What a Day of Detoxing is Like

I’ve always believed in the power of the body to heal itself and tend to avoid hospitals, doctors and medications unless absolutely necessary. I can’t remember the last time I took an over the counter medication, or visited the doctor about an “illness.” Medication is always the last resort for me, because my belief is that pills suppress or mask symptoms that need to be expressed to be healed. I tend to have a more holistic view of health, where I perceive “illnesses” or “diseases” as the body’s way of sending a message that things are seriously out of whack, and that diet or lifestyle changes need to be made.

Until now, I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy super robust health, and an ironclad digestive system (knock on wood). Lately though, at the ripe old age of 41, I’ve noticed a slow down in my body’s processes, lower overall energy, and a general feeling that things are not running at their optimum level.

I’ve juice fasted in the past, and gotten good results, so I decided that a deeper cleanse was just the ticket for my bodily woes, and began researching possible options.

Enter the Health Oasis Resort in Koh Samui, Thailand.

A 2 week cleanse and detox there, would involve 14 days without food, daily massage to stimulate the clearing of the lymphatic system, morning yoga, diluted fruit and vegetable juices, veggie broth to rebalance lost minerals and electrolytes, ozone and herbal steam sessions to detoxify the skin, daily colonics and a basket of herbs and tinctures designed to aid the cleansing process.

Before arriving, it all seemed rather daunting, but now that all has been completed, I can say without a doubt, that this was the easiest and most effective cleanse I’ve ever done.

At Health Oasis, the first day is spent fully flushing the digestive system, with oxygen magnesium powder taken in juice. This is done to expedite the cleansing process, because the emptier the colon, the faster the body can start it’s cleansing work. If the oxygen magnesium doesn’t work (it didn’t for me), you’re given the “back-up plan,” – a powerful combo of herbs from which there is no return. Believe me, I know. 😉

The real cleansing process begins bright and early on Day 2, when lovely Tong arrives with a big smile, to wake you up with a bentonite clay/psyllium fruit juice shake. Surprisingly this does not taste bad. Four more of these shakes are taken at 3 hour intervals, over the course of the day, and for the duration of the cleanse.

The negatively charged bentonite clay attracts the toxins the body is releasing, and the psyllium brushes the intestinal walls and keeps you feeling full. Believe it or not, this actually works. During my 2 week fast, I was never truly hungry. I didn’t even crave a cup of coffee, which was a real surprise!

Aside from the shakes, there’s a basket of sprays including colloidal silver, ocean minerals and chlorophyl, amongst other things, that are taken sublingually for faster absorption by the body, as well as a 22 herb HEAL detox mixture. Add in spirulina and guarana capsules, oxygen sprays, ozone and herbal steam baths with dry skin brushing, daily massage and daily yoga, and of course, those pesky colonics, and each day is jam packed full of things to do.

I thought I’d be sitting around all day, bored, with lots of time to blog and read, but it just wasn’t the reality. Instead, I felt that I was constantly behind schedule or in danger of missing some key component of the cleanse.

It can feel like cleansing is a seriously intense business, but there’s little danger of “screwing up” your detox. We went off the schedule several times, but it made no difference. By the end of 2 weeks, I still had enough energy to practice an hour of yoga every morning, glowing skin, and felt refreshed, clean and deliciously empty.

And the 5 kilos I lost in the process? Let’s call it an extremely welcome side effect. 🙂

About Health Oasis Resort
Located on Koh Samui’s Bang Por beach, the Health Oasis Resort has supervised thousands of cleansing fasts over the last 17 years. It’s the only fasting detox resort in Thailand which has been licensed by the Health Department as a Traditional Medicinal hospital. There are naturopaths, a TCM doctor, accupuncturist and massage therapists on site.

Most packages include accommodation, daily massage, herbal steam sessions and a basket of herbs and tonics designed to support your cleanse. Detailed information about cleansing and fasting programs, along with their rates can be found on their website.