Does Christmas shopping make you anxious? Have all those parties and goodies at the office caused you to put on a few extra unwelcomed pounds? Is there no time left in your busy day to exercise? Does having all those family members gathered together under one roof cause added stress in your already hectic life?

Then it’s time to get away from it all and treat yourself to the gift of health this holiday season! Simply book a 3 Day Getaway or 1 Day Pass to one of the “Top 5 US Health Spas,” the Hilton Head Health in Shipyard Plantation. The island is only a short 30-minute drive from “bridge to bridge.” From the minute you set foot in the facility, you feel like you’ve been transported to a special oasis designed to help you re-focus your priorities and re-energize your life.

15 ways to reach health Nirvana—without leaving Savannah.
Perfection, a state of existence void of all error, flaw or deficiency: No matter how you slice it, it’s a lofty goal. Regardless of whether it’s physical, spiritual or intellectual Nirvana, it’s an intimidating concept potent enough to send normally sane people into bouts of sleeplessness and lunacy as they attempt to measure up to the idea.

But that’s not to say we all shouldn’t strive to inch just a little bit closer to that supreme idea of being the very best version of ourselves. Luckily, Savannah boasts hundreds of ways to enhance both the yin and the yang, the spiritual and the physical, the active and the contemplative. The possibilities for a mind or body boost are virtually endless. With that, South presents its first ever guide to becoming the best you—in the best city in the South.

Could the secret to happy aging lie in hormones?

Val Beaudreau was only 43 when her symptoms started. “I thought I was having anxiety attacks,” she remembers. “And I’d cry, just cry. I’d hear a sad song, I’d cry. I’d see a commercial, I’d cry.” She also started gaining weight, struggling with insomnia, having debilitating hot flashes and losing her interest in sex. “I was up, I was down, I was around and around,” says Beaudreau. “I’d tell my girlfriends, ‘Oh my God, I think I’m going nuts!’”

Her doctor prescribed her an antidepressant, but it didn’t relieve her symptoms. “I was on it for about eight months and then I thought, ‘No, I’m not doing this,’” recalls Beaudreau. “That’s when I started being my own health advocate.

She hit the books, and in her research she came across a copy of Suzanne Somers’ bestseller Ageless. In the book, Somers describes symptoms similar to what Beaudreau was experiencing—symptoms related to the inevitable loss of hormones that goes along with aging. Somers also carefully documents her treatment through the controversial use of bioidentical hormones.

But first she needed to find someone who was trained in bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) and willing to administer it. This was harder than Beaudreau ever could have imagined.

Join a medical movement that is thinking outside the doc-in-a-box and putting patient care at a premium.

Joe McGowan can call his doctor any time of the day or night. In fact, he has the doctor’s private number. And when McGowan makes an appointment for an office visit, he’s in an exam room within 24 hours. If McGowan still has questions, he can e-mail his physician later.

But Joe McGowan isn’t a rock star or a movie star or even a CEO. He’s a retired 79-year-old regular guy—with a little extra cash and a lot of respect for his doctor. “He really listens to you,” McGowan emphasizes. “He really cares about your overall well-being.” At his age, McGowan believes he’s getting the best care of his life from Dr. Jeffrey Schyberg, a Savannah internist with a new model of medical practice known as concierge medicine.

Want to build a soldier’s body without the fatigues? Follow these tips supplied by two of Fort Stewart’s finest.

Fitness and health are often the primary lines of defense for Fort Stewart’s 3rd Infantry Division combat soldiers. Peak levels of strength and endurance can mean the difference between life and death, success or failure. It’s no surprise then that Sergeants 1st class Jeremy St. Julian and Robert Frankforter take their training very seriously. “Physical fitness is our second highest priority,” said Frankforter. “Second only to training.”

Early every morning, St. Julian and Frankforter motivate and move hundreds of soldiers through rigorous exercise regimens specially designed to keep the world’s toughest troopers in peak physical condition. Luckily for those of us with less fight in us than flab, these two soldiers took a break from their rigorous regimes to let The South in on some if their training sessions’ best exercising secrets. Follow these tips and you’ll be in combat condition in no time.