Reflexology Foot Chart

As a western trained physician who is very methodical in his scientific thinking, I have always been skeptical of “Oriental medicine”. Now that I have opened a spa that focuses on marrying the best from the East and the West, I have gradually loosened my narrow grip on my perceived reality. I have tried in the past to view my wellness concept to be broader than what we know in the West. However, naturopathic doctors and holistic doctors shun coming anywhere near an Occidental physician and vice versa. Fortunately, I was able to find the best of both worlds by having western-trained M.D.s who embrace naturopathic components in my anti-aging and vitality center.

As part of my weekly spa ritual, I really have been exploring the best of what the East has to offer. The thing that I really love now is reflexology. The idea of reflexology for the uninitiate is using pressure points on the foot to relieve bodily ailments that corresponds to nerves that are across the foot. Whenever I get a certain area touched that hurts on my foot, I start to realize how accurate the correlation is to the body part that aches for me. If anything, I get a great foot massage in the process! Even when I was in a hurry at the airport, I got a reflexology treatment over my standard shoulder and hand massage (which is part of reflexology too since the hands and ears can represent part of the body as well.)

I think it could be dangerous to substitute reflexology for treating serious medical conditions but I think it is a great stress reliever and I do believe that it is helping me balance out parts of my body that are not in alignment. I also tried a Shirodhara treatment which is part of Ayurvedic therapy in my spa, which involves dripping oil in different patterns across your forehead to open your “third eye”. Although I don’t know if the touted medicinal values can be of certain benefit to you, I do enjoy the treatment as a relaxing part of a spa experience. Okay, so I don’t believe everything just yet.

I would first and foremost like to thank my talented sister, Vina, who really did an outstanding job at designing the site. When I took a stab at designing it, it looked so awful I made myself sick. Everyone says not to hire your relative to design a website. However, that is probably because your relative is second-rate (sorry). My sister is amazing. Her design sense and artistry are truly the very best and matches the demands I put on a first-quality job. I would also like to thank Mike who is my webmaster. Everything I asked of him he completes not within weeks or days but within hours. He is truly an amazing asset. Mike is probably waking up this Monday to about 5 of my emails already. Sorry Mike.

Okay, here is the link to the spawb.com site. I am so very proud of the Spa at Willow Bend for numerous reasons. First, it is simply a gorgeous spa. I put over a million dollars into making this 5,000 square foot spa look absolutely the best. In my opinion it beats the Ritz and Four Seasons and that is only because of Roger Leighton who did a magnificent job of making the interior look like a world-class facility. His partner Shirley Flabbiano did a great job in making sure everything was spot on too. Richard Crawford (see last week’s blog) built everything out and really did not scream at me when I had the entire interior restarted from scratch one week before opening. Yes, I am crazy. But I guess you knew that. Gary Williams has an incredible sense of interior space flow and was the architect on the project. It doesn’t hurt that he built the entire building too. I am waiting for him to win the Pritzker Prize.

Besides the interior design, the team at the Spa is imbued with the same culture that I have established in my space, which is excellent customer service at every level. Beyond that, let’s get to the core of what the spa offers, the best services you will find in Dallas, Plano, and beyond. (Obviously, I have no bias). They offer foot detox, massage, reflexology, facials, oxygen therapies, manicures, pedicures, citrus spray tanning, waxing, laser hair removal, cellulite treatments with Accent XL, chinese medicine and wellness therapies, body wraps, hydroinfusion, Sudatonic body slimming, Shirodhara Ayurvedic treatments…That’s just off the top of my head. I can’t recall if I missed something but I probably did. Just check out the site. Also, we have a relaxation room with homemade tea and infused water, and a full locker room with robes, slippers, sauna, showers, etc. Btw, I still have to add the virtual tours and video tours. I need to finish my book in two weeks first so that video project is put a bit back on my priority list for now.

One thing that I have been trying to do is to experience a spa service myself at least once if not twice a week. I am so very busy that I find that the spa services no matter how small allow me to escape the world for a while and get into good rhythm with myself. I truly believe that spa services go way beyond self-pampering but allow oneself to revitalize, which is an essential component to the overall wellness strategy. I believe that the spa is a core feature of the wellness program offered at my Willow Bend Wellness Center.

We have been running surveys for a few years in order to improve our services for you. I just finished reading a book entitled, Selling the Invisible, which discusses how to better communicate with prospective clients. I am always working to communicate more effectively with my patients, established and prospective. The book stresses the importance of publishing written survey results as proof of service quality. Accordingly, I have done so.

Oftentimes many surgeons pay lip service to good service but have no metrics to establish what those service parameters are and what they have done to improve upon last year’s service deficiencies. In posting 2007’s survey results, I have laid out the warts and all to show what were our strengths and what were our deficiencies and how we went about rectifying those flaws.

I am very proud of not only what I do as a surgeon/provider but more importantly of my team. They are the true source of my pride. They deliver and out deliver my competition not by small strokes but unimaginable strokes. They are the Michael Phelps of a Plastic Surgery Team. Sorry, couldn’t help but throw that in. Have been watching the Olympics.

Here is the link to our patient survey results.

THIS WAS TODAY’S BLOG THAT MY WEBMASTER ACCIDENTALLY DELETED SO I HAVE REWRITTEN IT.  SINCE IT WILL BE LIVE FOR ONLY A SHORT TIME, I AM GOING TO LEAVE IT UP FOR TOMORROW TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, AS WELL.  ANYWAY, RICHARD DESERVES IT.

On Friday night, we celebrated Richard Crawford’s 50th surprise birthday, which his wife Catherine threw for him.  To see the video, click here.  Richard is the general contractor who built Willow Bend Wellness Center, from the outside to the inside, including all interior spaces.  He is also the ongoing general manager who literally keeps our building afloat.  Every person at WBW owes him a lot.

Richard often gets called 24/7 by everyone in the building.  Instead of screaming, he always kindly responds, “Oh, I’ll be right there.”  He is truly an amazing individual.  If you ever have the fortune of knowing someone like Richard, you will truly be blessed.  Richard is a “giver”.  He never takes.  He just gives of himself all the time.  I see him on Sunday cleaning the outside of the building, making sure the inside is in proper order.  Basically, I think he takes care of our building better than his own house.  Sorry, Catherine!  

Basically, Richard is truly the Giant, and a Jolly one at that, who is responsible for the success of WBW.  I wanted in this blog to celebrate an unsung hero who quietly makes my job a heck of a lot easier and WBW run smoothly.  Without him, there would simply be no WBW, both physically as well as in spirit and as an ongoing entity.  Thank you Richard for all that you do for all of us.  Your generosity and kindness are not overlooked.  Simply put, we love you and could not ever imagine a life without you!

Thanks,

SML