Ohashi, not sushi

Got up early for Qigong at 7.30am, but (as i later found out!) I was in the wrong place (doh!), so ended up taking a stretch class instead. Was very good, though, nonetheless, and made me resolve to..err.. stretch more when I get back home. Such a simple thing but which I just never seem to get round to doing.

After breakfast, went on the intermediate hike (about 5.8miles) which was very pleasant, not too challenging as it was on dirt roads, so the ground was pretty even (except for a steep, slippy hill down to the river. WELL DONE me for not going arse over tit, as usual). It had absolutely chucked it down the night before with an enormous thunderstorm, so the more usual hikes up and down mountains weren't being offered as the ground would have been way too dangerous underfoot. After stopping at a bug-infested bridge for our fruit break, we tromped back to the vans and headed back for lunch.

I think someone must have slipped Ambien in my lunch cos afterwards, I completely and utterly crashed out! Despite predictions of more rain, the weather outside was beautifully sunny - i was so knackered, though, I couldnt move from my bed and so slept right through the gorgeous sunshine! Ah well - think of all the sun damage to my skin I'm preventing! Anyway, had to rouse myself in time for my 5pm Ohashi method massage with Deidre. I'm gradually working my way down the list of spa services and the Ohashi massage was described as "Oriental diagnosis followed by deep, but non-painful pressure applied on the acupuncture meridians, along with gentle stretches and limb rotations. Balances energy flow, relieves stress, enhances range of motion and eases aches and pains, especially for shoulders, back and hips". Ahh.... shoulders! I have to say this part of my body has been getting extra special attention so far this week and they were loving it so far, so they were very excited about this latest treat.

So the treatment was very different, interesting & good. She picked up on my shoulders straight away (they were very pleased) and, encouragingly, said that the rest of my meridians were pretty well balanced. I felt suitably pleased with myself - obviously my meridians have been getting on with the job well enough without any conscious interference from me! In the course of the diagnosis, she asked me a couple seemingly random questions (did i have allergies, was i well organized, when i moved to the US, did i bring many momentos with me, did i have a problem with letting go?) which I'm sure had a meaning but (being British) was far too polite to ask for a further explanation of. In the case of the "Letting go" comment - it was actually quite astute of her but, rather than letting go, I was more concerned with not "letting rip"!! Forgive the gory details, but I am extremely windy at the moment due to this diet (I think i ate too much fruit today) and with someone squishing your tummy, it was all i could do not to let one flying. Thank God I didn't, otherwise they would have had to have sent the HazMat squad in, in full biowarfare gear, to come recover our melted and putrified bodies. Honestly, the whole of Killington has no idea, at the moment, just how close it is to becoming part of a major bowel-induced bioterror alert. Only the strength of my arse-cheek muscles, keeping it clenched for King and Country, is preventing a full-scale wipeout.

After such exertions, it was time for a restorative supper before going to Deidre's talk on an intro to Chinese Medicine and Healing. It was interesting but she did slag off the drug industry a fair amount which annoyed me a little as I dont think she gave enough credit to how I think times are changing and the increased recognition, within Western medicine, as to the value of the Eastern philosophies and a more holistic approach to health & wellness. I dont think you'd find many people in the Pharma industry who would claim, for any illness, that drug treatment is the be-all and end-all - probably not many physicians would either. I certainly don't. But, I guess that doesnt make for such a provocative talk - very few people actually want to hear (or believe) that the drug companies are actually trying to make a positive difference in advancing our understanding of human health and medicine. But, I kept my figurative soapbox tucked neatly away underneath my chair - its a tiring discussion to have sometimes and I just wasnt in the mood, so I just listened and accepted that she had a different viewpoint to me on certain things. After the talk, I was ready just to retire and hit the sack. So, had a nice long soak in the bath, read a bit before lights out. Goodnight!