Does anyone know a healthy vacation spa/getaway for CFS?

[stefny]

Wow. Thanks Hope123. Who knew? Looks great.

 

[lizw118]

I have heard great things about this place
http://www.rancholapuerta.com/ but it is not cheap!
Liz

 

[Ocean]

http://www.wellandgoodnyc.com/2010/06/09/farm-fresh-yoga-3-small-cheap-retreats-near-new-york-city/

http://www.sanivan.com/

http://www.treehugger.com/style/in-upstate-ny-a-yoga-retreat-with-a-nutritious-local-twist.html

 

[Ember]

Here are two examples I know about, both on or near beaches:

http://www.contemplation.com/retreats/accommodations-and-rates.html.

Be prepared at the Hermitage for the silence:

“At the Hermitage, most of our retreat accommodations are for one person, meals are taken in one's room and an atmosphere of gentle but profound silence pervades the Hermitage grounds.”

“In the interest of maintaining a silent and contemplative atmosphere, retreatants are asked to refrain from using radios, typewriters, or musical instruments.”

Be prepared too for the bells:

5:30 am – Vigils
7:00 am – Lauds
11:30 am – Sacrament of the Eucharist
6:00 pm – Vespers

Meals may be very simple (depending on which monk is cooking). Be prepared to supplement.

Be prepared for a very long walk to any beach and back.

 

[ukxmrv]

A cruise can be a surprisingly good holiday for a PWME or CFS if one can find a bargain. It has to be under the right circumstances. I'm largely housebound so when I am lucky enough to go on holiday it is usually swapping one set of 4 walls for another. It helps to feel on holiday if the scenes outside are beautiful or like a cruise, the scenes keep changing.

I've tried the retreat or spa holidays in the past but found that the so-called healthy foods upset my digestive system worse (whole foods and juicing are a disaster for me), that I need to be comfortable and that being able to order food to eat in my room or a short distance to a dining room is great for me. Also if the room is uncomfortable (i.e. no aircon) and the bed hard then I come back worse than when I started.

With a health spa and the sometimes focus on physical activity it can be hard to find relaxing things to do amoung the activities. One spa I used to stay at has replaced all the relaxation sessions with yoga now and that causes terrible PEM so I just can't do it.

A cruise ticks a lot of these boxes but as I said it needs to be the right one. A crummy room when one cannot leave a room is horrible. A ship full of school children can be a nightmare. Processed and unappetising food can ruin a cruise. It helps if there are low key on board activities and good facilities for the days when one can leave the cabin . I found that the ship was largely deserted on days "in port" so I had an entire pool and sun deck to my self and it was quiet. Waiters would bring me food.

One trick on the cruise was not to try and keep up with all the very active elderly people. There was no way I could go on all the excursions and do the activities that they could. Not even in a mobility scooter or in my wheelchair. Also I didn't have enough strength to join shared tables for dinner.

Just an idea for anyone who is largely housebound but has some money for holidays and would still like to see a few "sights". It's not uncommon to see wheelchairs and mobility scooters on cruises. I'm not well enough at the moment to do a cruise and I don't have enough money but some may have and not considered a cruise. Distant but happy memories.

 

[kurt]

Here is one that specializes in CFS. They have a guest house and treatments. Sounds peaceful.

http://www.healing.org/index.php

 

[Hope123]

Be prepared at the Hermitage for the silence:

“At the Hermitage, most of our retreat accommodations are for one person, meals are taken in one's room and an atmosphere of gentle but profound silence pervades the Hermitage grounds.”

“In the interest of maintaining a silent and contemplative atmosphere, retreatants are asked to refrain from using radios, typewriters, or musical instruments.”

Be prepared too for the bells:

Meals may be very simple (depending on which monk is cooking). Be prepared to supplement.

Be prepared for a very long walk to any beach and back.

It really depends on the place you stay. While I would not expect the accommodations to be fancy, they are relatively cheap (compared to $200 and over a night for other places) and are situated in some beautiful areas. Bells are not usually my experience with visiting (but not staying) at some places; most of the ceremonies involve Gregorian chant or something similar and you don't have to participate. Also, the food can vary. Some places support themselves by making cheese, baking bread, preparing jams, making wine, and even roasting coffee so that food can be good. In fact, at least in Asia, some Buddhist places are known for their vegetarian cuisine and when I visited China years ago, my family visited one such place. I'm not vegetarian but some Chinese and Indian vegetarian cuisine is very good.

I've not done this but in Europe, for some hiking and mountaineering routes and even for cities like Florence, convents and monastaries provide cheap basic lodging. There are whole guidebooks written about this. Something to tick off on my list when I get better!

 

[Ember]

It really depends on the place you stay.

I intended my caution to be specific to the New Camaldoli Hermitage, where I've stayed twice. The bells are an invitation to prayer, and there is no escaping them. Because of my difficulty sleeping, the early morning bells were a significant challenge for me. (The ringing penetrates ear plugs.) Also, because of my illness, maintaining silence is less novel for me than it would be for other retreatants.

On my first stay I wasn't prepared to supplement meals. My second stay was easier. Friends have since come back with better reports on the food, but I think it's variable. Best to be prepared.

 

[NPDivi]

I'm a little late to this thread, but I recommend the spa at Stoweflake in Stowe, VT. The spa has a sauna, hot tubs, an artificial waterfall (!), and a salt water pool. They offer all kinds of spa treatments from hot stone massage to ayurvedic treatments and there is a labyrinth in the courtyard. The food is wonderful; fresh and light, heavy o the veggies. Summer is a great time to go because it's not too, too expensive and it's relatively quiet. Leaf peeper season and ski season are very busy. No beach of course, but there are beautiful mountains to hike, if you can manage it. Since I live in VT I make days trips up there whenever I can afford it. They often run specials in the summer - you can check their website, or Travelzoo, or some other discount travel website.

 

[stefny]

Thanks everyone for great ideas/all the great info. Looks like my plans (finances) for this summer fell through as well as I'm totally crashed out. Will look into for next year though. Hoping iv's/HBOT improve things by then. It will take me that long to look into all of these great places anyway.

 

[GcMAF Australia]

Looking for a vacation where I can rest, eat healthy, maybe do some yoga, juicing, salt pool, beach, organic food... Anyone know of a place like this, or where to look for one (or even where to post this question - new here)?
Don't want to come back sicker than when I left and no energy for sight-seeing anyway.

i am not in the US but tp me this sounds exciting.
http://www.edgarcayce.org/are/spa/index.aspx
Best wishes
GcMAF Australia