How to put a Happy Face on Menopause-The Suzanne Somers way!

"Dear Dr. Hanson, I just saw Suzanne Sommers on Oprah today, and she was amazing.  Not only did she explain the role of hormone replacements as a menopause strategy, but she looked incredible.   If I take the same hormones as Suzanne, will my face look that great when I'm 62?   Sue R., age 45, Jupiter Florida.

 Dear Sue,

Indeed Suzanne looks fantastic at age 62, and it is not just by accident.  Her recommendation to first assess your unique hormone levels, then replace what is missing is indeed medically sound, and is a critical piece of her anti-aging protocol.  She also keeps her mind active by working a gruelling schedule, and keeps her body well nourished by eating organic foods.   But her young looks are very much a part of her disciplined muscle management, which she does routinely, in two ways: 

1.  For her body, she tones and stretches her muscles with yoga. 

2.  For her face, she uses her FaceMaster. 

Without question, the body needs its hormones to be in balance as we age.  Deficiencies or excesses cause a host of symptoms from overheating to chills, from insomnia to chronic fatigue, and from mood swings to itchings.  In her books "Ageless" and "Breakthrough" she outlines strategies to first identify and test for your personal condition, then to consider bioidentical hormones to replace those elements that are shown to be missing.  However, she is the first to note that there is more to beauty than just the hormone replacements.

Muscles tone when they are worked, and sag when they aren't.  That's why Suzanne has been a great fan of Iyengar Yoga, to tone and tighten muscles in her arms, legs, abdomen and core.  In the thighs, for example, it will strengthen the quads, and lengthen the hamstring muscles. This technique, made popular by B.K.S. Iyengar, is a form of Hatha Yoga, and focuses on the structural alignment of the body.   For more information see www.bksiyengar.com.  Also note Sir Mark Tully's article in the BBC, at www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/people/highlights/010116_iyengar.shtml. 

For her face, however, there are no yoga techniques that will compete with the FaceMaster.  This is Suzanne's best beauty secret, and one she has used for the past 16 years.  Microcurrent is used  to stimulate the 22 muscles on each side of the face for just a few seconds each.  In just 18 minutes, the whole face can be rejuvenated, with muscles regaining their tone under the eyelids, along the jaw line, and over the cheek bones.  And just like in yoga, other muscles need to stretch or lengthen, like the muscles between the eyebrows, or those creating the furrows in the brow.  The FaceMaster is the Grand Yogi of the face.  You can learn more about this fantastic technique at www.facemaster.com. 

Aging is supposed to be a reward, not a punishment.   And menopause should not be the ordeal that it is made out to be.  With good hormone assessments and treatments, you can feel  as good as you used to, and as good as Suzanne does now.  With good yoga (or equivalent exercise like Pilates) you can tone, tighten, and lenthen the muscles of your body.  With the FaceMaster, you can tone, tighten, and lengthen selected muscles of the face, and have Suzanne's best beauty secret: a firmer face, with restored muscle volume and fewer wrinkles.

So read Suzanne's books, like Oprah said to her audience today, and see what her techniques can do for you.  Not only your mood will improve, but your body will look younger like her's does.  Also try to exercise and tone your body muscles, in activities such as yoga.  But to put your best face on the menopause, try Suzanne's favorite beauty secret, the FaceMaster.  Give your face the gift of youth in the face of aging.  

We welcome your comments!  Please reply to this blog, or contact us at http://www.facemaster.com/.  For more information from Dr. Hanson, visit http://www.peterhansonmd.com/.