Health is the general condition of a person in all aspects. It is also a level of functional and/or metabolic efficiency of an organism, often implicitly human. Wikipedia
Health should be about feeling good not just the absence of diseases as defined by a medical doctor and his battery of tests.
If you do physical exercise every day, know, and eat a healthy diet, get enough sleep and have time to unwind and relax, you are on the road to good health. Unfortunately if you are a normal person in a Western type society, you do not get enough exercise, do not have a concept of a healthy diet and are too stressed to care about any of the above. Most likely you are not healthy even if you think you are and don’t be fooled that being fit is being healthy. Youth can hide many of the errors of youth, but as we age the body begins to show the scars of stress, weight and poor nutrition.
An annual trip to the doctor, who sadly probably knows no more about health than his average patient, as their expertise deals with identifying and treating disease is not the road to health. Only you can do something about your own health, hopefully before the time and errors catch up with you and cause irreparable damage or death.
For almost forty years I lived in Tucson Arizona. When I arrived the Old Pueblo, as it is called, had what many considered a magical healing quality. Over the years many people moved into the serene valley to enjoy the climate and slower pace. One business encapsulated the spirit of healing, Canyon Ranch. Today Canyon Ranch has become world famous and spread to many other locations. Canyon Ranch has become a top end, expensive, quality health Spa. Tucson, although still a desert sanctuary for many has become a big city.
In a small remote town in Panama Boquete, there is a carefully nurtured seedling that has many of the common elements that made Canyon Ranch famous. The Haven is nestled in the incredibly beautiful Boquete valley, in Western Panama. Boquete has for many years been the vacation spot for well educated Panamanians because of both its serene beauty and temperate climate.
Sonia and Howard Jones discovered Boquete as new immigrants six years ago and like so many people who find this valley, they stayed. In time they decided Boquete is the perfect location for a natural health clinic and spa. After earning experience operating a spa in both the famous Panamonte Hotel and in elegant Valle Escondido they have ventured into creating the new Haven in Boquete. They wanted to do something modern, interesting and a place of tranquility and they believe they have found just the right place and that tranquil feeling they wanted. The construction was a painstaking process of over two years and they are still enhancing the place as we speak.
Sonia is a naturopath and a nutritional therapist, she understands food and natural medicines and how you can attain changes in your personal physiology and health state by changing what goes into your diet. Eliminating foods that don’t work well for your body are as important as adding better food choices. I first learned of her skills and knowledge while reading the local Bajareque Times. She had an article about something common enough, Grapefruit. I was interested since my grapefruit tree supplied what I thought was a healthy drink every day. What I, a trained biologist, did not know was although healthy; the juice interfered with a medicine I also take. The juice amplified the medication indirectly in the blood stream. If I had not read the article I would never have known. Until that time I would have considered myself fully competent on diet, after all I remember to take a multivitamin and fish oil daily. Since then I research everything before I eat it or combine it with medications or even herbal supplements.
Howard has been practicing acupuncture for almost 15 years, we comes from corporate background and tells us he understands stress, from personal experience, and how that affects your whole being. He works closely with Sonia to help clients with a whole variety of chronic complaints including chronic stress with a view to managing or even reversing their condition. They do this with natural means only. Also a large part of what they do is preventative medicine, during an in-depth consultation using, naturopathic and Chinese diagnostic methods, Sonia and Howard are able to put together a lifestyle plan and where necessary treatments that will help you get protection against many common complaints. In essence this approach is also very anti-aging.
Mark Perren-Jones, who also works with Sonia and Howard for many years and is an experienced therapist who works wonders with massage, acupuncture and other non-traditional medicine. His years of experience have provided relief from pain and good solid advice to many local clients. Many of his clients suffer from things like sciatica and shoulder problems things we seem to affect us all as we grow older.
The Haven also has a small team of women who provide the spa treatments, these treatment include all you would expect from an international standard of spa, massages, facials and all types of body treatments.
Together they have created the Haven. For many local people it is a relaxing place to go for exercise, they have a complete weight room, exercise pool, Jacuzzi, steam rooms, infrared saunas and racquetball court and enjoy a massage or two. They also have consultations on nutrition and general advice on how to maintain a healthier, happier life as well as being able to help with a wide variety of muscular problems. Now with the addition of five new deluxe guest rooms the Haven is a boutique destination health spa resort. In addition to resident guests, local residents and tourists in Boquete can use the facilities and see the staff. Memberships can be daily or annual, or anything in between. Guests can use the complete facility and then enjoy a massage and lunch from the new kitchen.
For those who would like a complete health experience, a new healthier lifestyle, can come and spend a week at the Haven. In your week you will receive, lodging in the facility, an in-depth health consultation and assessment, seven sessions with professionals in nutrition, exercise and healthier lifestyle.
Your significant other can join you or just enjoy the pleasures of Boquete at the spa, on tours, hiking, river rafting, rock climbing and savoring the unique location. The Haven offers a choice of programs and packages designed to help many situations from the longer stays to the shorter 4 day detox and the 3 day alternative stress management course that takes a new approach to stress relief. Much more info on these can be found on the website.
Even more exciting is that a week as a guest, including seven sessions/treatments with a healthcare professional and unlimited use of all the facilities has to offer, is approximately $1,600 for single occupancy and much less if two people share a room.
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