I am currently detoxing in a detox retreat in Thailand, Phuket at Atmanjai, so today I will go a bit more into details on what a Detox retreat in Thailand is and why I believe it can be good for you. For a total of 5 days in my detox retreat in Thailaind I will not eat anything, apart from a vegetable broth in the evening. Throughout the day though I will be drinking special ‘mud’ drinks and take special vitamins.
why do I do this detox retreat in Thailand?
There are several reasons:
- I still eat many foods that are not healthy for me, like refined sugars, and feel it’s is necessary to cleanse the body once in a while.
- I feel it helps with headaches and stomach cramps and it generally makes me feel healthier.
- It gives me time to reflect on life and just be ‘away from it all’ for a short time and I come back with a refreshed mind.
- I felt it was a good way to kick start my yoga routine and my journey to obtain better posture. The opportunity was there so I took it!
How does detoxing in a detox retreat in Thailand work?
Detoxing is aimed at cleansing the body and giving your digestive system a bit of a break while at the same ridding your body of accumulated toxins.
1. Pre-cleanse
The process ideally starts with a pre-cleanse, where you prepare your body for the cleansing program. At this stage it is recommended to gradually remove foods from your diet. You are advised to remove all meat, dairy, egg and bakery products, as well as coffee, cigarettes, alcohol and any other drugs. So you will mainly be eating fruit and vegetables.
2. Cleansing & purification program
During your program you will not eat, but instead consume a variety of cleansing shakes, supplements and oils. These will help with the elimination of toxins and waste. Only one vegetable broth is taken in the evening and let me tell you that broth tastes devine!
The ‘shakes’ are actually the most challenging part of the program for me. At Atmanjai we are required to drink 5×2 cleansing drinks:
- A mixture of magnesium oxide, bentonite clay and psylium: this shake is pretty awful. The taste is quite foul and the texture too to be honest. You will have to drink it really fast as the drink quickly becomes truly muddy.
- Honey & apple cider vinegar: this drink is a bit more bearable, but still not very nice.
In between these shakes you also take vitamins and supplements.
Meanwhile you are kept pretty busy here at Atmanjai. The morning starts with a yoga session, which is a great start of the day.
Not so long after you will have your first colema. This is a mild form of colonics that you perform yourself. At Atmanja you have your own colema room for your entire stay which is kept clean by the staff.
As I have done a detox retreat in Thailand before I was familiar with the process which is actually pretty easy and once you get used to it, quite relaxing. I find detoxing with the help of colemas very effective and efficient. Released toxins are eliminated much faster so you feel better much quicker.
At my last detox retreat in Thailand I started to feel really well after day 2. I will let you know in an upcoming post how I will fare this time.
Every day you will receive a massage. The Thais are experts at massage and I especially like their strong Thai massages, so this is is always a highlight of the day.
In addition to the massage there is also the ultrasonic zapper. This is a special machine that sends electro currents through the body and helps to increase the blood flow which in turn helps to remove released toxins faster from the body.
There is also a steam room that further assists with that.
In addition you can participate in other therapies. I had a session of Feldenkreis today which will assist with improving my posture.
3. Post-cleanse my detox retreat in thailand
After your fasting (in my case 5 days, but some people do it for a whole month!) you will only want to gradually reintroduce all foods into your life again. For best continuing results it is recommended to not consume many processed foods, coffee, alcohol and others drugs and Atmanjai also encourages you to start your days with an apple cider vinegar drink and honey and then end your day with a probiotic forwever!
Detox retreat in Thailand report – part 2
As you know I am currently detoxing at Atmanjai, in Phuket, Thailand. I’m happy to report that I’m not dead yet, and have enough energy to tell you a bit more about my experience this time around.
About Atmanjai detox retreat
Atmanjai detox retreat in Thailand is located in the south of Phuket, Thailand, right next to the ocean. This is great because the views are amazing from my hotel room as you could see previously. There is also a nice pool and a restaurant here, which of course I can’t use, but this would make Atmanjai and the Friendship Beach resort an ideal place if you did not want to go by yourself.
However, I would recommend that you do come by yourself to do detox. Detoxing is a very individual process and it works differently for everyone. It’s important that you are able to rest whenever you want to and stick to your own schedule.
Day 1
My first day at Atmanjai started with an introduction talk. Here you will get introduced to your lovely (not!) shakes that you will need to drink on a regular basis throughout your fast. The rest of the day was spent with doing yoga, calimas, a massage, relaxing and a bit of swimming. I felt extremely tired after this first day, so I went to bed early and could be fit the next day for the 7 am start.
Day 2
My legs felt a bit shaky when I woke up the second day. I recognised this from my previous detox where I also experienced some mild nausea and lack of energy. The feeling quickly subsided though after a calima and a bit of rest. The rest of the day was actually quite busy with massage, ultrasonic zapping and an extra therapy session aimed at improving posture which is called Feldenkreis. Will need to tell you more about that later.
It is worth noting also that you do not feel hungry during a fast which is managed in this way. The shakes will see to that and the supplements will ensure that you do not lack any important nutrients. The desire for something nice to eat is still there of course, but that decreases as the days progress. And you always have your lovely broth to look forward to in the evenings!
Day 3
I had hoped that I would wake up with vast energy on day 3, but unluckily I felt the same lack of energy and discomfort as on day 2. I still dragged myself to yoga, as just showing up gives you benefits (I was told). I was able to participate for the most part and was glad I went in the end. I started to feel better as the day progressed and feeling absolutely wonderful in the evening.
This day included yoga, calemas, massage, zapping, bouncing, swimming, steam bath and medidation. I also had a special treatment which I had done at my previous detox, where a woman massages your internal organs, espcially around the tummy region, and aligns them. I will never know if the detox solved my stomach cramp issues or this lady, but I wanted to make sure that the cramp sstayed away, so I booked her just in case.
Day 4
I’m happy to report that I felt very energetic the whole day. Instead of yoga we had a walk this morning which was a great start of the day. Went through all the usual activities as described before and generally felt very good indeed. We ended our program with a lovely view of the sunset.
Tomorrow will be my last day and I’m looking forward to it. It will be packed with the usual activities again, so no time to feel hungry. Hopefully either tomorrow or over the weekend, I can tell you a bit more about results and final thoughts on this detox retreat in Thailand.
Detox retreat in thailand report – part 3
My detox retreat is over and I’m feeling fabulous.
Yesterday was my last day of detox and today I started eating again. Although it’s nice to eat real food again I’m already missing the retreat and the mindfullness that comes with detoxing.
As expected I felt great on day 5. Lots of energy, not hungry, ready to take on the world. What is so nice about doing a retreat like this, is that it completely takes you away from normal life. The environment is very nurturing and you are able to completely focus on your health, both emotional and physical. As described earlier, you are kept constantly ‘busy’ but in such a nice way that you feel totally relaxed throughout the whole day.
So did I enjoy my detox retreat in Thailand?
The short answer is YES. Detoxing really helps you to focus again on what is important, while at the same time completely cleansing your body. It completely energizes you and at the end, you feel like a new person. It can help some people get rid of some illnesses and help others lose weight. And if you do your detox in such a nurturing environment as Atmanjai, you can really grow as a person as well.
At Atmanjai it’s not only about your physical being, they also help you with any emotional issues you may have. They have several therapists with all kinds of specialties and frequently organise meditation sessions.
It was interesting to see that people who had never done meditation before really got into it and feet the benefits almost immediately. I have never been ‘good’ at meditating, if there is such a thing, although I have practiced it before. It was great to be reminded again that it is actually very beneficial to have a quiet reflection moment each day. I also really enjoyed the yoga each morning.
Tackling my issue: posture
As you know my focus was on improving posture this time and I was very lucky that I had a special therapist for that as well, Mandy who runs the Movement Clinic. One of the services she offers is Feldenkrais, which aims to improve movement repertoire. You are shown ways how to better move your body and how to improve posture. I really like this method and aim to continue with this in Singapore. I feel this topic deserves its own article so I will come back to this later.
What happens after your detox retreat?
When your detox is over you start your day with some fresh fruit instead of your usual ‘mud’ drinks. I was given some papaya which I had turned into a smoothie. Although that doesn’t seem like much, it really filled me up and it actually took quite a long time to finish it! For the rest of this day, you are advised to just eat some salad at lunch time and then salad and 1 steamed vegetable at diner time.
On day 2 you are advised to eat fresh fruit, cereal or a soft-boiled egg for diner, a large salad, 1 steamed vegetable or yoghurt and cottage cheese for lunch and then salad, steamed vegetable and 1 protein like salmon for diner.
On day 3 you can start eating as normal again, although of course it is recommended to be mindful of what you eat and don’t continue eating all of the ‘toxic’ foods.
It is also advised to begin the day with the honey and apple cider vinegar drink that we were having at the retreat and take a probiotic every evening.
Detoxing results for me this time
- Feel more energized
- Have more radiant skin
- Lost 2 kilos
- Have made a lot of progress in my posture improvement journey
- Feel very grounded and more in tune with ‘now’
- Have gotten a better idea of the direction I want to take in life
Detoxing with others makes it easier and more fun!
Although you can do detoxing on your own, it has many advantages to do it at a detox retreat. One of them is that you are there with other people doing exactly the same thing. They are all there for a reason and all of them were very committed. One of them was health writer Jon Gabriel, who started his detox on the same day as me. He has been on a very interesting journey in the last 10 years and went from working in New York and being obese to living in the Perth country side being very healthy indeed. He has developed his own method of losing weight without dieting and wrote a book about it. I will definitely read it as I still want to get rid of my sugar cravings!
Meet him and some of the other amazing people I met in this video and learn more about what they got out of detoxing. I filmed it the wrong way up and the sounds isn’t great, but you will still get an idea what detoxing will be like.
Want to go to a detox retreat in thailand too?
I can really recommend it! Atmanjai is a great detox retreat in Thailand in Phuket, so if you want to find out more, you should check out their website.
If you don’t feel like doing a detox retreat like I did, just do it on a regular basis at home. I found this page from Gwyneth Paltrow’s site which gives some wonderful detox recipes. For those in Singapore a new cafe has just opened that offers a lot of raw and vegan food. Have a look at the menu. It looks amazing. This website also offers a lot of information of food and detoxing.
Detox retreat in Thailand Part 4 – going back to Atmanjai
As I write this I’m sitting in a chair in the shade overlooking the ocean and the blue sea.
Life is good! I’d love to go back in my lazy chair and read my book and magazine but I felt it would be good to write down my thoughts of this week-long trip right in the moment as I feel this immense calm and happiness.
This is the third time I have done a detox.
This time time I did it in a very mild way and I came here with my whole family. The trip was not initiated by me either. It was my husband who really felt like a week of relaxation and detox. As I had been to Atmanjai before, I suggested this place to him as you can both do the detox as well as relax at the pool so it would be a good place for my son too. And there is the beautiful sea to look at.
I came here not totally motivated. I did not really feel like I needed to detox this time, but mainly came here to be with my family and support my husband. As I always like the new and exciting, I initially felt that perhaps I should have booked another place as this was all too familiar and perhaps a bit boring?
Now, at the end of my detox though and still here for 2 more days, I feel so glad I came back. I feel so relaxed here. This place just works.
The detox was a lot easier this time too.
Instead of doing complete fasting, which is called Ultra Cleanse here, we opted for the Eat Well program instead. In this program, you still get three very healthy meals a day and only 2 mud shakes!
Loved this lentil soup.
There is no pasta or any cooked vegetable in this uncooked vegetable lasagna and it was so delicious! Still waiting for the recipe..
These Japanese Nori rolls without rice were another favorite!
For those of you that have read my previous detoxing reports, you already know how much I dislike those shakes. In the Ultra Cleanse programme you need to take five of them. They are extremely beneficial of course as they keep you from feeling hungry and help with the toxins elimination process, but they are a tough act to swallow.
Two shakes, in combination with three delicious healthy meals and two healthy smoothies is a breeze though.
You also only have one colema in the Eat Well programme. In addition there is coconut water (drunk out of a fresh coconut), daily massage, daily ultrasonic zapping, daily wellness talks, daily steam sauna and daily morning yoga.
The steam bath at 5 pm was one of the highlights of each day!
Now that my program has stopped I’m still doing yoga at 7.30 in the morning no less. Those that know me will know that is no mean feat. What’s more I don’t even need an alarm clock. I naturally wake up before that time.
So instead of feeling bored, I just feel so relaxed right now. I feel cleansed, more aware, more alive and yes more happy.
I’m a bikini girl, so thought I would show a little bit about my bikini style!
My very skeptical husband to anything too alternative is a convert too.
We are discussing how we can incorporate more healthy eating habits into our lives and feel that we need to do mild detoxing every year.
Right now, I’m just sad that tomorrow is going to be by last day. That said, there is still one full day to enjoy, so I’m going back to my lazy chair and do that!
There was time for some trips too. Here I am wearing a sarong as a cover-up (given at the entrance) in front of the Big Buddha!
At the same place there was also a small golden Buddha.
If you have any particular questions about detoxing, let me know and I can try and address them.
Have you ever done a detox? Would you consider doing one?
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Sylvia, This is awesome, you are doing something amazing for your body and your health. I have done a few 3 day detox’s, but I find it difficult to do on my own in my everyday environment. The idea of a controlled environment is very enticing to me. I think I would like an experience that is totally focused on wellness without the distractions of home life.
Thanks Lisa. This is the second time I’m doing it and if you can find the time I can certainly recommend it.
I think it is very interesting. What stops me is the fact I cannot have any coffee. Never again really, if you want long lasting results. And coffee is the one thing in food/drinks that I cannot do without. Truly a drug. I don’t drink, don’t smoke, eat moderate, but coffee… Still, your story clearly is about what we consume and what it does to you. My headaches are coming more frequently. Would it be because of the food? But if so, what food? Sugar? A couple of years ago I skipped coffee for months, but it wasn’t the coffee that gave me headaches. I don’t take sugar in my coffee anymore but sweets, but sugar is in nearly everything we eat. I should try and find a detox way here in Holland. See what it does. I am for it.
By the way, every time I go to your site, I am reminded of my posture. Really good. I am improving for longer periods per day than I ever did. Perhaps this time it will really become a natural thing….??
Few of us can always eat and drink the right things. That’s why detoxing can be good as it cleanses your body. Being in a retreat like this also clarifies your mind as well as your body so it has many benefits. Great work on the posture!
I’m going to toast your adventure by eating a cupcake 😉
Will join you in a weeks’ time!
I think it sounds interesting, but I have no idea how my body would react to this treatment! I imagine it’s a little bit easier doing the whole thing when you can stay at a retreat and have the process organized. I did try some sort of home-detox once, where I was allowed to eat certain foods and drink a herbal drink several times each day. I remember losing a couple of pounds, but other than that it didn’t do much difference.
I think it will be a totally different experience when you’re doing it at a retreat. I’ve never been able to do it on my own.
You’re a Stronger woman than I! I don’t think I could ever do a fast. I get terrible headaches if I miss a meal and I used to have fainting episodes from low blood sugar. I like the idea of daily massage and yoga though!
You should try it sometime in a controlled environment. I have the same feeling when skipping meals, but here you get all the ‘shakes’ and calimas and it is much more doable. Still tough the first couple of days but the massages and beautiful scenery really help!