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| Having some healthy drinks with other people on a detox |
I have been going through a detox for the last 7 days at Samahita retreat and all I can say is that it has been an amazing and life-changing experience.
At first, I thought it was going to be really hard to go through the whole process and I expected to deal with hunger and very low energy levels. Also, I was a little worried about loosing to much weight during this detox. Losing weight wasn't something I was aiming at . Surprisingly I felt great most of the time. I didn't lose much weight and I can surely feel the effects of having a healthier body and clearer mind.
Some of the other programs are more intensive and restrictive in terms of food allowance but, being my first experience, I was advised to do the Yogi's detox . With this program I get to eat fruits, salads,
kitcheri and delicious mung soups. I had plenty of juices, coconut juice, pro-biotic drinks and natural supplements like ayurvedic herbs, pro-biotics or vitamin C that supported my diet.
The best of the experience so far was the time spent at the wellness centre, sharing moments and experiences with the other guests who were as well on a detox and with the friendly and supportive staff. One of the major things about doing a detox at Samahita is that the programs are pretty well designed and the staff are very professional. They have a lot of experience and that reason makes them so knowledgeable. You can just put yourself on their hands and they will provide you with the best guidance.
I started feeling some changes on my energy and mood around the second night. I talked to the nutrition advisor at wellness and they recommended to add some wholegrain rice into my program. That was great for me and that made such a big change that I could go through the detox without having to give up my yoga practice.
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| Food and supplements |
The part that I liked the less was the liver flush on my fifth night, which is a therapy that allows the liver to clean up from toxins. The liver is an important detox organ in the body and this treatment can help the liver to do its work more efficiently and can be a chance to release gallstones that are formed in the liver and gall bladder. The fifth night I didn't have dinner because after five days eating clean foods I was ready for my liver flush and so I just had Epson Salts and lemon juice mixed with olive oil before going to bed.
I didn't like the bitter taste of the Epson salts and when I woke up the day after I could notice some discomfort on my stomach. It didn't last for long after my morning enema but during that day I was feeling very low of energy. I took it as a day for resting from yoga practice and I spent most of the time in my room just taking it easy. For me, this was the hardest part of the detox, however, it was interesting to see how this part wasn't bad at all for other people that were doing the detox at the same time as me.
Another important aspect of the detox are the treatments and therapies like massages, hydro-colon therapy and the infra-red sauna. They are a great help for the different systems of the body to get rid of toxins that can be blocked up deep into the body. You can always take advantage of the Yoga, Pranayama and Meditation classes going on on a daily basis during your stay, all the teachers are great and even though they come from the same school, every one has a different background and approach which make the experience to be so rich. During your detox you will also have some "home work" to do at your room like morning enemas or kriyas like Tratak (candle gazing). The Samahita's approach is to combine ancient knowledge of Yoga and Ayurveda with modern scientific research and advances in natural therapies. The results are optimal. If you are planing to do a detox my advice is: do not hesitate putting yourself on the hands of professionals. I highly recommend doing your detox at Samahita retreat in Thailand.
Today's recipe is Kitcheri since it was included everyday in my yogi's detox program. It is a recipe from India and it is very nourising and easy to digest. This dish is a soupy mixture of rice, mung beans, vegetables and spices. Kitcheri it is consider to be a pure and clean food from an ayurvedic perspective, it can be a great dish anytime, especially when you are recovering from illness.
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| Soupy Kitchery |
Ingredients:
-1 cup of chopped carrot and potatoes
-1 cup of rice
-1 cup of mung beans
-1 tbs ghee
-1/2 thumb of fresh ginger choped or grated
-Fresh cilantro leaves
-1 tsp whole cumin seeds
-1 tsp ground cumin
-1 tsp tumeric powder
-1/2 tsp mustard seeds
-1 pinch of asafoetida
-1 pinch of mineral salt
-4-6 cups of water (depending on how soupy you like your Kitcheri)
Process:
Wash the rice and mung beans until the water becomes clear, then soak them for one or two hours. Hit the ghee in a saucepan and sauté the seeds in the ghee until they pop. Then add the rest of spices and the ginger and cook for another minute or two until the ginger became golden and you can smell the fragrance from the spices. Add the salt, followed by the vegetables. Stir for one minute and add the rice, mung beans and the water. Bring to boil and then cover and cook in a low flame for 15/20 mins until the grains are soft. Serve, garnish with fresh chopped cilantro leaves and enjoy!
Namasté
Manu.
