The years 2020/2021 and 2022 have for me been dedicated to 360 degrees decluttering, minimalism, simplifying, and detoxing. I think the COVID-19 pandemic has created the necessary triggers for us to create the changes we need and we are ready for in our lives. Mine was on heightened inner journey with a focus on life simplification. I will write more about by minimalism and decluttering journey in another blog. For now, I would like to share with you my detox experience at Ananda Resort, Koh Pangan.
Why I have decided to do a detox?
Do you ever get this feeling that nothing seems to work in your current life? Nothing excites you? Nothing to look forward to. What holds your life together is your daily routine including the 9-5 job. So this was my life for at least a year, 365 days of void and unknowns until one day I got this inner spark and message to do a detox. I ignored this feeling and thought for some time but it kept popping up and each time I go to google to read more about it, I can feel this "spark". Well, somehow I have been waiting for this so why not, right? And so, I booked a 4 days detox in one of the detox centers in Koh Pangan Island, Thailand (this is such a beautiful place to be...).
Day 0: I had my orientation with the detox manager and took my first set of herb pills that evening.
Days 1 and 2: The day of no chewable food starts. I had apple juice, carrot juice, coconut juice and a broth spread throughout the day. The rest I had:
Shakes (Psyllium husk and bentonite) x 5 times
Eew! Really tastes like cement or earth! Not something I can get used to...
Massage
Sauna
Yin Yoga
1 Probiotic Capsule
Oh and the highlight '2 colemas'
My reactions: Very hungry, fatigue ( I did not have the energy to do anything), inability to focus, headache (7/10), anxiety, restlessness, nausea.
Day 3: Similar to Days 1 and 2. Since I took the liver cleanse add-on, I had epsom salt drinks and a liver flush drink at 10 pm.
Day 3.5: Had some more epsom salt drinks, my final colema, probiotics per orem and per rectum. In the same day, I had to weigh myself again. Day 0 weight was 47.8 kg, and Day 3.5 I got 46.1 kg.
The best part of the day was the breaking of my fast. For this, I had a plate of watermelon followed by a plate of papaya with coconut yogurt and bee pollen courtesy of the restaurant.
My detox reactions and reflections:
First few days were difficult. I had disturbing headache (scale of 7/10), perhaps from the coffee withdrawal. I had nausea, fatigue, brain fog, inability to focus, nausea, mild confusion, eye pain. On day 3 evening after the epsom salt and liver flush drinks, heighten all these signs and symptoms plus abdominal discomfort, bloating, and I had chest palpitations the night of the liver flush.
To me this detox experience, was not just a matter of the body but it was also a matter of the mind. I realized how my mind would grasp for my usual routines and crave for food (even when I do not feel hunger) when I am stressed. I felt like withdrawing from a certain type of addiction. It was difficult, I felt like I was losing control, losing balance, losing myself. There was this void in me that I am dying to fill which I used to fill in before with food and shopping and coffee and travels. But during this detox experience, I did not have any of the above and so it was really difficult. The good news though is that this mental grasping calms down on the 3rd day. I began to notice the space between me and my thoughts and me and my body, and me and my emotions.
Would I recommend this detox experience?
Well, if you have this inner desire to "let go" and " restart" in life then detoxing is a nice way to kickstart this. In case the word "detox" resonates with your inner-being now then possibly this is the next best path for you. Be prepared though that the challenge is not just of the body, it is too for the mind, for the emotions, and for the soul. Be prepared to "let go" of what weighs you down, of what you no longer need both in the physical and non-physical levels.
Warning: Photos below may contain gross images
Detox herb pills
Probiotic injection per anus
Liver flush drink
Mucoid plaque (Days 2 and 3)
Bile duct stones (???)