The Powerful Green Drink

Camp Chad has some very strange elements for the uninitiated. The most intense one being the Green Drink. Every morning upon arising participants in the camp are given a concoction of parsley, kale, limes, ginger, apples and cucumbers that has been blended to a frothy consistency. The goal is to take this green drink and "power it" or basically tip your head back and pretend you're a college freshman with a beer bong. It tastes odd--like you have ingested the contents of your lawn mower's clipping bag--very organic, tangy, incredibly fresh and strangely appealing.

Now the weird thing is (and we are about to get very graphic for those with tender sensibilities) this whole process acts like the most intense colon cleanse of your life. A while ago I purchased an over-the-counter colon cleanse that people in the fitness industry are always talking about and it did absolutely nothing for me except make me feel I had wasted a few weeks and a hundred dollars. This green drink, on the other hand, works like crazy. I felt as if my entire system was suddenly being purified. The insides of my digestive track released years of toxic waste. I was informed that it could have been, in addition to toxins, even "parasites." That seems a little hard to digest. But in any event, something has definitely started to happen.

What has started to happen is that I feel lighter. My abdomen feels like it is more compact, healthier and less bloated. My attitude, which is always pretty good, is soaring. Even with the get lag and an infection I have been dealing with I feel my body getting healthier.

I feel like at sometimes in my life I have been a scoffer, but there is no value in scoffing. What I feel like now is that I want to be open to experience. I am beginning to see that I can feel great. I can become someone who feels physically wonderful, happy to be in my body and gloriously alive. It's a strange and happy thought to think I can control this--I can change how I feel and the experience I have in my body on earth.

Maybe the green drink is the fruit of the Garden of Eden without all the penalties--just the joy and the sweetness. I think there's a good chance of that.

I hope you have a moment of pure pleasure and peace today. More adventures to follow...

And--cheers!

Day One-- A Long Day's Journey Into Night

Sometimes it takes a long time to get where you are going. That's a metaphor for my life on many levels, especially yesterday. I arrived at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport at about noon. About 5 PM I was on a plane to Camp Chad. Well, actually I was on a plane to Denver which had been delayed because of weather. It hailed in Denver yesterday for those of you not glued to the Weather Channel.

After waiting in the airport for hours I started out my sojourn into better health with a hot dog. It was the only choice and I stood up to eat it. However, in spite of the delay the airport seemed to be full of happy, even jovial people all going somewhere. Nothing like going somewhere to lift your spirits.

So getting on my Southwest flight I happened to sit by some great people--a man and his son who were coming from his sister's dog rescue ranch in the high desert in California. We laughed, we danced, we schmoozed--basically they were good people. The man was even gracious enough to put my enormous backpack stuffed to the brim with all my junk under  the seat in front of his feet. I am always amazed and gratified at the kindness of strangers. (But the guy at the pharmacy today took a point away from the Karmic flow of goodness to sort of equal things out.) Anyway, off we went to Denver where we landed to get rid of almost everyone and get a whole new flock of everyones to take off again. I was one of the three people going all the way through.

The next guy was a snorer. I started the flight by glaring at him at intervals and then found I could tune him out. Also I am not sure that it's good for my own psyche to glare at someone from Denver to Florida. So, I let it be courtesy of John Lennon and Buddha. I congratulated myself on my Zen and poured Bailey's into my coffee to prove the point. At two o'clock in the morning we finally docked in Jacksonville to deplane. My adventure begins!

Excuses, Excuses, Excuses.

Hello Dear Readers,

No, I have not been incarcerated, in rehab or on a bender. I have simply been dealing with a life that has more stress than a barrel full of monkeys and in fitness suspended animation.

I have so many excuses I could write a book about them all. Oh, wait, I have. So, now I am taking BATB on the road to "Camp Chad"--a cutting edge, all inclusive, exclusive weight loss spa located on the Eastern Seaboard. I will write you "postcards from the edge" as I find my own exercise "middle way" as the Buddhists would say.

I fly Thursday. Look for updates as I spend three weeks kicking butt and getting my butt kicked. I am glad to be back and I look forward to talking to you soon! Oh, and...wish you were here packing and doing laundry and dishes!

Love,

Beauty