Do you ever feel like your mind and body are running on automatic pilot?
It’s easy to get caught up in the frantic pace of our daily lives without stopping to think about the effects it’s having on our health and wellbeing.
You’ve heard it before, and I’m here to tell you again – the right kind of detox can be the perfect way to wake yourself up.
The fully qualified and experienced team of professionals at Byron Bay Detox Retreat offer the support, knowledge and loving kindness to guide you through a specialised detox process looking at healing your mind AND body – and even still, I was apprehensive at first.
The program
The team at Byron Bay Detox Retreat have put together a comprehensive naturopathic and holistic detox program designed to assist in removing toxins from the body as a way of counteracting the toxic nature of our modern lifestyle.
The retreat offers a diverse range of therapies and treatments informed by traditional eastern practices and the latest in modern western thinking. It brings together Naturopathy, yoga, meditation, Infra-red sauna technology, colonic hydrotherapy treatment, massage techniques, breathing exercises and liquid fasting under the care of fully trained and qualified professionals. A diet of organic cold pressed vegetable juice, mineral broths, detox supplements, herbal teas, and alkaline water.
A week of juice fasting? How would I manage?
The Naturopaths
It was one of those things I’d tried at home numerous times and could never last an entire day, let alone an entire week!
I was open to the experience and curious about the process but a little hesitant going into the program. After doing the research and reading about the potential health benefits, I decided this is what I needed. This was something kind I was going to do for myself.
From the moment I arrived, I knew I had made the right decision.
The retreat had such a serene feeling – I think, partly from being surrounded by so much green, I swear the air felt cleaner. We stayed in beachside cottages (that were bigger than my entire inner city apartment) and beautifully furnished with everything I needed to relax and unwind.
Each day started for me at sunrise with a walk along the sand followed by an Infra-red sauna session then a saltwater swim. Then we had a morning yoga session and meditation before our 9 am juice – yep, all of that before 9 am.
Trust me, if you’re not a morning person you will be!
Start every morning with a sunrise beach walk!
The rest of the days were spent enjoying free time and fresh air down at the beach, reading in the sunshine or experiencing one of the many therapeutic sessions on offer at the clinic.
I was worried about how it would feel living off liquids but was surprised at how little it bothered me. I occasionally found myself daydreaming about avocados or bananas but I never once felt hungry. I mostly just missed chewing. It’s a strange feeling, and it was even stranger when we had our first post-detox meal.
On the last day we all happily tucked into a nourishing plant-based organic meal, and for the first time, I was so aware of the process involved in eating. The chewing, the digestion and the habitual routines revolved around thoughts of food, preparing food and consuming food.
At the end of the retreat, there were noticeable changes in weight loss, clearer skin and whiter eyes, but I was also amazed at how light I felt mentally and emotionally.
I left the detox retreat feeling calm, centred and revitalised.
Location: 2 Alcorn St, Suffolk Park NSW 2481
For more information, including costs see the Byron Bay Detox retreats website.
