My Weimar Adventure

So, after months of hobbling around in more and more pain, and with less and less stamina, I reached a point where I decided something drastic needed to be done.  I have always been a fan of drastic solutions.
After some research on my own, and with the help of Kiminnette, I registered for an 18-day program at the Wiemar Institute in Colfax, CA.  The analogies that come to my mind are "rehab", "reboot", and "immersion", so I've chosen to call this blog Eileen's Reboot.  The program is called NEWSTART. which is actually an acronym:  N=nutrition, E=exercise, W=water, S=sunlight, T=temperance, A=air, R=rest, T=trust. The focus of the program is to incorporate those elements into a daily regimen for a more healthy life. So here I am getting ready for the rest of my life.

Lots of people are following my journey via text, and so Evonne suggested I write a blog about what I'm doing here and how I'm doing.  Here it is.  Sunday, August 18, was the beginning.  Nicole picked me up at 7:30 in the morning and we drove here to arrive in time for lunch at 1:00 pm.  We had lunch in the student cafeteria--haystacks!  After lunch I registered, and Nicole helped me get settled in my room.  My room: probably an 8x10 cubicle, with a twin bed, night stand, small table/desk, and chair.  Kim worried I'd fall out of the bed the first night, but I did not.  I slept instead.

On Monday morning, I was up at 5:00 to get ready for blood draw at 6:00 am.  Then to breakfast at 6:45.  The food:  all plant based, no meat, fish, chicken, eggs, or dairy.  So, oatmeal, fruit, toast, almond butter, and of course, breakfast beans!?  First meeting with the medical doctor was next: he did a thorough physical and asked plenty of questions.

Next came a meeting with the chaplain/counselor, and then to lunch.  The main dish was corn muffins (or dumplings) in a pot pie sauce made with soy curls (whoever heard of soy curls?).  It was very good.  Lots of salad, avocado, and fruit.  There's homemade bread, but my plate is always full before I get there, so I haven't eaten it yet.

After lunch, my first hydrotherapy/massage session.  Let's do lots more of those!  Hot and cold contrast shower: 3 minutes HOT water (102 deg), 30 seconds COLD water (actually only about 80 deg), and repeat twice.  The second hot session was a little hotter and the cold a little colder, and the third more of each.  Then to massage for my aching back.  Very relaxing but also rejuvenating.

Each day we've had lots of orientations and study sessions, so I'm skipping some of the activities, but suffice to say by the end of the day I felt very tired and ready for bed.