Extras when Detoxing at The Sanctuary Thailand

People detox for many reasons. Sometimes there are physical problems, sometimes a lifestyle change is needed and a detox serves as a way to hit the Reset Button. Sometimes there is a big life change happening, and a strong  process such as a detox is a great way to wipe the slate clean and make a fresh start. Some detox regularly, for others it’s a big first and a big challenge!

The experience of detoxing is unpredictable and often surprising, even for people who have done a detox before – each time can be different. There can be a range of physical reactions, from fatigue to headaches to nausea; but detoxers are often more surprised  by the emotional, mental and spiritual detoxification process that can also take place.

There are many ways to support yourself through a detox, and you will find the best ways for yourself. Here are some suggestions that might help you create the smoothest, most enjoyable and effective detox process possible!

Pre-fasting preparation

Imagine beginning your detox after a night of tequila slammers and pizza. What a shock to the system! In order to minimise this shock effect, we strongly encourage you to spend the days before your detox gently cleaning up your diet: cutting out alcohol, red meat, coffee, and all processed foods, as well as wheat, dairy and sugar, and eating instead as much fresh fruit and vegetables as possible, and increasing your water intake. This process alone will already help your body to gently begin to detoxify, and switching to the detox should then be smoother and easier.

Please remember that the more extensive your pre-fast, the more effective your actual detox will be. In an ideal world we would recommend at least ten days pre-fast with the very minimum period being four days prior to your actual detox commencing.

Perhaps consider giving yourself a few additional days with us here at The Sanctuary, where everything that you need for pre-fasting is here at your fingertips.

Below are our recommendations for 4 – 10 days prior to your arrival:

Prepare for your Detox by having a primarily vegetable based diet, either raw or cooked, with at least 80 % vegetables.  Nuts and seeds are good, but not the salted, roasted, processed variety!

Please avoid meat and fish altogether for four days prior to joining us, as well as eggs and dairy products.  Avoid all processed, junk, and refined food.  Replace processed carbohydrates (white rice, bread, and pasta) with brown rice, quinoa and other whole grains.

Cut out sugar! Fruit juices are loaded with sugars, so only fresh fruit advised. Herbal teas (caffeine-free) and vegetable juices are excellent.

Reduce your caffeine intake gently. If cutting out coffee is scaring the life out of you, go slowly and ease down to tea first!  Cut down your alcohol and cigarette consumption, aiming to avoid it completely for five days before your fast.

Yoga

There are 3 daily yoga classes on offer at The Sanctuary and our 10.30am class is designed specifically for fasters and beginners.  Gentle stretching can help detoxify and connecting to the breath will still the mind.  A detox is an interesting way of experiencing a connection between the mind, body and soul.

Yoga, with its focus on systematically stretching and compressing every part of the body, is particularly well-suited to keeping the waste-removal departments of the body functioning well. It can facilitate the removal of waste products such as carbon dioxide, lactic acid and lymphatic fluid from the deep tissues and extremities of the body.

Yogic breathing also plays an important role in promoting detoxification. Yogic breathing helps clear out carbon dioxide from the lung tissue, stimulates the organs of digestion and can, over time, retrain the diaphragm to move freely.

In addition to its physical benefits, yoga aids in mental detox as well. Doing yoga helps purge toxic thoughts by teaching you to move your awareness away from the chaos of the mind and back to the present moment.

As a result, a regular yoga practice helps you eliminate the tangible and intangible toxins that could otherwise keep you from feeling your best!

Steam room

Your skin is your biggest elimination organ. Sweating detoxifies your body, by removing the accumulation of potentially carcinogenic heavy metals as well as alcohol, nicotine, sodium and cholesterol. Profuse perspiration also deeply cleanses the skin, creating beautiful and improved tone, texture, and color.

Allowing the sweat to pour out of you in a steam room, sauna or sweat lodge is one of the best ways to speed up your detox and alleviate detox symptoms. Once you’ve stirred up all those toxins you’ve got to get them out! And your skin is one of the best routes.

Hippocrates recognized that the “artificial fevers” induced by intentional sweating purge harmful pathogens and toxins while fortifying your immune system. Steam room and sauna sessions also strengthen your cardiovascular system.

The wet heat of a steam room is also a great remedy for respiratory congestion associated with detoxing, colds, sinusitis, allergies, and asthma. Inhaling the steam relieves inflammation and congestion of the upper respiratory membranes and stimulates the discharge of mucous from the throat and lungs. The steam also relaxes your muscles to soothe coughing and keeps your mucous membranes from drying out.

Massage treatments

You can support your detox through scrubs and massages, by increasing circulation, removing dead skin cells and so on – but the primary purpose here is to pamper the body from the outside in, help you to relax and enjoy – to be in the moment and love the pleasure!

Meditation

Being completely healthy is not only determined by the condition of your body, but also the condition of your mind and spirit. More and more research is showing that meditation brings a whole host of benefits to both mind and body, including:

  • Improved concentration
  • Improved immune system
  • Emotional balance
  •  Increased self-awareness
  • Better understanding of others
  • A calmer, quieter mind
  • Decreased anxiety, depression, anger, and fatigue
  • Better sleep
  • Lower blood pressure
  • Increased serotonin

But just how can relaxation have such wide-ranging and powerful effects?

Research has described the negative effects of stress on the body. Linked to the release of the stress-hormones adrenalin and cortisol, stress raises the heart rate and blood pressure, weakens immunity and lowers fertility. By contrast, the state of relaxation is linked to higher levels of feel-good chemicals such as serotonin and to the growth hormone which repairs cells and tissue. Indeed, studies show that relaxation has virtually the opposite effect, lowering heart rate, boosting immunity and enabling the body to thrive.

Healing sessions

The Sanctuary has been a meeting place for intuitive natural healers and skilled body workers for over 20 years.  Please visit our Tea Temple while you are here to find out what is on offer, get some advice about what treatments might best support your process and meet with the different healers. The healers will also occasionally visit detoxers during the evening broth at the Wellness Center to provide support and let them know about what is on offer. You can also see what therapies are currently available.

Herbal teas

We have a wide range of herbal teas which are free of charge during your detox. Not only will they stave off hunger and keep you hydrated, many of them can ease and support symptoms of your detox process, by reducing nausea, stopping your craving for sweetness, etc. Please ask our Wellness team if you want some advice on what teas to drink!

Coconut Kefir

In Sanskrit the coconut is referred to as ‘kalpavikshra’, meaning ‘the tree that supplies all that is needed to live’.  This locally made coconut kefir is a whole food probiotic, rich in vitamins, minerals and natural electrolytes, plus it has Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria, which support h2 intestinal flora, digestion, and production of B6, B12, K, Niacin and folic acid – and much more!!

Wheatgrass Juice

Blessed with a whole host of benefits, wheatgrass is a nutritionally complete food which will repair your blood (the life of your body) and give your body what it needs to function properly. A daily shot of wheatgrass can help boost your immunity, detox your system and increase your energy.

Gentle exercise

Exercise and movement are a very important part of the cleansing process. It helps improve circulation, expel toxins and relax the body and mind by stimulating the release of endorphins. Take advantage of the local surroundings: swim in the ocean, try kayaking , go for a dance at one of the local parties, enjoy a pilates class or an ecstatic dance meditation, try hula hooping, or simply go for a walk between our 3 bays or up into the jungle!

Dry skin brushing

Great for increasing circulation and lymphatic drainage, helps shed dead skin cells, rejuvenating the nervous system, and may even be able to reduce the appearance of cellulite! You can buy a dry skin brush in our shop and spend a few minutes a day before your shower or steam room, brushing your body from the feet up, always towards the heart; or book yourself a decadent 30 minute skin brushing session at our spa!

Tongue scraping

Have you ever noticed a coating or film on your tongue? Often a pale white or yellow colour, this is a build up of bacteria, food debris,fungi, and dead cells from the surface of the tongue. The bacteria and fungi that grow on the tongue are related to many common oral care and general health problems. Tongue scraping is also a way of tackling bad breath.

Relax

And after all that… relax!!!

Don’t forget to breathe, relax, enjoy; take the pressure off yourself to do anything, go anywhere, be more than you are… simply relax into the experience and surrender. This is your time, to do exactly as you feel, and exactly as your body needs – give yourself this time to rest, rejuvenate and recharge – the world will be waiting for you on the other side!