BEATING A RETREAT - Karen Haggerty

I have thought about going on detox many times and a few weeks ago I woke up and decided to book one.

At 50 years old and a stone or two overweight (due to an ankle injury), I thought I owed it to myself to have a week of peace, away from my hectic life. My first port of call was the internet where I found Sura Detox Retreats. I read through their site and was interested in many aspects of the whole thing, not just the fasting and treatments, but a chance to carve out a future lifestyle that would suit me healthwise.

I had been interested in raw food and its benefits for a long time and the site seemed just want I wanted. So that morning, after checking my work dates, I phoned and spoke to Dao, one of the facilitators and booked for the following week. Sadly I was too late to book a room with an en suite bathroom and was booked into a large cottage, sharing with three other ladies, not ideal but I was ready to give it my best shot. My only worry was sharing a bathroom with a stranger as two colonics a day was part of the treatment! I needn't have worried, it all worked out very well.

Big Brother Detox

My housemate (I felt like I was taking part in Big Brother -even though I have only ever watched five minutes of it in my life) was a lovely young lady from New Zealand. We worked out a rota and got on great. The first evening the four facilitators, Kate, Benita, Amida and Doa all introduced themselves to us and explained a rough outline of the week ahead. We thenintroduced ourselves, very informally. The group consisted of 19 people, some due to arrive the next morning, from all walks of life, backgrounds, countries and ages. Some to lose weight, some party people to detox, and most of us stressed to hell with the pressures of modern day living. We were given a plan of the days ahead on the understanding that we took part in anything we felt like and were under no pressure during our time at Sura to “join in”; it wasn’t a holiday camp it was our time. We were given the choice of a water or carrot juice fast. I chose the water. We got started that evening. This wasn’t the first time I'd fasted and I do quite enjoy the experience.

Talks

Every day we could take part in yoga meditation, tai chi and at one pm every day there was a talk. Doa gave one of his famous lectures about food nutrition, telling us about cooked food, how we eat, marketing of food in the media, tribes, and how we used to eat. He has a wealth of information and has experienced these subjects all over the world. It was riveting stuff and the hour flew past every day, leaving us hungry for what tomorrow's talk would bring.

Chilling out

Also included in the price was an hour with Kate, a homeopath. She is a wonderful lady who would see you more often if you felt you needed it. She was very helpful to some who needed the extra mile. Talking about their lives with her seemed very therapeutic and was all part of the healing process.

I loved waking up every day to Amida's class. We did gentle tai chi exercises for the first half and meditation for the second half. It was a wonderful way to start the day and, although a lay in would have been nice, his classes for me were a must; I went to bed looking forward to them.

Extras

There were many therapies on offer too which came at an extra change, but after London prices I found them very good value. I tried almost all they had on offer! Benita is a wonderful person and her therapies were heaven for me. She is a very caring individual and this comes across in all she does. She has healing fingers and reads your mood so well. The astrology reading she did for me was mind blowing. It was as if she knew me, my parents and my husband. A few of us had this done and all found it awesome.

Benita was also very kind to me in helping me to get the hang of the colonics (they are self administered). I did have a few problems due to scarring on my arms but Benita was fantastic and made sure I could manage. Her grace and beauty left a lasting impression on me and I feel I have made a friend.

Fasting

The fasting affected everyone differently and it was very interesting to see how we all coped as our layers peeled away. The facilitators were always there for us, supporting us and answering any questions we had about what was happening to our minds and bodies, and also our future with regard to our change of eating habits. We made friends within the group and laughed about our colonics. The barriers slowly came down after a few days and we teased each other, forming a bond on our own personal detox journey.

We had a meal together before we left, all raw vegan food which was yummy and we saw lots of exciting smoothies being made too, which we could sample.

I really enjoyed the whole experience. I am now 12lbs lighter and have bought lots of new machines to support my new healthy lifestyle. As a result I have LOADS more energy, my eczema is clearing up before my eyes, my scars are less painful and less angry and my face looks years younger too from the lack of processed food and sugar.