Elaine Dodson - Beauty and Wellness Guru

For over 40 years, Elaine Dodson has been practicing a healthy lifestyle that includes Ayurvedic and vegetarian cooking. In the late 90s, she studied in India for seven years, and served as the household chef for her spiritual guru in Cambridge, England. That led to a long study of Ayurvedic cooking techniques throughout India. Over the years, she developed recipes and a style of Ayurvedic cooking geared towards today’s busy lifestyle, which she now teaches in a popular cooking classes. In addition she founded two successful vegetarian and Ayurvedic restaurants: Kalachandiji’s in Dallas, Texas, and Govinda’s in Cuernavaca, Mexico.

Besides her fabulous resume as an Ayurvedic chef, she has more than 35 years of specialized training in hair design and hair health, skin analysis and treatments, make-up artistry, wardrobe, color and image consultation, holistic nutrition and natural living. She is a licensed cosmetologist, aesthetician and trichologist (hair and scalp therapy). She has studied with the icons of that industry such as Vidal Sassoon, Jehrri Rhedding, Paul Mitchell, and Aveda founder Horst Reichenbacker. She is certified in aromatherapy, reiki, and macrobiotic and Ayurvedic cooking, with years of practical studies in nutrition, health sciences, psychology and esoteric spiritual practices and philosophies including Native American and Eastern religions, yoga and meditation.

Her award-winning day spas were known for the wide range of all-natural and organically-formulated products and services offered, as well as the integrated, holistic approach. She created the first makeover salon in the Southwest and worked with Fortune 100 corporations to assist them in the creation of a contemporary business image for their employees. Her production company, Sunbelt Circle Productions received national acclaim for deluxe extravaganzas that promoted local artists in the areas of beauty, fashion, health, and theatre.

She has presented at numerous seminars and symposiums with leading wellness experts including Dr. Wayne Dyer and Deepak Chopra. She is a founding member of both the Dallas Holistic Chamber of Commerce and the eWomen Network.

In 1992, she and her husband Michael moved to Mexico “to retire.” She became friendly with the local artisans, holistic practitioners, healers, drummers, shamans, and medicine men and women in and around Tepoztlán. Within two years, she and Michael founded Mexico Sacred Journey Retreats as a way to share the beauty, magic and power of this special place. What started as visits by family and friends, turned into a body, mind, spirit self growth journey with women coming from all over the world to experience the transformational healing energies of that ancient Aztec-Nahuatl village. Today she and Michael live in Dallas, Texas. She is a makeover specialist, cookbook author, teacher, gourmet vegetarian chef, as well as a seminar and retreat leader. She is committed to educating women on staying disease free by balancing the areas of body, mind and spirit in their daily lives – while looking fabulous! She works as a global citizen for world peace, the environment, nonviolence, and has many different spiritual affiliations.