Spa+Clinic Team 
The Sensuality and Art of the Teese with Dita Von Teese package, which will run from June 8-12, encompasses beauty workshops and doctor-led discussions on the health benefits of sexuality.
Dita and burlesque educator Catherine D’Lish will teach a striptease routine focused on basic moves, including a ‘burlesque strut’, and techniques for skillfully removing garters, stockings and gloves, and guests will be taught the history and development of American burlesque.
Guests can also take a ‘fit strip’ class, led by the star, who will also offer them glamour advice and tips, to help them achieve a burlesque-inspired look.
Most of all, Dita will impart her wisdom on sensuality and seduction. Click here for a teese of what Canyon Ranch guests can expect in June.
Canyon Ranch’s resident medico Dr Nicola Finley, a specialist in women’s health, will host discussions on sexual health as part of the program.
‘Respecting one’s sexuality is an important element of living a full and happy life,’ she says. ‘There is mounting evidence that human touch is healing and that a fulfilling sexual life can be an integral part of one’s overall health.’
Dr Finley’s talks will focus on exploring the physical and emotional factors that impact women’s sexual desire and arousal during all stages of life.
There will also be a session dedicated to teaching guests how dancing and social interaction can help to achieve optimal health.
Canyon Ranch has been a leader in embracing the many forms of sexual health in its programs for more than 20 years, such as offering high level counselling on intimacy for couples.
As she discusses in the current issue of SPA+CLINIC magazine, our publisher Kirien Withers says it’s time to bring sex into the Australian salon, spa and clinic environment ‘ metaphorically speaking, of course.
‘The holistic aesthetic and wellness care of the individual is not possible without including their sexual physical and psychological wellbeing,’ Kirien says.
‘Our industry talks constantly about holistic wellbeing but how often do we even consider sexual wellbeing in the equation? Bizarre really! Not only are we all created via the sexual act but we are quick to serve our clients in their wellbeing after the act, helping them deal with the result and beyond, we just don’t mention the energy that creates life in the first place.
‘We check the dermis, the blood, the iris, the liver, balance the chakras … the list goes on … but do we ever ask ‘how is your libido, do you have a healthy sexual life, how are your ‘bits’ functioning?’ We don’t.
‘Anyone who has studied any school of thought in relation to the energy systems of the body from Taoism, to the Vedas, to TCM and more contemporary approaches, fully understands that the sexual energy of the body is one and the same as the life force running through the major electrical circuits.
‘They cannot be separated; only the different functions are able to be discussed in relative isolation.’
A big step in the right direction was the inaugural A5M Symposium: A Holistic Approach To Sexual Health, held in Sydney in March. It was presented by three internationally-renowned sexual health practitioners and educators from Australia and the US.
It offered participants a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary approach to sexual health medicine, to raise the standard of sexual health communication among Australian doctors, psychologists, allied health practitioners and sexologists.
‘An holistic approach to sexual health is the key for increasing the quality of life of patients [yet] health practitioners and patients alike can find it incredibly difficult to broach these topics,’ says Dr Nathan Francis, general integrative medicine practitioner and president of the Australasian Academy of Anti-Ageing Medicine (A5M).
‘There is a real need for understanding the barriers both practitioners and patients face when discussing these issues.’
American Dr Jen Landa, an obstetrician/gynaecologist and sexual health expert, spoke about her practice that is ‘dedicated to helping patients achieve wellness through customised nutrition, fitness and lifestyle programs and bio-identical hormone therapy.
‘I aim to help women and men resolve menopausal and andropausal symptoms, including weight gain, sexual dysfunction, declining energy levels and stress [and] how to reach their personal best in optimal health and beauty using the most natural and advanced therapies available.’
Dr Margaret Redelman, one of 130 sexologists working in Australia, presented on sexuality in the ageing Australian population, and the challenges that this brings.
‘We are living longer and in better health and have higher expectations of maintaining and enjoying all our faculties,’ she says. ‘If sex has been enjoyable then there is sadness and anger at its loss.
‘We are lucky in that much can be done to help people enjoy their sexuality throughout the life span.’
