It’s Your Health: Town Council member Diamond a believer in light massages

By CAROLYN SUSMAN
SPECIAL TO THE DAILY NEWS
Updated: 2:56 p.m. Monday, Dec. 12, 2011

Town Councilman William Diamond parks his Bentley convertible and strides into  Spa, pleasantly anticipating the massage he enjoys twice a week at this cozy  Palm Beach salon.

The answer to “what does a man in the public eye do to relax?” is a no-brainer for Diamond. Massage in its various forms is his route to wellness.

“It’s a very personal thing,” he says, “almost like psychiatry. The physiological benefits are wonderful.”

He enjoys both hot stone massages and so-called light massages, known also as lymph drainage therapy. While the lymph therapy is associated in many minds with cancer recovery, this form is dedicated to relieving stress and chronic pain, and to stimulating the immune system. It also can be used to regenerate skin tissue, tone skin, relax facial muscles and remove toxins.

It uses an extremely light touch that can feel as though you are being ignored if you’re used to a harder type of massage. But it leaves an incredibly relaxing feeling that works on its own, even if it weren’t marketed for reducing under-eye circles and facial wrinkles.

“It’s the most amazing thing I ever experienced.”

He credits massage therapist Natalya Durand, who has been practicing this form of massage since 2007, with bringing him “tremendous relaxation.”

“I put people in a state of relaxation that (other types of) massage cannot do,”Natalya Durand said.

A very spiritual man — he says Hindu prayers and has a small table in his home displaying his “guru,” while also serving as a director of the Palm Beach Synagogue — Diamond adds massage to his basket of tools to achieve relaxation and peace of mind. “I believe all different religions are paths to the same God,” he stresses. “Man is more than just flesh.”

But when flesh is treated with the light touch or deep-tissue massage, there are benefits to the body that an article in The New York Times detailed last year.

He points to the study done by researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Sponsored by the National Center for Complementary Medicine, a division of the National Institutes of Health, the study found that just one session of massage produced positive biological changes.

Volunteers in the study found they had decreases in stress hormone levels measured in blood and saliva, and increases in oxytocin, a hormone associated with feeling more content. The article also quotes the lead author of the study, Dr. Mark Hyman Rapaport of Cedars-Sinai, as saying the results were “very, very intriguing and very, very exciting, and I’m a skeptic.”



Posted: 12:00 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2013
 How to put your best face forward
There’s time to do skin procedures before New Year’s.
 
By Carolyn Susman
Special to the Daily News

’Tis the night before Christmas…
And all those who have their packages wrapped are thinking ahead to New Year’s Eve parties and looking good.
It’s not too late to get in some last-minute procedures to plump and prime your skin before choosing your holiday makeup.

Holidays can be stressful, and paying attention to your body this way can help you to feel special.
Natalya Durand, facialist and massage therapist at the Palm Beach Day Spa, recommends an oxygen “red carpet” treatment.
“This is a revolutionary, glorious oxygen therapy. It is absolutely wonderful for the client who needs instant radiance for a special event,” she said. It is supposed to treat injury to skin cells from aging, environmental toxins, solar rays and diet by repairing and regenerating those cells.
Durand also specializes in lymphatic massage, which is promoted as boosting the immune system in one or two sessions. Lymphatic massage uses light, rhythmic touches to improve lymph circulation, she said.
It also is used to promote wellness, prevent or reduce fluid retention, enhance the removal of toxins in the tissues of the body, and enhance the immune system.
All of these methods can prove helpful in making everyone shine at special holiday events.
Nevertheless, first and foremost on the list for looking good is getting enough sleep.
The National Institutes of Health reminds us, “Sleeping is a basic human need, like eating, drinking and breathing. Like these other needs, sleeping is a vital part of the foundation for good health and well-being throughout your lifetime.”
- See more at: http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/news/local/heres-how-to-put-your-best-face-forward/ncSZm/#sthash.u2EaVnj8.dpuf