Ita Wegman Clinic and Dorneck

Today consisted of 12 hours of field trips- a student's dream. 7am walk to the tram/train, traveled to the Ita Wegman Clinic about an hour from the hostel. The clinic is based on Ita Wegman's Anthroposophic philosophy of health, which is centered around complimentary and alternative forms of treatment and including the mind, body and spirit in patient care. We had a guest lecture by a tall, lanky dutch doctor, Pieter- who gave us an overview on the concepts of Anthroposophy. It was extremely interesting to learn about how they view the three metabolic, nerve-sense and rhythmic poles of the body and that illness represents an unbalanced state of basically your brain/head (senses, taking things in) , your heart/lungs (circulating and rejuvinating) , or your will-full appendages (arms, legs). We then took a tour of the clinic- they have all kinds of therapy: massage, physical, music, acting, and even BATHING (they had a special gadget that emuslified diagnosed oils with the water in the bath so that the skin could soak it all in more evenly. It was really interesting to learn about the politics and insurance sides of this kind of care, and that there is an entire following to the philosophy of Anthroposophy (say that 10 times fast) - which leads me to our next destination.

We went to the Goetheanum, or the Association of Anthroposophy headquarters- which you should look up right NOW (http://www.goetheanum.org/). The architecture was amazing- it was mind boggling that they could create such a massive concrete structure so long ago. Every aspect of the exterior and interior of the building was so preconceived that it was impossible to grasp every meaning of every angle, wall, paint color and window shape in just an hour tour. I found this theory extremely interesting- that humans are pulled throughout life by forces that either pressure them with constricting, demanding, strict, and powerful strains- or more lax, flowy, and free spirits. However, Rudolph Steiner and his followers believed that humans have control over this forces and that the goal in life is to find a balance between these two forces. The wierd thing is that it's not a religion.. but used as a perspective in health as well. I could talk about this for days- can't wait to research more..

After that fascinating experience we hiked about a mile up a mountain to an old castle from the 1500's that was once owned by Austria, then bought by a rich family, then bought by the canton in Basel, then fought over in a battle, then just used as a source of rocks for houses until recently when it turned into a historic tourist destination. It provided for quite the sweaty (switzy?) trek but once we reached the top we had a peaceful snack, group picture, and glorious view overlooking the city- you could see France and Germany too. We suggested that IHP buy the castle- just add some wifi and some office equipment and we'd be set!

Came back to quite the reading assignment load, but a lovely meal and final plan to go to Colmer, France with about 9 other students for the night this weekend- hopefully invovling lots of wine stomping and exploring in the old town!