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Dharma Healing - Ko Samui, Thailand   Retreats! Empowering … a chance to just simply ‘be’ . Retreat: crawl, go, retire into your shell. Each of us have our own internal rhythms that we need to honour. Sometimes there is a need inside you to be the social butterfly out there doing your thing meeting people, networking, connecting … and sometimes there is a need inside you to slow the pace down, chill out, quieten and go within……

There is a time for everything ……

January 2007 was my time to experience my first detoxing retreat. Numerous people had asked me where I recommended going so I thought its best I find out… for myself! After putting the word out amongst friends in the yoga and naturopathic worlds one name was repeatedly mentioned: Dharma Healing - on the tropical island of Ko Samui, the Gulf of Siam, Thailand. The website looked impressive and with a Buddhist philosophy along the same lines of my personal philosophy tickets were booked. (Incidentally you only need to register your intention to participate in the course one week beforehand).

Set in Na Thon, the Bay of Peace, on the western side of the island away from the hustle and bustle of tourist magnets Chaweng and Lamai, it is the perfect healing space. The serene classroom setting overlooks the sea on a sheltered bungalow balcony. One hugely appealing point about Dharma healing as opposed to the other retreats in Thailand is that there is no kitchen. Therefore all present are focussed on their health and personal development without the cruel distractions of wonderful aromas of Thai cooking to continuously dent your willpower!!

The course was founded by Hillary, an American woman who has lived in Thailand for 20 years and has been running the course for 12 years. It begins with an individualised iridology session to give you feedback on your state of health.  Each week there are 30 hours of class time where much of it is a small ‘lunchtime’ lecture on the beneficial aspects of Naturopathic Nutrition – using whole foods to heal. I enjoyed the lectures thoroughly, I thought they were delivered at a superb pace and the content was succinct and real. Being a naturopathic nutrition student myself I was most impressed with Hillary’s ability to convey such powerful information to those that know little to nothing about the subject. In our fast-paced lives, with little time and crippling amounts of refined convenient foods at every stop it is crucial for our health and moods to take the precious time to educate ourselves.

If you are beginning to wonder how you will make it through the week without food it isn’t quite as hard as it may seem. There is a daily routine which is actually pretty difficult to complete: a herbal drink three times a day, two coconut waters (minus the flesh!), two herbal teas, all the water you could possibly wish for and dinner is a broth served with lime juice and cayenne pepper.

Please do not worry there is much free time to enjoy the beach, the hammocks, the bed, books, steam room and the fine company of the other detoxees from all around the world. The lectures actually give the day structure continually bringing the group together - although it is a personal journey, it is the healing group energy that helps each other through the week(s). You see, and experience yourself, feelings of strength and vitality and then not so long later, a headache can creep in, nausea and lethargy -when you just wish to find a quiet place to allow it to subside.

Each morning begins with gentle yoga or movement, although your energy levels are low this can actually serve to energise and further aids the detoxification process. It is not only weight that you are shedding, it is also a time for reflection and the shedding of unwanted or no longer needed ideas and beliefs, therefore personal development exercises are also a vital part of the programme.

The idea behind fasting is that after 72 hours your body stops producing digestive enzymes and instead utilises this extra energy to go on a search and destroy mission cleaning up your body. The huge benefit to detoxing at a retreat is that you are free from your continual everyday life distractions, there is always work to be done at home and you want all the energy available to go into healing yourself. The climate is deliciously warm which helps to hamper your appetite and aids in detoxification through the skin due to increased peripheral bloodflow.

Heavenly Thai massage is included as part of the course fee, two massages each week to support you in the process. Also there are many guest lecturers that flock to Dharma healing. In your spare time you are encouraged to do all the healing work that you need to do for yourself in the form of further massages, nutrition sessions, acupuncture, shiatsu, yoga, sound healing, hypnotherapy and there is even a respected local chiropractor who is on call. The selection changes regularly dependent upon who is visiting at that moment. (If you are blessed to have an acupuncture session with Keren the Israeli I wholeheartedly recommend it!!)

Lastly, there is the re emergence of you back into the wide world again. Sadly I was only able to stay one week, most participants stayed for a minimum of two, which would be ideal. I naively thought that when the fast finished I would be living it up in Bangkok, sampling glorious foods before catching my flight to London. There is, of course, a gentle protocol of reintroducing foods back into your system. The first few days is fruit, then watery vegetables, followed by kimchee and yoghurts (for the beneficial bacteria) and slowly the whole grains can begin to reappear. You have done such wonderful loving work for yourself that I actually don’t want to rush back into things anyway. Also one needs to be mindful that you are cleansed, cleared and now even more sensitive and susceptible to the outside world so extra care is needed.

It was a brilliant brilliant experience. I will definitely be returning to Dharma healing and have recommended to many friends (am working on the family) to enjoy its teachings. I felt amazing upon leaving – glowing, lighter and with a much clearer sense of self, where I need to be going and what I need do in order to get there. A fabulous new way to approach the new year!!

Oh! One more thing!! I forgot to mention there is entertainment twice a day in the …um… form of ….two colonics – coffee in the morning and tea at night ? VERY ENTERTAINING INDEED!!

“The retreat was just amazing, I met the most incredible people from all over the world and got to share and learn so much with them all - lots of you are now receiving this email! It was such an educational experience and I took away so much to live my life to the best and brightest potential - not least of which being a new urge to actually cook :) If anyone is interested in the retreat, check out the website www.dharmahealingintl.com - highly recommended”. – GABI BRUCE, fellow Detoxee Jan 2007.