Tidings of good health and joy!

AS WE REFLECT on 2014, and look forward to the New Year, Canyon Ranch Institute is delighted to be part of the vibrant Savannah community. We are seeing tremendous positive changes through our partnership with Savanah civic leaders Charles H. and Rosalie Morris.

We are engaged in efforts across Savannah, and it all started with Charles and Rosalie introducing us to Curtis V. Cooper Primary Health Care. Together, we offer the Canyon Ranch Institute Life Enhancement Program to Savannah residents, always free of charge.

Graduates of the first CRI Life Enhancement Program at Curtis V. Cooper Primary Health Care are pictured here with civic leaders Rosalie Morris (center, with pink sweater) and Charles H. Morris (front in tan jacket) and the members of the integrative health Core Team that guided participants through the 12 weeks that focused on the importance of the health of the total person – mind, body, spirit, and emotion.

All Savannah CRI Life Enhancement Program participants are patients at Curtis V. Cooper Primary Health Care, and they participate in 12-week program to learn about how they can make healthy choices for themselves and their families.

As Charles H. Morris says, “Having lived longer with a better quality of life than my parents and most of my grandparents, I understand what it’s like to overcome the fear of chronic illness and discover ways to actually prevent the diseases that cost us financially and emotionally.”

Charles H. Morris (right) with Canyon Ranch Institute President Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., FACS, 17th U.S. Surgeon General. Their shared dedication to health and wellness for the people of Savannah is a catalyst for programs focused on the Savannah community, including the Canyon Ranch Institute Life Enhancement Program (CRI LEP) with Curtis V. Cooper Primary Health, the CRI Healthy Garden at Trustees’ Garden, and the Canyon Ranch Institute Savannah Partnership (CRISP).

Canyon Ranch Institute isn’t focused on just one aspect of health and wellness. We champion the integrative approach that reminds us that health is comprised of mind, body, spirit, and emotion.

CRI Life Enhancement Program participants go through a life-changing experience together, which includes learning how to exercise, losing weight, changing how they eat (a little less fat, a little more vegetables), discovering yoga and other relaxation techniques, and so much more.

The improvements that I hear about the most from CRI Life Enhancement Program participants are about feeling connected to a community or finding a focus outside themselves. That feeling of being someone who matters happens when people experience – sometimes for the first time in their lives – what it is like to have friends.

During the first session of the CRI Life Enhancement Program at Curtis V. Cooper Primary Health Care, CRI LEP Core Team member Michelle Grandy (back to camera) discussed proper sleep positions, explaining the importance of adequate rest to being healthy.

If you are interested in participating in the CRI Life Enhancement Program at Curtis V. Cooper Primary Health Care, contact us at 912-443-3264 or at [email protected].

We look forward to welcoming the next CRI Life Enhancement Program group in January and to continuing to work with Savannah residents, businesses, and communities to build a healthy future for Savannah.

Jennifer Cabe, M.A., is Executive Director and Board Member of Canyon Ranch Institute. Jennifer helps Charles H. and Rosalie Morris plan and implement CRISP programs focused on a healthy future for Savannah.