Evarts G. Loomis - Meadowlark

Meadowlark

At Meadowlark, Evarts and his staff avoided white coats so they would be indistinguishable from the guests, who stayed an average of two weeks. During the 33 years of operation, Evarts developed a basic treatment program, with the key modality being love. After a thorough medical examination, guests were given nutritional counseling and were encouraged to participate in an exercise program that might include swimming, walking, jogging, or bicycle riding. Guests were served primarily vegetarian food, much of which was grown in an organic garden on the grounds using the biodynamic principles developed by Rudolf Steiner.

In addition to psycho-spiritual counseling, guests could participate in art and music therapy, classes on yoga and meditation, acupuncture treatments, bodywork, biofeedback training, and therapeutic fasts, all of which could lead to a deeper understanding of illness and healing. A favorite activity was the daily group-therapy session where dreams, journaling, and all other modalities were brought together and shared. Guests could always retreat to the interdenominational chapel at any time of the day or night or listen to inspirational tapes in the privacy of their rooms. Meditation was extremely popular, as was the meditation teacher, Amy Loomis, who inspired guests until the age of 98, and still does today through the 52 meditation tapes she created. "Spirit is where the energy flows, and all the modalities we used at Meadowlark encouraged this healing flow of energy," said Evarts.

Bringing exercise to the Meadowlark Program was natural for Evarts, having developed an early interest in birding and hiking. In order to fit in an hour of exercise while studying at Cornell Medical School, he would walk from his aunt and uncle's apartment across New York City's Central Park, while memorizing poetry from such works as Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. 2 As Evarts began to develop his exercise program, he combined elements from Thomas Cureton's Physical Fitness and Dynamic Health 3 (particularly the Standard Test of Physical Fitness), the Royal Canadian Air Force Plans for Physical Fitness,4 and Dr Kenneth Coopers's Aerobics.

Evarts was well-grounded in the physical aspects of medicine while studying and training at Cornell, as well as a brief consideration of the new field of psychiatry. On his trip around the world, he visited the Bircher-Benner Hospital and Clinic in Zurich, which influenced his ideas about nutrition and the role of fasting in healing. Evarts also visited Max Bircher, the son of the founder of the famous Bircher-Benner institution. There, at the Landhaus Murpfli, he discovered a model for Meadowlark and expanded his concept of whole-person therapy. Evarts found fasting to be the best method for detoxification in the overall treatment of chronic illness, which was often associated with ingested and environmental toxins. "Frequently the people who came in with chronic illnesses had been to many other doctors and had exhausted all possibilities of healing, as well as their money. We never charged what it cost to operate Meadowlark and always had to raise funds," said Evarts.

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