We Care Spa

We Care Spa is, to me, heaven on earth! If you would like to learn more about it, visit www.wecarespa.com, and read my diary below to learn about my wonderful experiences there.

Fall 2015

I discovered We Care, an amazing Detox Spa, several years ago and have been blogging about it ever since. Everyone needs a bit of detoxification every now and again but thankfully you don’t have to go to a spa to get it – check out the liver detox benefits you can get from products available online. Below you’ll find pretty much everything I’ve ever said about the spa, as well as some enticing pictures. Enjoy.

This place is too magical not to write about yet again. Yes, vacation is vacation, and one always feels pretty damn good when on vacation, but We Care is a completely different level.

It remains gorgeous. The landscaping, which was already stunning, is now beyond breathtaking. The desert views – ridiculous. The quiet, the wind, the heat, the aridity (is that a word?), the bougainvillea everywhere — it feels like you’re in another world.

A basket chair with a huge white pillow sways in the wind near the fire pit; I sat and watched the roadrunners speed by with wind chimes as my soundtrack. There is something so relaxing about that noise. Anything chime-related whether it be wind chimes or Koshi Chimes, it chills me out and makes me feel at home. Here’s the view.

Right?!

And now, in addition to the floating ones, there’s another bed — like a futon except it’s not hard, and is like two feet thick — from which you can view the hawks circling, bask in the wind, read, listen to Jeff Meacham’s amazing Kahnversations podcast (in the iTunes Store!), or watch the sun sneak through the leaves of the trees above you as you fall asleep in the freakin’ middle of the freakin’ afternoon. Because you CAN.

It seems like all of the rooms have been updated, but not so that they are off-puttingly-non-We-Care-like-ritzy. They’re just more deeply comfortable and comforting: the yummiest bed, the silkiest soft sheets and the most perfect of pillows; they’ve replaced some of the furniture but maintained the this-is-really-all-you-need style; and everything is beyond clean. Housekeeping here is unparalleled.

On Monday I did a yoga class with Patricia Thompson, who, to me, is the spirit of We Care.

She’s an amazing teacher: so giving, so warm, with such unbridled energy, and a passion for life and learning. I’ve never met anyone like her. She started the class off with a meditative walk in the desert.

Later, I had the MOST incredible System Recovery Treatment with the One and Only Alicia. That woman has The Touch. So gentle. So nurturing. Basically, she rubbed castor oil all over me while I lay on a heated table. Then she wrapped me in who knows what and made it even warmer while she gently and hypnotically rubbed anything that stuck out. People? I fell asleep. I NEVER fall asleep during the day. The woman is a witch. A very, very, very good witch.

The next day I hauled myself outta bed to do an early yoga class with Bridgette Becker. This was def my fave yoga class ever, and I’ve taken a LOT of yoga classes. Hated most of them (primarily because I have an aversion to perspiration and effort) (I do not hate YOU, Myla. Just exercise.) I dunno what it was that she did exactly — I know she included all different schools of yogic thought in the class, and she was all about being gentle with yourself — she kept saying stuff like, “Are you at your edge? Pull back a little.You don’t need to be right at your edge.” Dear God, what a concept! Not doing my very best? Not trying my hardest? Not killing myself every moment of every day? Is such a thing even possible? It was, apparently.

I also did a breath class with Bill Bastian. Man, breathing is so irritating. Bill is great though. He asked us to focus on what we wanna release (some anger, maybe?). Then he suggested that we make a list, rip it up into teeny weeny pieces, spit on it and bury it in the desert. So … I did! I wrote the list, went to the desert, ripped it into teeny weeny pieces, dug lots and lots of holes and buried those fuckers out there in the blasting sun. It was fun. (A few days later, I made another list and burned it in the fire pit. That was even MORE fun.)

Then I took a walk in the desert.

We’re always drinking stuff here. You don’t miss food. You’re so busy taking care of yourself that eating would be a nuisance.

I attended a nutrition and cooking class with Bridgette/Susana and got to have a strawberry smoothie (don’t panic; only like two ounces), and Susana’s famous brown rice, quinoa, and lentil mix with her amaze tahini sauce (perhaps an ounce). Then? Yup! Castor Oil. Yum! Bridgette ALSO has THE TOUCH. If Patricia is the Spirit of We Care, Bridgette is the embodiment of it. She is such a healer.

Susana used to sort of represent We Care to me — I mean the woman started it out of her HOUSE, for God’s sake. (I relate!) We’re all here because of her and she’s a MIRACLE (you can get her book from We Care or Amazon – it’s called DETOX & REVITALIZE by Susan Belen, and she has a new one coming out soon). I have such admiration for Susana — everything was against her and not only did she prevail but she has saved so many other people as well. And now she’s taking more time for herself and I’m so thrilled that she has people like Bridgette and Jenny (see below) and Patricia and her daughter Susie, and their manager Margaret to carry on for her. We are all so lucky.

Everyone is so nice! From Eugenia, who showed me how to turn the tv on (I’m challenged), to Margaret, who has run the joint ever since I’ve been coming, to Sophia whose hands are like feathers. Even if they don’t remember you, they act like they do, and they don’t need any coaching at all. I buy it. (They must be . . . listening.) You don’t for a second get the sense that it’s bullshit, or not real. I love The Four Seasons and there’s no comparison, but it’s different. Here, somehow, you get a sense that they . . . care. Hmmmm.

(That’s a bug, but don’t worry. It was way out in the desert.)

The pool is not heated, which I personally think is cray. Why not? How much could it cost? We don’t need TWO saunas! We need heat in the pool! (And salt, maybe?) I do hear that they’re building another pool (along with seven, 12 or 16 new rooms), and hopefully THAT one will be heated, but still. And naturally I worry about what all this new building will do to the integrity of the place. With new rooms they’re going to need another yoga room, more treatment rooms, and more technicians. The current technicians are superb. Will they be able to maintain this level of fabulosity?

The next day, lovely and warm Sophia gave me a Body Splash. Essentially she put me on a table, poured warm, womb-like water over me and scrubbed the hell outta my skin. And now my skin is pretty insane anyway because I use things like skincenticals australia products, however, nevertheless, the feeling was still immense and it was as though so much tension was relieved from my skin. Then she poured more womb-water. Then she washed me. More womb-water. Then she washed my hair. More water. Water, water, water. (I’m a Pisces; I like water.) And all of this took place in the middle of the desert with the wind softly whispering at the folds of our tent/yurt?/outdoor cabana while Native American music played softly. This must be what it was like for ancient Egyptian royalty, I thought. I couldn’t get over the fact that it was happening to me. I’ve had massages (which have been wonderful — Patricia Smets, Juan here at We Care, Salvador and Mariel at Halo Chiro, to name but a few fabu practioners), and I’ve been scrubbed, but this was different. Another world. I felt transported.

Plus, I slept like The Dead on that gorgeous bed.

I walked a labyrinth with the divine Bridgette prior to more incredible yoga. Another thing I love about her class is that it feels like she’s WITH me the whole time. It’s as though she GETS how miserable I am. She is AWARE that I wanna stop and do ANYTHING else, she’s a few seconds ahead of me and before I even start gathering my things to leave, she’s said exactly what I need to hear in order to stay, deepen the pose, do the work, to try to connect my body to my mind and my spirit. Not a small feat, in my lunatic case.

I spent time on the swing machine and the ol’ Vibra-Trim, and did ab stuff on the slant board pursuant to the advice of Jenny, the wonderful colon therapist who told me my problem was carbonation. She’s gotta be right. Ever since I got sober 23 years ago I’ve been mainlining club soda like it’s the fountain of youth (club soda with lemon is as close to a cocktail as I’m gonna get).

Koren was also an amazing therapist. Kind but aggressive and so knowledgeable. I felt so lucky to get her.

And then? There’s Juan. What a superb massage therapist he is. He finds a knot and that sucker’ is GOING. No matter what. He’s gonna beat it DOWN. And once he does, he whispers stuff like, “Yeah! Gotcha!” Or, “There ya’ go!” He is, if possible, happier about a loosened knot than I am!

During the trip I read a book called INTUITIVE EATING by someone and Dr. Elyse Resch (http://www.amazon.com/Intuitive-Eating-Revolutionary-Program-Works/dp/0312321236). This book just MIGHT be the answer to my food-related issues and in my opinion, We Care was the perfect time to read it.

Over the years I’ve met some pretty amazing people at We Care. Cecilie, Daniela and Lee, to name but a few. Each one has taught me something valuable. This trip was no exception as I met the human personification of Fearlessness. So outgoing and warm and interested and smart and crazy and, as he put it, “addicted to chaos, adrenaline and drama.” His parents, he said, provided unconditional love (among other things), not only when he was a kid, but even more so when he became an adult. He never feared that the other shoe would drop because it never had. I guess if, when terrible things happen, you continue to be loved and adored, you end up looking for the highest mountains to climb. (For the hell of it. Not to jump off of.) How amazing. But what’s most admirable? Is that he gets it. He gets how lucky he is. And is wildly appreciative.

What a thing to see. What a thing to be, I imagine.

Thank you, Susana Belen and everyone at We Care for everything.

————

Spring 2013

How is it possible that I love this place even more than I did the last time – and this is my fourth visit????

Maybe it’s the wind. I do love the wind. And how dry it is.

It could be the friends I’ve made here – who are truly exceptional.

It might be the amazing treatments from Juan’s life-changing Deep Tissue Massage to Mercedes’ Digestive Releases to Alicia’s Magnesium Therapy to Chenille’s deeply cleansing facials. Or maybe it’s the nutrition classes replete with Susana-made Strawberry Kefir “ice cream,” veggie smoothies and rice and tahini tastes,

or the spiritually uplifting yoga classes with the divine Patricia, Jivani and Kim. It might be my pristine room with the cool cross-breeze,

the property with the new hammocks and fire pit, jazcuzzis, floating beds, desert trail

and incredible flowers and other vegetation.

It might be the superb staff that somehow always knows all of our names, likes, dislikes, needs and desires. Who knows? I just know that when I’m here I feel – different and free and hopeful and happy and — dare I say it? Occasionally in the moment!!!!

I’m an addict: among other things, a recovered anorexic/bulemic and a probably-never-will-be-totally-recovered binge eater. Food stresses me the fuck OUT. So being in a beautiful place where people do nothing but rub me, anoint me with natural, aromatic oils and take care of my every wish for an entire week — without FOOD — is my idea of Shangri-freakin’ LA.

I hear a lot of comments from people who complain that We Care is not what it used to be. And they’re right. It’s not. It’s much much MUCH better. Things change. It’s no longer three people in Susana’s (the creator of We Care) house having a daily massage and colonic with Liz (Susana’s first employee who is still there!), drinking a lotta juice.

Now it’s this gorgeous property with bougainvillea, superb gardens everywhere, a pool, an infra-red sauna, 17 treatment rooms, 70 employees, 23 guests and who knows how many brand new, updated treatment rooms. Now you can be wrapped and scrubbed, have reflexology or four different kinds of facials in addition to all different kinds of date and salt and sugar scrubs and massages and other bodywork like Total System Recovery Treatments while hanging out in the labyrinth with like-minded people from all over the world. There is every kind of nutrition and food class, as well as yoga, breathing with LA-based Scott Schwenk, NLP and fire ceremonies in the desert. You can have one-on-one sessions with healers and teachers, hang out and talk health with any of the extraordinary support staff, and make eight different kinds of teas while you do so.You’re fed delicious, homemade vegetable soups every night. There are rabbits and ducks and doves nesting on the property,

floating beds, hammocks, jacuzzis, phenomenal sculpture installations, trampolines, Vibra-Trim machines and Swing machines to keep you gently moving. You can even bring your dog.

We Care is my idea of heaven. The only thing that could improve upon it is getting my husband to come with me. But if you think I’m ever getting him to have a colonic, you’d be sorely mistaken.

His loss.

————

Summer 2011

I went to We Care Spa again a couple weeks ago. It is so amazing, I can’t help but kvell over it.

My first time at We Care was about a year and a half ago. As I had no idea what to expect, I assumed I’d be getting massages, lying by the pool, getting a lot of work done that I hadn’t been able to get to for the last several months, and starving myself.

Boy was I wrong.

Instead, my whole life changed. I dashed from class to colonic, back to another class, to the desert, and back to yet another class. There was SO much to learn! I barely sat by the pool and got absolutely NO work done (though I did manage to squeeze in a plethora of fabulous massages).

When I got back to my real life from We Care the last time, I immediately got overwhelmed by work and couldn’t focus on all the changes I was now imspired to make in my lifestyle in order to maintain Susana’s program. I was able to incorporate a few things, but not as many as I wanted, and I was determined to change that this time around. I prepared my kitchen to the best of my ability before I even left home. As soon as I was clear about exactly how I wanted to proceed with the program once I was back, I called home and asked them to have everything ready and waiting for me so I’d have NO excuse to fail. (Thank goodness home is so wonderful, thoughtful and capable.)

What I love most about We Care Detox Spa is its purity: absolutely everything going on there is directed wholly at YOUR HEALTH. Everywhere you look – from the Kangen Water to the desert air,

to saunas and whirlpools and mud wraps and infra red heat (and cold plunge, of course), to the design and the landscaping, massages and lymphatic treatments, to yoga and walks and machines that shake and jiggle the shit out of you (and hoses that suck the crap out of you!), to the books and dvds and cds and sheets and products in your room like the salt rock light, to every single person who works there . . . NOTHING is there that is not one hundred percent meant to help, encourage and motivate you to get healthy. No distractions. Nada. It’s heaven. And so unusual! It is such a freakin’ RELIEF not to be assaulted, misled and, frankly, poisoned by advertising, bad food, alcohol, media and craziness everywhere you turn. The ONLY place anybody’s gonna try to getcha to buy something at We Care is on your TV. So if you keep it off, you’re freeeee!

Classes
My first time at We Care I was so overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information there was to take in that I attended just about every class they had, like:

• Rejuvenation and Health
• Healthy Digestion
• Shopping for Healthy Foods
• Organizing your Kitchen
• Why Alkalinity?
• Reprogram Your Life for a Healthier You
• Transforming from Fasting to Food

I also took all the cooking classes like,

• Caffe Latte
• Sprouting Sprouts
• Kefir Demo
• Cooking
• Nutritional Guidance and Cooking Demo

I did some of the Healers’ classes as well like

• Psychology of Change
• Breathwork with the amazing Scott Schwenk
• Detox the Mind – Detox the Body
• Balance and the Medicine Wheel

But I was too busy the rest of the time having a hose shoved up my butt, getting massaged and brushed, and trying to fit in all the other stuff you’re supposed to do (like walk in the desert, shake on the Vibra-trim machine and the swing machine, hang out on the slant board, mediate in the labyrinth, sweat in the sauna, sweat more in the whirlpool, and jump on the trampoline, etc.), that I barely made it to one yoga class with Susana, the founder of We Care and my personal hero. And I totally missed

• Reiki
• Sound Healing
• Fresh Skin Analysis
• Creative Visioning
• Transformational Fire
• Shamanic Healing

and

• Meditation
• Tai Chi
• Mat Pilates

Alas.

My Week This Time Around

I got a LOT more done this second time around. But that is because I am the world’s most anal list/-schedule-maker.

Lest you should wonder what that means, voici!No, you don’t have to make a schedule like this. I happen to be insane.

Every morning I got up early and walked in the desert.

(You don’t know me, so you don’t know that this is miraculous. My husband refuses to believe it actually happened.) I tried to do all the other stuff I wasn’t thrilled about in the mornings too – basically anything requiring physical effort. That left an hour or two in the afternoons to get some work done (theoretically) in the sun. There was really no time to hang out, as every spare moment was spent in some sort of class or treatment. It was truly divine.

Fellow Travelers
Part of the problem the first time I went to We Care was that I was so busy falling in love with the women that were there with me, that I hung out with them instead of working or lying by the pool. They were heaven sent. (You know like how you fell in love with your girlfriends in seventh grade? You just thought they were so much fun and so smart and so beautiful and you just wanted to BE with them and hear everything they had to say all the time? Like that.) All with careers (a brilliant film director, a determined hospital administrator, two highly motivated business consultants, and an inspiring writer), and responsibilities (kids, kids and more kids; plus husbands!), as well as health issues (cancer, more cancer, infertility, and some iron deficiencies, not to mention weight).

This time around I kept myself way too busy to hang out, but nevertheless managed to fall in love with a couple of my more spectacular comrades-in-fasting.

The Wind
I think one of my fave parts about this trip was the wind and the weather. All the fabulous people who work there kept warning us that it was not usually so cool (it topped off, I think, in the mid 80’s), or windy (the wind was UNbelievable – it never stopped blowing — and blowing hard. It was sooo sexy and exciting and wild and thrilling, to me that is. The staff had, on the other hand, HAD it). Nevertheless, I kept the windows open in my room so I could hear it wail and listen to the leaves of the trees whip around. The sun was so bright and the sky was always so clear. The green of the leaves of the trees and the flowers on the branches made these magical pictures against the blue of the sky. I couldn’t stop staring. I was filled with wonder.

Irritation
I was extremely irritated when I overheard someone saying, “Uch, all they do is push their products on you here. Like that Kangen Machine. I got it for a lot less online. And there is NO way I’m buying Susana’s self-promotional [sic] book.”

I’m fairly certain this person was living in a nightmare of his own creation, because there was NO promoting of anything anywhere. I mean, it was like a vacuum of promotion. I actually had to ASK about things – nothing was pushed upon me. I’d see someone doing a liver flush and I had to REQUEST one. I fell in love with the sunset colored mineral lights and had to ASK for one.

This happened about five days in, and by then? I was relaaaaaxed. NOTHING was bothering me. But when I heard that statement, I turned on the poor, unsuspecting guest and said, “Susana’s book is about as far from self-promotional as humanly possible. For VERY little money ($15 on Amazon, $10 for the Kindle version) she hands you her ENTIRE program, replete with recipes, advice and her story. (This is ME promoting HER.) You don’t have to spend a zillion dollars to go to We Care. You can do it for fifteen bucks.

“What book?” Someone asked. The one sitting in your roooooooom, silly! She’s PUTS a copy in everyone’s room so you don’t even HAVE to buy it! You can READ it while you’re there! Gooood Loooooord, people! Susana is NOT one of the BAD GUYS! She just wants us to be well, like she is. It is her life’s work! (And it’s not like that’s the ONLY book in your room. A stack of books two feet tall is sitting in every guest room so you can read them while you’re staying at we care – From Wayne Dyer to . . . the list is too long. Some rooms also have dvds and cds to listen to – ALL health-related. So if you think she’s promoting HERSELF, then she’s also promoting the writers of books like ALKALIZE OR DIE, HEALING, KILLING CANCER NOT PEOPLE, MEET YOUR MEAT, THE RICHEST MAN WHO EVER LIVED, THE RELUCTANT HEALER, THE BOOK OF RELATIONSHIPS, etc. And the makers of the SALT ROCK lamps, and organic tampons, The Easy Sprouter, Amethyst Mats, Dehydrators, Chiropractic Pillows and everything from the Body Deli. Not to mention all kinds of blood-related supplies.)

And they don’t push their products at allllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll! There’s a cabinet in the kitchen area in which they have a few books and some of the detox stuff used in the program. But it’s not even lit up! You can’t even see what’s in it unless you go right up to it and peer in. And it’s stored there! Not displayed! There are no price tags or anything. Moreover, there are no pictures of Susana anywhere — no great, big ugly signs promoting her book, her videos, her cds, anyone else’s books, videos and cds, ANYONE’S ANYTHING. (In fact, the whole place used to be her home – little by little she added to it and now it’s this amazing spa. You never feel like you’re in some corporate enclave; you feel like a guest in this amazing woman’s home.)

The ONLY people getting promoted at We Care are the “healers” – the meditation, sound healing, yoga, breathing, etc., teachers, and that was new this trip. My guess would be that she probably has to do this in order to make it worthwhile for busy practitioners to schlep to We Care once a week from wherever they are based (i.e., LA, San Diego or Northern California, for example). So again, she’s doing it for US, to give us the best possible experience. We Care offers the healers’ group classes at no charge, but if you wanna sit with them one-on-one for an hour, that can cost you $250. (The classes worked just fine for me.)

Susana simply does not promote herself or her products (and there are many, as you can see when you look in the folder of information you’re given upon arrival; and you’re given this list ONLY for ease of ordering, should you choose to do so, upon check out. At NO point does ANYONE push a product on you. If you want to continue her program, you have the OPTION to purchase her products to make it easier.)

Nor can I imagine that she gets a kickback from the Kangen Water people (click for a demo) or the makers of Vita-Mix for promoting their products. (And if she does? Good for her. It can’t be cheap to keep Shangri-La running like clockwork, which, by the way, it does.) I think she just thinks those products are the best. I think she truly believes that the Kangen machine is the best and the Vita-Mix Mixer is the best. I think she feels the same way about the Vibra-Trim and the Swing machine. I think that because she’s all about health, she’s had opportunities most of us have not had to try every brand, every type, every flavor of every thing health related, and she’s just telling us what she knows to save us time, mistakes, money, disappointment and energy. I think it’s LOVELY. I think people should get off her BACK. (Should you research and find a less expensive machine that does as good a job, I’m sure she would be thrilled to recommend it instead.)

At one point I stopped her and asked her if she’d read an email I’d sent. She apologized profusely and said, and I am paraphrasing, “No, I’m so sorry. I stay away from the computer. It’s a trap! If I start, I can’t stop, and then I don’t practice what I preach, I don’t have time to eat right and do yoga and walk and read and learn about new cures and procedures in order to pass them along to you!”

Ya’ gotta love that.

Specifics
1. Colonics – I had no less than five different women’s hands up my butt on this particular trip (colonic-wise), and I gotta say they were all lovely and wonderful and made it as painless as humanly possible. How there could be so many strangers so deeply concerned about my intestinal track I dunno, but I’m deeply grateful to Liz, Blythe, Rebecca, Denae and Tina for their unparalleled concern and care. I believe it was Denae who accused my colon of having stage fright (e.g., not wanting to perform on cue). Denae? If you’re listening? You were right.

(There was this owl on the Desert Walking Trail. I fell in love with it and couldn’t stop photographing it. Then? There were the rabbits. Sigh.)

2. Yoga – You must take Yoga (and anything else offered) by Patricia. She is this sparklette of positivity, warmth and spirituality. I dunno what else to say. I still hate exercise, but she makes it palatable. Which is nothing less than a miracle! All the normal (non-perspiration hating) guests gushed over her as well.

3. Breathing – There’s something about Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. that is other-worldly. For the life of me I can’t explain it. Just go. If you let yourself get into it, something amazing, weird, terrifying and thrilling will happen. It’ll freak you out and kinda change everything for you. Just, as they say, DO IT. http://trustthebreath.com. http://scottschwenk.blogspot.com/.

4. Susana’s Lectures – GO TO THEM. She knows everything, has an answer for everything and if she doesn’t know, she’ll find out.

5. Alkalinity Lecture with Chris Young – If you dunno about Kangen Water and how everything else we drink is killing us, go.

6. Whatever you do, have the System Recovery Treatment, preferably with Alicia. Please GOD.

7. Let Juan massage you. You must.

8. Let Gina give you a Digestive Release massage. Sooo nice.

9. Have a facial with Patricia. Your skin will be soooo soft.

10. If you do nothing else in this lifetime, let Kaleo give you a combination massage. Enough said.

11. Oh, and don’t be afraid of the castor oil if your therapist recommends it. Just put the spoon in the back of your mouth, swallow the stuff and chase it with delicious organic apple juice. It’s nothing.

12. And you won’t starve; you probably won’t even be hungry! You’ll so busy drinking that you’re actually full all the time.

13. The accommodations are lovely. Bring your own body lotion and face soap. And suntan lotion. Make sure to bring a hat or a visor to protect you from the sun. That’s my room, below. The bougainvillea!

14. Be sure to call ahead to do your schedule, and let Karen help you with it. She’s great. Think about what services you want AS WELL AS what classes you’ll want to take and try to schedule it all way ahead of time.

15. Lie on the freakin’ floating bed.

Before I got to We Care this year I’d had polyps in my colon removed, fibroid tumors in my uterus (not removed, that was fun), an ulcer, rickets, gallbladder attacks due to gallstones, too much estrogen, horrible low back pain, and a sprained ankle and knee. I needed help. Now I know that the polyps, the ulcer, the rickets and the gallstones are ALL a results of my STUPID EATING HABITS. And I know how to fix them. And I’m ON IT.

Thank goodness for Susana Belen and We Care.

(If you’d like to read the post I wrote after my last visit, go here.)