API FAl.L BEAUTY %
Achieving that beauty balance
By Melody McDowell
T he Information Age has provided us with
beauty-related guidelines and helpful hints
that we can adapt to our unique styles of
looking good. By continual practice, these beauty rit
uals will become as routine as the daily hygiene that
we practice before facing the world. However, the
ultimate form of beauty is possessing a sense of self-
assurance...without the attitude...without the edge.
Dr. D. Kim Singleton, a licensed clinical psychologist
in Washington D.C., does not discount the importance
of looking good, but not at the risk of neglecting the
three components of beauty, the spiritual, physical
and the mental. Women who achieve this balance are
embraced with a pleasant aura and maintain a
demeanor of self-confidence. Attending to your spiri
tual side is vital to the beauty equation. Your
acknowledgment of God or a higher power allows
Duane West working out with a client.
you to capture a sense of self and impedes the empti
ness that we sometimes experience.
Rebirthing, dubbed as breathing to good health,
comes highly recommended by Robin Echols, a
rebirthing specialist. Breathing correctly can rid the
body of physical and mental toxins, adding quality
years to your life. This powerful yet gentle cleansing
technique uses the life force...oxygen...to more
deeply penetrate the body, removing thought block
ages that prevent maximum fulfillment from entering
our lives. Ms Echols, who administers this technique
to her clients in Atlanta, states that rebirthing has
helped her clients alleviate stress, improve health and
nutrition and gain control of their lives.
Another component in the beauty balance is exercise.
Duane West, a fitness guru who counts numerous
entertainment celebrities among his clients, states that
the embodiment of beauty is good health. Exercise
must be incorporated in your personal regime to be
healthy and beautiful. Mr. West advocates a mix of
aerobics, weight-training and resistance exercises a
minimum of two to three times weekly. Adhere to a
fitness program that you enjoy and your rewards will
come in the form of increased muscle tone, more
energy and a reduction of body fat.
Nutrition goes hand-in-hand with proper exercise. To
maintain a healthy lifestyle, eat in moderation,
include more fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet
while cutting back on fried and greasy foods. Drink a
minimum of eight glasses of water daily and take
your vitamins. A proper diet enables you to live a
fuller life.
Increasing mental capacity is the final component of
the beauty triad. There are as many ways to accom
plish this as there are ideas. Undertake a project that
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Sylvia Wells, insurance executive, reached a milestone
by completing the Chicago Marathon
you’ve always wanted to accomplish; Learn a for
eign language; Take bridge or chess lessons; Read
some of the works of our talented Black writers;
Become computer literate; Volunteer to teach some
one to read; Familiarize yourself with the African
countries, their capitals and their leaders... There is so
much to choose from. Whatever you do - Keep your
mind active.
In essence, the key to really wearing the mantle of
beauty requires a resolve to achieving a fuller bal
anced life. Dr. Singleton remarks, “Beauty is the out
come of attending to the physical, mental and spiritu
al selves. That is the true definition of beauty.”
Contact for additional information: Dr. D. Kim
Singleton,202-397-1919, Duane West, Personal
Touch Fitness 201-374-4181 and Robin Echols at the
Rebirthing Place in Atlanta 770-322-2576 □