Ahhhhhhh...

Suffice to say, I adjusted to the spa experience pretty easily and quickly settled into a routine as follows:

Get up around 7 or 8.
Make drink, shower, etc.
Pick spot to read, make another drink or 2.
Yoga at 11.
Drink.
Colonic around 1.
Drink.
Yoga again around 2 or 2:30.
Drink.
Spa treat (4 out of 5 days).
Drink.
Relax/read/write in journal/nap.
Drink.
Infrared sauna.
Drink.
Vibration machine.
Drink.
Watch sunset from floating bed.
Drink.
Swim in pool.
Drink.
Hot tub.
Drink.
Watch TV/read before bed around 11.
Repeat.

While the above routine was clearly not strenuous, the amount of different drinks pretty much meant you were in the kitchen every hour. It was also hard to not become obsessed with the status of your bowel movements given that your schedule was primarily determined by when you got your colonic. Let's just say it was best to leave some time after the treatment to ensure that your colon was finished cleansing. The obsession with bowel movements was further enhanced by the option for you to see what is coming out of you via a clear tube during your colonic treatment. Yes, I looked. Yes, it is gross.

I really enjoyed getting back into yoga again, even if it was completely humbling to see the 70+ year-old spa owner able to move around much easier than I was able to. Stress and computer work had jacked my back so bad that I had to schedule a deep tissue massage to loosen me up enough to be able to do the yoga moves. Scary.

I did branch out to try one of the more spiritually-oriented sessions on meditation and breathwork. While the act of breathing and taking time out to meditate during your day is something that I fully support, the instructor was a bit too much for me. It probably didn't help that he started the group by saying that some of you are very closed and may not get much out of the session while looking right at me! Fully chastened, I was trying to be more "open" when he asked the woman next to me what she hoped to get out of the session. His response to her answer of "tap into my creativity" was "go bigger, whatever it is you are working on, go bigger--if it is a painting, do a mural, a sculpture, go 10X bigger". When I heard her whisper under her breath "how to I do that with a screenplay?", I admittedly became a bit closed again.

While I did not miss solid food, caffeine or alcohol, I am taking a new addiction away with me--the floating bed, pictured at the beginning of this post. I officially bogarted the floating bed for the week. It is heaven, and the first thing I will put into my backyard if we ever buy a house.

Let the cleansing begin!

As the blog title indicates, I am using my "sabbatical" in order to cleanse my life of it's various toxins and stress. The first part of my cleansing began at the We Care Spa in the Desert Hot Springs.

We Care bills themselves as "a holistic fasting and spirtual retreat, providing unique programs designed for personal transformation, enahancing body, mind and spirit in a serene desert oasis." What that actually means is that I would not eat solid food for a week, would "enjoy" daily colon hydrotherapy (for those who are curious about this, here's a link--en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colon_hydrotherapy --I will spare everyone else the details), and I would relax in the 100 degrees that is typical for the desert in June.

In preparation for the cleanse, I did not have any alcohol, caffeine, or food other than fresh fruits/veggies for 2 days prior to my arrival. Once I arrived at the spa on Sunday 5/31, I was handed a coffee cup and a water bottle with my name written on them. Each day, I made my own drinks as follows:

Daily Menu
Drink 1: Acidophilus pill (a good bacteria) with a cup of water
Drink 2: 2 enzyme pills (to digest food residues) with a cup of water
Drink 3: 1 tsp barley greens (for energy) mixed with a cup of water
Drink 4: Detox drink (also known as an intestinal cleanser) made as follows:

• 1 oz organic apple juice
• 20 drops of minerals
• 2 tsp detox drink powder
• mix above to make a smooth paste
• fill remainder of 8 oz cup with water and mix
• DRINK QUICKLY as it tends to solidify =)
  
• follow with 1 cup of water and a fiber regulator pill (a natural laxative)

Drink 5: Energy tea
Drink 6: Lemon water (this is enjoyed throughout the day)
Drink 7: 1 cup of organic vegetable juice (your choice of carrot/beet or a green one)
Drink 8: 1 cup of blood purifier tea (can be enjoyed throughout the day)
Drink 9: 1 cup of liver kidney tea (can also be enjoyed throughout the day)
Drink 10: 3 powergreen pills (for energy) with a cup of water
Drink 11: Another quasi-solid detox drink (see #4)
Drink 12: 1 cup of organic vegetable soup taken with 2 enzyme pills (also known as "dinner")
Drink 13: 3-5 oz of aloe vera juice (a digestive tonic and mild laxative)
Drink 14: 1 fiber regulator pill (to stimulate the intestine) with water before bed

My first thought was that it was going to be a very long week!