as those cup markings were a deep red on the back where my kidneys and lungs are. Now, the only downside to this service is that you should only do this when you are not planning to wear any backless dresses or you will look like you have rows of perfectly circle-shaped hickeys down your back. We could call them Hickeys for health – sounds like a charity I could support. But as they usually only last 3-5 days, its not a major inconvenience.

Check out my pic below. Take that Gwyneth, I think I won round four.