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Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska
Dear Friends:
The summer is nearly over and I have not kept up with my newsletter. I deeply apologize. Writing has never been my favorite activity. I always cringe when I think about writing an article. I always do something else first. But now I must face it. So here goes…
I finally earned my Doctor of Physical Therapy degree August 14, 2009 from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska after 6 years. The professional education of physical therapists in the U.S. has been changing gradually to the doctoral level. The visionary goal of the American Physical Therapy Association is for physical therapists to be educated at the doctoral level and to be autonomous in practice. To keep abreast with the changes and as a commitment to professional excellence, I chose a top-notch university to work on my doctoral course.
Announcement:
1. This Thursday September 17, 2009 we are having our monthly raw gourmet potluck. The time is 6 PM. Location is Medford SDA Church Fireside Room, 1900 Greenwood St, Medford, OR 97504. For more information contact Joz at 541-779-2804 or wyjozu2@aol.com.
2. Right after the potluck this Thursday, we have a guest speaker, Dr. Doug Graham who will speak on, Strategies for Achieving Optimal Health. He is world-renowned for his 80-10-10 nutrition program. He has trained athletes in his program. This is definitely worth attending. The fee is $15 per person. The time is 7 PM. For more information, contact Joz at 541-779-2804 or wyjozus@aol.com.
Topics in this newsletter:
1. Mt. Whitney 2009.
2. New Web Classes for 2009.
Mt. Whitney
August 29, 2009 was a fantastic experience for 16 of us outdoor enthusiasts and health nuts! I arrived at Lone Pine, CA August 26 with Duretta and Johnna 2 days before the scheduled hike in order not to feel rushed and also to allow time to acclimate at high elevation. The drive from Medford to Lone Pine was 10 hours and 15 minutes. At Lone Pine we met with other hikers Charlie and Vic from Georgia the same day. Later that night my brother-in-law Elfred and Sha (my sister) arrived from San Diego, CA. Friday morning August 28, we went to the Visitor Center in Lone Pine to pick up our day hike permits for Saturday. At about 11:30 AM we went to do an easy hike from the Whitney trailhead 8,350 ft to Lone Pine Lake 9,900 ft. The roundtrip was 6 miles. We got back to Lone Pine (about 4,000 ft) at 2:30 PM. Then we drove to a high elevation camping spot 18 miles away to Horseshoe Meadow, which is about 10,000 ft. We walked around for a little while and took pictures. Then we drove back to the Whitney Trailhead Campground (8,350 ft) and set up our tents. The rest of the group arrived soon after at around 6 PM Friday evening.
Present in the group in addition to those of us who arrived the day before were Edsen, Gordon, Victor, Bob, John, Jeff, Virginia, Tom, Julie, and Mike. Except for Sha, all 16 of us woke up the next morning at around 2:30-3:30 AM and met at the trailhead with our headlights on. It was quite an experience to hike in the dark with only headlights on. Eventually all of us were spread out because of walking speed and the effects of the elevation. When the sun came up most of us were already at around 11,000 ft. The view was beyond spectacular. The hardest part of the climb was at the 99 switchbacks, which starts at around 12,500 ft. It was physically intense at that elevation! Then at Trail Crest, which is at 13,600 ft there was still another 2 miles before the summit. This part of the hike was severe because of the uneven rocks we had to step up or hop on. I experienced the familiar headache (not too bad), which is a sign of elevation effects. It slowed my pace to the summit. Then finally we reached the summit at 14,497 ft!! There were around 30-40 people already at the summit. What an exhilarating moment! We heard many foreign languages as we sat on rocks to eat our pack lunches. Many pictures were taken. The air is thin. Breathing requires some effort. There is a shelter at the summit. We signed the guest book. Appreciate the view some more. 12 of 16 in our group were able to reach the summit. Those who did not summit were able to hike up to around 12,000 ft. Even without reaching the summit, the view was still spectacular and the hike was worth it.
I finally started going down at 12:30 PM with Bob, John, and Jeff. Summiting is just half of the distance. Now the grueling hike down can be more intense than going up. We met up with Elfred near Trail Crest. I teamed up with Elfred going down since Bob and his sons were much faster to keep up with. After what seemed like an endless, excruciatingly long arduous, intense and exhausting hike down, we finally reached the trailhead at 7 PM. We then met up at a restaurant and shared our experiences. We had a much needed restful sleep. Sunday morning we parted our ways. I arrived home at around 7 PM. An Unforgettable experience! When you are comfortable in your body and your health confidence is high, you can almost do anything. And when you experience this kind of high level physical exercise, freedom to move accompanied with mental clarity and concentration, everything else seems to be within easy reach. This is vibrant health!
New Web Courses
I recently added a new class, Dolphin Clinical Rounds. The course is a forum with question and answers from attendees. There will be one topic of discussion, a short introduction and then active discussions. This class will cover a variety of clinical health intervention topics that are not discussed in detail in any of the other courses offered at Dolphin. So for those who have questions in the topics covered as it relates to their health condition, this should be a lively and interesting class to attend. There will be many topics covered throughout the year. The online class is held once a month. Our first topic for discussion is “Reversing Diabetes”. Each class fee is set for $15 (per topic). Only 1 person in a household needs to register. Registration is online.
For the first time, the entire Get Healthy Web Camp course including slides and lecture notes will become available as a downloadable version for those who cannot attend the Get Healthy Boot Camp. This recorded 12-hour course is divided in 6 sessions of 2 hours each. It will cover the entire didactic program as taught in the Boot Camp. It will be available for purchase in the first week of October 2009. The cost to purchase this course is set for $99.
Dave Hubbard’s Fat Burning Seminar entitled, Why Strength Matters, is now available FREE. This webinar will show you the importance of strength training and what you can do to quickly and efficiently reduce the fat storage in your body and at the same time increase the muscle tone and definition without getting the muscle bulk. There are many exercise principles you will learn to apply in any setting, even without equipment. Without physical exercise you will not experience vibrant health that is why exercise is part of the lifestyle factors addressed in the Get Healthy Boot Camp.
It is our intent at Dolphin Health & Education to bring you the best of what can be offered in health so that all of us can experience the optimal longevity, anti-aging, and quality of life that only belongs to those who seriously want it. Health is earned. Sickness is by default.
Blessings,
Miven Donato, DPT, DC
