Natural Health, Natural Healing Bald Mountain Retreat offers the next level of holistic healing, where personal and planetary well-being are one. As disease is effected by our lifestyle, so our lifestyle is effected by our relationship to the natural order. "Suburban practice / office visits can only go so far. I wanted to be able to show people what I was talking about. I wanted somewhere where we could walk the walk... together. It's like the difference between drinking a glass of water and jumping in the lake." Nature harmonizes body, mind and soul. Our being is restored to its natural order through immersion in a natural environment. For generations people have gone to the mountains to take "the cure." The bio-magnetism of our magnificent, natural setting retunes, recalibrates and rebalances. The vitality of the land strengthens and heals those on it. It is possible to absorb life force (chi) while floating in the pond, walking through the woods, staring off the cliff, picking berries or napping among the wildflowers in the meadow. Come to heal from illness, minor or profound. Come to de-stress, recondition and prevent illness. The land itself is full of healing; forest, ponds, boulders, ridge, cliff, mountain, brooks, views, wildlife, clouds, quiet, Lake Willoughby and more. Come for our pure mountain spring water. So far away from it all. So close to the heart. Our therapeutic work/play is supported by an intimate experience of nature, the truest healer. Therapy is in the air. The land itself is healing: the cliff, the quiet, the ponds, the forest, the views... "Surrounded by natural majesty, there is an awesome spirit here, which cuts through down to the essence, facilitating change and healing." More General Principles For daily living. Diet Immune Enhancement Bowel Health Peace of Mind Therapy Specific therapies include: Homeopathy- Micro-dilutions of natural substances that stimulate and strengthen the body's own healing ability. Dr. Dave interned with master homeopaths in California and Seattle and practiced Classical Homeopathy for 25 years. Although the follow up necessary to practice Classical Homeopathy is not afforded by the retreat setting, the principles of acute and self care can be imparted. Herbalism- In our philosophy health should be integrated into daily life. It is not so much something special or extra that you do. In this light the retreat provides a holistic herbal experience. Here you may participate in every phase of the herbal cycle; see the plants growing on herb walks and in our gardens; help cultivate them; harvest and prepare them for herbal use; use the botanical medicine. The herbal medicine is not only then something that you take from a bottle, but a living experience in which you participate. Nutrition- "Let your food be your medicine" and let it be delicious. Dr. Dave is a gourmet natural foods chef. At naturopathic school it was hard to get him out of the kitchen. "I could get the notes later, but the cookies were just coming out of the oven." In his teens Dr. Dave worked as a chef in a vegetarian restaurant. After naturopathic school he started a whole foods restaurant and also a juice bar. In keeping with our practical approach to natural health, we emphasize easy strategize to eating well. ("If it's not easy, you're not going to do it.") This we call our 15 Minute Gourmet or One Pot Cuisine. We want you to take home with you the healthy changes learned at Bald Mountain Retreat. Bodywork- Hands on work helps your body experience new patterns of wellness. Feel the health coursing through your being. Spa Therapies- The skin is an organ of elimination. Therapeutic sweating speeds detoxification of your body, promoting health of mental and physical physiology. Hydrotherapy, whether a cold plunge after a sauna or a morning dip in the pond, rejuvenates our health. Raw Foods- Live food is the basis of nature cure. Enzymes and nutrients in uncooked ("sprouted") food heal disease. Started early enough, diet can cure anything. Yoga- Yoga is not just the postures (asanas), but the movement between the postures. Yoga is not just the session, but how you live between the sessions. The diet and lifestyle of the health retreat makes for a continuous yoga retreat. Learn the postures that work for you in a customized yoga retreat. Juicing- Super foods make up for the mineral depletion of our soils. Food delivers nutrients many times better than vitamin/mineral pills. For example, because the machine breaks down the cell wall better than you do, 1 juiced carrot equals 20 chewed carrots. So when you drink a glass of carrot juice made from 7 carrots you are getting 140 carrots worth of nutrition. That's a disease-curing, health-restoring super food. Counseling- Stop trying to heal your psychology, to fix your problems, to overcome your deficiencies. Stop fighting with your negativity. Opposition doesn't work. You can't win. Stop acting like you're in control, like you're the boss. Cooperation, not dominance, is the answer. Adopt a compassionate, creative attitude to your negative experiences and those experiences turn from stumbling blocks into stepping-stones. "You find, paradoxically, that what you've been running away from is the source of your authentic being," James Hillman. The solution to your problem is right in front of you. Read more at The Poetry of Disease. Weight Loss Programs- Feeding is governed by the most primitive part of the brain, the bulbous expansion of the spinal cord within the skull, the brainstem. The brainstem controls the "Four Fs," feeding, fighting, fleeing and mating. Each of these activities tend towards a highly focused state. In this trance-like, quasi-meditative state of unified attention we perform without distraction or worries; we know we are doing what we are supposed to be doing. This clarity of purpose explains the attraction of horror movies ("fight or flight" response) and the seduction of food. Kabbalah exhorts us to elevate the lower brain functions to higher centers, to bring the light of consciousness to the "Four Fs": fight for a just cause; do not flee from phantoms; love with your heart and head, not just your lust; eat consciously. Break the trance. Modify your habits. Drop the fork. Re-pattern. Re-establish a new basis. Develop a better relationship with hunger. Find your clarity of purpose somewhere other than at the table. Phone Consultations- Consultations over the phone and internet are available. Please contact Dr. David. Hello, I'm Dr. David, naturopathic doctor (retired.) Together, off in the New England countryside for a while, we will practice a lifestyle that supports natural healing. Come live a wellness program that works for you. Ground yourself in positive change in the supportive environment of our wilderness health retreat. Discover naturopathic lifestyle modifications. Find the missing pieces of life that will help you to heal and maintain wellness. My expertise is available to you as we work, play, eat and learn together. This immersion in naturopathic lifestyles makes plain the obstacles to cure, those aspects of your life which must be added, removed or reconfigured in order to facilitate well-being. Healing Scholarships Subsidized residential healing is available to qualifying individuals. To begin the application process please send us an email telling us what you can about yourself.   The peace of mind (and body and spirit) you hope to find is waiting here.   Natural Remedies for Common Illnesses   Detoxification Retreats . Weight Loss Retreats