In
a remote area in Desert Hot Springs, a security
guard stands next to a black iron gate.
Behind
him, on 60 acres of the Mojave Desert, is
an inconspicuous spa retreat, popular among
celebrities. Checking in to We Care Spa
for days and weeks at a time have been movie
star Ben Affleck, Victoria's Secret model
Giselle Bundchen and fashion designer Carolina
Herrera.
 Without
a good chunk of change and an appointment,
you're not getting in. There's a waiting
list nearly all year and guests shell out
$774 for a weekend and up to $3,600 for
a week.
From
the outside the spa retreat looks like a
ranch house. What you can't see from the
outside are the thatched gazebos, holy statues
and rock labyrinth that guests walk as a
spiritual experience. The grounds are not
plush, but they are serene. ! At We Care
Spa, less is more.
Work
responsibilities are set aside for yoga
and nutrition classes. Restricting clothes
are traded in for robes. Gone is the traffic
and hustle and bustle of everyday life.
Unspoken rules are: cell phones - off, Jacuzzis
- on. There is no drinking alcohol or smoking
while at the spa and no solid food. The
We Care program is designed to detox the
body of toxins that could cause disease.
"We
are removing all debris accumulated for
years and years," said co-owner Susana
Lombardi.
While
on a liquid diet, guests partake in colon
hydrotherapy, massage and meditation to
cleanse their bodies. The diet includes
freshly squeezed vegetable juice, liver
and kidney teas and a blood purifying tea.
Squash and Chinese radish soup are also
on the liquid menu. Breathing work and yoga
are incorporated to reconnect body, mind
and spirit.
 "Guests
get addicted to feeling good and come back,"
said Lombardi, ! who opened the spa with
her daughter, Susan Lombardi, in 1986. The
mother-daughter team consider a trip to
the spa a form of health insurance. Health
consultant Michael Carbine understands this
notion.
"Traditional
medical systems have been cure oriented.
They wait until we come down with something.
People are now looking for ways of preventing
disease," he said.
Carbine
heads the Palm Springs company New Directions
in Healthcare. He works with medical professionals
seeking to offer complimentary medicine
in addition to traditional services.
Despite
the fact that insurance companies do not
recognize detox programs like the one at
We Care, they are becoming popular across
the country, Carbine said. According to
SpaIndex.com, an online guide to "day
spas and stay spas," there are fasting
retreats in San Francisco, New Mexico, Virginia,
Hawaii and Massachusetts.
Cardiothoracic
surgeon at Desert Regional Medical Center,
Dr. Steven Gundry is familiar with the We
Care Spa program. The human body, he said,
is designed for fasting. So, yes according
to him, it is healthy. "When you talk
to people who have done this, they glow
with the description of how it feels,"
he said.
 The
scientific reasoning behind this, Gundry
said, is that unhealthy cells will die when
not getting food. These cells are the ones
that make people feel sick and could potentially
be cancerous. His only worry is that individuals
who have eating disorders may use fasting
or the We Care program to further their
disorder.
Susan
Lombardi, said the program is not about
weight loss, but many guests do leave having
lost a few pounds.
The
spa has recently become popular with young
professionals who want to escape the chaos
of big cities. In the future, guests will
be able to unwind in mud and mineral baths,
in the process of being added to the spa's
amenities. Currently, 80 percent of spa
clients are repeat guests, less than 1 percent
of the clientele is from the Coachella Valley.
Most guests come from New York City, Europe
and Los Angeles.
Recent
guest Janice Tate drove three hours from
Ojai to come to We Care Spa. Her first visit
was for a weekend in December. She wanted
to break her sugar habit and learn how to
eat better.
"I
was amazed at how easy it was," Tate
said about fasting. She left feeling light
and energized. That feeling, she said, wore
off after a few months at home. During her
recent trip to We Care, Tate stayed one
week to take more classes and learn how
to better maintain the energy she felt after
her first spa visit.
A
yoga instructor from New York City, Carrie
McCully, 36, heard about We Care from her
friends at Vogue. The spa was featured in
the magazine. Aware of environmental pollution
and chemicals she ingests from processed
foods, McCully came to "cleanse and
renew." She stayed for one week and
left with tips for eating healthy.
"I'm
much more aware of why I'm putting something
into my body," she said.
Word
of mouth and media attention is how most
clients learn of We Care, the spa does not
advertise. To learn more about the Desert
Hot Springs spa, call 251-2261 or visit
www.wecarespa.com. |
