Colonics

I have never had a colonic before...

For most, this is a first experience, and we understand the 'newness' and the discomfort this can bring. Rest assured, everything is explained on the first evening, and you will get the support you need. The colonics are self-administered and the system simple, easy and safe for people with average agility ranging from ages 7-77+.
Please let us know if your weight is very excessive ahead of time.

Will I have a sparkling clean Colon by the end of the fast?

Detoxing is a process, not a one off all round miracle cure. Remember, it took years to reach this situation, it may take a while to clean it all up!
The immediate colonic and fasting benefits reported are many and varied. Regular cleansing, at least once a year (like an MOT for you!), will give you accumulative benefit for a healthy life.

How did all this stuff get in there, and what is it?

The short answer to that is that it is a product of indigestion, as well as the undigested foods themselves that remain within us. For further reference, please see detox=weight loss,  detox health benefits and Why Colonics.

What is the difference between a colonic and an enema?

An enema uses around 1 litre of fluid in the lower part of the bowel. The water is held for as long as possible before expelling. Colonics are a continuous flow of water throughout the entire colon, whilst relaxing in the prone position. With Colonics, you don't need to move or hold on to the water, so it can be very relaxing, like being massaged from the inside. The eliminations can be deeper, as the water goes all the way to the Cecum, beyond where an enema reaches, plus the colon muscles get a workout and are stimulated to regain their natural healthy movements.

I had an operation recently, and still feel tender in my belly, would colonics help me?

Best left until all physical trauma from the operation has ceased.
Most are welcome to join us to partake in the fasting and supplementation side of the retreat, as well as the dietary education and Yoga. All of the above have proven very beneficial for individuals unable to perform the colonics.

Do you use coffee or other additions to the enema water?

We use Intestinal Formula instead for those who have lazy bowels, prefering to keep away from addictive substances like coffee, as they can be triggering for some.

Doesn't it hurt having all that water in there?

At any one time, most people have less than a litre of colonic water inside them. Once relaxed, a natural process occurs with a continuous flow both entering and leaving at the same time, rather like pouring from a jug that is being filled from a tap.

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Accommodation

Where are the retreats held?

Our Detox venue is Near Winkleigh, N. Devon in the South West of England.

A wonderfully comfortable country cottage setting, enjoying the earthy relaxation of country life. The setting encourages outdoor activities such as walks through fields and woods - breathing clean fresh air, as well as modern comforts - Flat screen TV, DVD, Wi-Fi (internet) access. Note, the mobile reception is sketchy in rural areas, so you may wish to use skype on your laptop.

The venues also provides indoor facilities such as a swimming pool, sauna and gym room, all beneficial to the overall program. See our detox retreat photo gallery.

Can I have my own room, or do I have to share?

Yes, most rooms are singles. You may chose a single ensuite rooms with shower (the Master rooms have bathrooms) or a single with shared bathroom (shared with only one other person). See full list of options and prices here.

Our 'Luxury cottage singles' are a great win-win options, with good sized rooms and cottages, all tastefully decorated, as well as a nice sized shared bathroom. The program takes care of the timing of the colonics, each person has their own colonic board, only the bathroom is shared. Also, there are many alternative lovely spaces as well as loos around our lanscaped venue.

Do you have a shared room option for family members?

Our 'shared room' option with a family or friend member, or any of the master rooms as a couple. Our 'Luxury cottage single' is a great option too - book both singles in the two bedroom cottage and have the cottage all to yourselves.

You can see pictures of our venue rooms, and general pictures of the retreat, by clicking the links above.

Yoga

I am a total beginner at yoga - is that a problem?

Rest assured, you will get a great introduction here and be encouraged to learn according to your own pace. In Karuna detox yoga classes each person can experience something new and encouraging regardless of their previous experience. More advanced practitioners will be able to get adjustments, if they ask the teacher. There is also yoga gear and time to do self practice, often with Sho herself before meditation.

I think I am a little too old & stiff for all that bending!

Yoga is more about experiencing how your body works, than it is about flexibility. Some of the most graceful and poised people on Earth are also the stiffest - they simply know their body's strengths and weakness, and seek to move within those. It is generally true that with relaxed repetition of movement flexibility does come, as does strength and stamina, but to try too hard is to lose the wood for the trees.

I love my regular yoga classes. What type and level of yoga do you teach?

The experienced teachers on Karuna Detox Retreat provide you with a safe and effective practice, adapted to your level, with particular focus on digestive and cleansing postures.

Shoshana studied Scaraveli/Iyengar based yoga with Orit San-Gopte (co-author with Donna Hollman of 'Dancing the Body of Light') and 'purist' Iyengar yoga with Swami Rudra Dev of Rishikesh. She has visited India frequently to follow her study and practice of yoga and meditation. Sho moved to live in India between 1997-2000, living in ashrams and in Mysore practicing Ashtanga Yoga.

Sho no longer teaches the Yoga class, and has chosen a fantastic teacher, Ali Cornish, who has studied extensively with the British Wheel of Yoga training and has a wealth of knowledge and experience. The Yoga is fluid and adapted to the individual's and the group's needs. Advanced yogis and yoginis will find gems to bring back to their own practice!

The Program

I cannot see myself getting up for morning Meditation, can I skip it?

Our holistic detox program provides a clear structure for the day, as well as offering an opportunity for a full holistic detox -  body, mind and soul.

There is zero pressure on you to attend everything. This week is about you listening to what YOU need. We will encourage you in this throughout the week, showing you techniques on how to get clearer about what your body is asking for.

Movement, inspiration, entertainment and rest are helpful during a detox. We aim to provide you with opportunities to expereince all of the above.

Meditation is against my religious principles, may I not attend?

There are no religious connotations in anything that we practice.

Also, should you wish to skip any of the practices, please feel free to do so.

After reading many books I've been left rather confused, why will your course be different?

We aim to draw wisdom from knowledge in the field of health, live nutrition and self-growth.  Sho's natural simple way of conveying information invites you to examine things yourself, to find out what is true for you currently, and to be inspired by that.

This independent testing and filtering of information focuses our attention away from theoretical arguments over 'right' and 'wrong', towards the practical aspects of building self-reliance and responsibility. This can transform a life, by implementing what you discover actually works for you.

Booking

How do I pay for a retreat with you guys, can I use my Debit or credit Card?

We take payment over the phone via cards. Debit cards are free of charge.

Can I pay in a series of deposits, or must I come up with the whole amount now?

Payment can be made all at once or as an initial deposit then the remainder is due 4 weeks prior to retreat start. However, you may arrange a payment structure with us on an individual basis.

How far in advance should I book?

It is hard to say. Our retreats have always filled, but sometimes only in the last month or fortnight. It always pays to check with us to see if there is a spot available for you, however note that some retreats are booked months in advance. Safest policy to get the dates you want is, of course, to reserve it with a deposit.

Detox

What symptoms should I expect ?

Every body has it's individual detox tendencies. The body always chooses the most appropriate channel of elimination once the detox process has started. These are often familiar symptoms, that we feel when we are feeling unwell. Many times, these are detox symptoms, following the body's natural self-cleaning methods to clear excesses, toxicity and maintain internal biochemical balance. We will need to re program our minds to appreciate these health-inducing methods and to celebrate detox!

The symptoms experienced, can be anything: headache, hiccups, fever, skin pimples, lowered BP, runny nose, nausea, tiredness, etc... They are the strongest elimination route for your particular system. The symptom that most suprises is often simple tiredness.  Busy schedules do not allow regularly time out. During this week, you may find your body needs to replenish by a nap and rest!

It is important to note that by the end of the week's fast many people find that chronic symptoms, lifelong causes of discomfort and pain, are much alleviated or even gone. This is a well documented process and an inevitable result of fasting, though the duration and number of fasts till all chronic symptoms are alleviated and eliminated depends on each individual process. See testimonials

Will this cure my symptoms?

Symptoms are healing messengers, we see them as a release of the body and as signals that the body is overloaded, out of balance or failing in some way.

Symptoms are the process by which balance and health are restored. We do not want to cure you of your symptoms, but to release toxicities and imbalances that cause symptoms. This and more is included in our holistic detox. See detox benefits.

Will I be able to go straight back to work on Monday?

Yes. It's advisable not to plan any big events on the weekend so you can enjoy the post retreat feeling and learn to 'follow' your body's wisdom in your real life. Best not to arrange any big dinners after the retreat as well, for the same reason.

During the week after the retreat there is a special prescribed diet of mainly live foods and well combined meals (explained on retreat) to promote good digestion, good bowel flora and eliminations as well as strengthen the immune system.

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General

Do you have a brochure you can send me?

We encourage use of the ecologically-sound, non paper-based, internet. Ecology and health being inseparable ultimately. For years we have relied upon strategic adverts, word of mouth and the internet. When asked to send material to people who do not have access to internet, we normally discuss the retreat over the phone.

I have never done anything like this, is it for me?

90% of our clients are new to most, if not all, of what we do. And not one has walked away unhappy with the degree of integrity, physical safety or emotional security they felt whilst with us. Again and again, unsure moments are replaced by realizations of just how simple the techniques we use are.

As for whether it is exactly what you want to do, you are a better judge of that. Let me know what you are expecting, wanting and needing from us, and I will be frank in my responses. In the intimate atmosphere of our retreat, a dissatisfied retreatant would cost us much more in energy than worth in gold pieces!

I have never fasted or done yoga, am overweight and live a city life of stress and toxins. Is this retreat suitable for me ?

Exactly the kind of people we are targeting. If you were all healthy, yogis living in caves and eating fruit, I would be coming to you to learn a thing or two ! If you have awareness of just how out of whack modern life has become, and are starting to see yourself fraying at the edges, then you are ready. If a pill is NOT what you need, then perhaps a restful time to think about it and try some new techniques IS.

Juice Fasting

Will I lose weight?

Most clients loose between 6 - 14 lbs (3 - 6 Kgs) during the week, though the full spectrum is up to 10 Kgs (1 st 8lbs), and the maximum we have seen was 15 Kgs (2st 8lbs). We find that this weight loss is due not only to dissolution of fat deposits, but also the body's adaptation to this new environment. Once reintroduced to meals, the previous weight can be regained. New eating habits will determine your new weight; after which, overweight individuals tend to get lighter due to a lessened need to store excesses and toxins, and the underweight fill-out in response their body's ability to absorb and assimilate foods through a less restricted digestive tract. We have also found that the fat/mass ratio is reduced.

I am looking forward to losing weight during the fast! How much is normal?

Between 3 and 6 Kgs is average range, but everyone is unique. The changes you make after your retreat will make a long lasting difference. It is the lifestyle between fasts that create health, not the fasts themselves - these are simply time of special rest and healing.

I don't want to lose too much weight, what can I do to prevent it?

Thin people will indeed lose weight on a fast, as everyone does. However, how much weight lost is individual, and more to the point: it is only temporary. After the fast a gradual introduction to healthy foods and lifestyle is a sure way to gain long lasting benefits and thin people will often find that if they let themselves, they will reach a new weight average that might be higher than before the fast.

An important point here is to be fluid in one's expectations regarding image, body image etc. We tend to worry about our weight and therefore use valuable energy fretting plus disrupt our clear intuition regarding what we truly want to be eating and doing right now. Our body actually knows when it is hungry and even what it wants or doesn't want to eat. With some trial and error this sensitivity can be regained and then best let go of your idea of how the body needs to be, and let the body reach its own medium. Remembering that natural weight is always shifting, in response to environmental factors (diet, exercise, emotions, etc.). To change the weight of an individual you must change some of these factors.

To summarise: You may loose weight during the fast, but if it has been effective, then you will pick up again and reach a new balance point, as well as a different lifestyle for your system to nourish itself through.

Isn't fasting starving the body?

Fasting is an ancient time-tested practice used to maintain perfect health of body and mind. Starvation begins several weeks after food is discontinued. Until then the body goes into several levels of internal miracle, or 'house cleaning'. Starting with breaking down excess foods in the system, it then starts burning old or damaged tissue as fuel. These alternative sources of energy are abundant in modern mankind, and it is several weeks before the switch is made to healthy tissue - and even this is done in great wisdom; strategically using those tissues that are most easily replaced and least essential. Generally speaking, more than a month can pass before any irreversible damage is done. Any fast that is broken wisely before this latter stage results in magical health increases.

The regime we follow is mild as far as fasts go, as the juice 'meals' introduce carbohydrates to give the body energy.

What juice do you use?

We mostly use Organic Carrot, Apple, Celery and Beet juices with some ginger to warm the body. These juices are diluted with 65% water and are there to give you a gentle amount of energy without requiring digestion so the body can focus all it's resources on detoxification and elimination.

Won't all that sugar feed my Candida?

Candida is a very widespread problem, hence widespread hype and cures. Thus far, we have not found the carrot to be antagonistic towards it. More importantly, the dietary adjustments advised during the talks adjust the pH balance of the body to ensure that Candida can only survive in the colon in the appropriate amounts, thus controlling the overgrowth of this yeast under.

I have a problem with blood sugar levels, is fasting right for me?

Many people suffer from glycaemia issue and is often just taken as surface mood-swings. These people tend to have a harder time with their energy levels during the retreat, but report newfound balance upon their return to their normal lives (usually adjusted somewhat by the nutritional understanding).