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Platinum Healing - relax, refresh, recharge
If you are serious about trying the benefits of a Juice detox and learning more about nutrition, yoga and different types of holistic health and well being therapies, then you need to try the Platinum Healing experience. I attended one of their premium retreats in Arundel, West Sussex, a picture postcard English town, not far from the South coast. |
There are number of different guest packages available, and the team carefully tailor activities to the needs of the individual. The basic juice, nutrition and yoga programme is for everyone, and then there is a full range of additional treatments. These additional treatments are designed to address specific issues such as weight loss, fertility, stop smoking, menopause or particular medical conditions.
Other therapies deal with more emotional or relationship issues. For example, through the inner child package which tackles overcoming past traumas and problems. A comprehensive menu of treatments is also available from an impressive team of professional therapists. On offer are hypnotherapy, NLP (Neuro-linguistic Programming) EFT (tapping) nutritionist one to ones, reflexology, massage, herbalists, DNA testing and fitness instructors.
The yoga, included in the juice detox basic package, is twice a day and caters for both beginners and the more advanced. It's good fun and everyone just gets stuck in and has a go. Evening sessions are sometimes more like meditation which is suitably relaxing..
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| Everyone has a leg to stand on |
Each day after the breakfast juice, there is a talk with more information to take in about nutrition and how we should best nurture and nourish ourselves. You get to take these resources away with you as there is an awful lot to learn. After a detox, some people go for the complete lifestyle overhaul, but small changes you can easily fit into your current routine are probably the best way to go for most people.
All the staff at Platinum Healing are very friendly, welcoming and supportive. They understand what you might be going through and this feels like a very safe environment in which to start or continue your self healing journey. We are all used to negative peer group pressure - go on have another drink, dessert, chips, chocolate etc - so it is refreshing to be in a positive peer group pressure situation. We are in this together - we can do it!
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There's a juice with your name on it
I tried the hypnotherapy which I enjoyed, although I'm not sure if I was actually hypnotised, and I tried the reflexology which is always very therapeutic. Rachel, our super knowledgeable nutritionist, will also take you on a foraging walk around the country lanes and point out some natural food for free too. In the evenings you can watch movies about nutrition and diet (think 'Supersize Me'or 'Fat sick and nearly dead') or just do your own thing. On our last night Penny, the centre manager, asked Nick Barrel, a talented blues guitarist to come into the retreat and play for us and he was absolutely brilliant. Some of the more energetic guests were even up dancing! |
Everyone was at the retreat for different reasons, and there were quite a few repeat visitors when I was there. It was a lovely group of varied interesting people and meeting them was another positive for me.
This retreat (other retreats are at a Lincolnshire venue,) is held in a smart barn conversion property complex which manages to combine the standards of an upmarket hotel with the feel of a country home. My room was lovely with a huge bed and a super comfy mattress,
There's TV, Wi-Fi and luxurious underfloor heating - ideal for chilly days. At the front of the property, there is a spacious patio outside with gorgeous views out over the Sussex countryside- one of our loveliest English counties. There's even a small indoor heated swimming pool.The delightful town of Arundel is a short walk away with its impressive castle, cathedral and up market Olde Worlde town centre. There are lots of lovely independent shops you can browse around in your free time, but there are also a lot of attractive coffee shops and restaurants so a bit of a danger zone for the detoxer.
The juice detox is not for the faint hearted. I hadn't quite grasped that every meal would be a small glass of juice (packed with essential nutrients) a shot of wheat grass or Aloe Vera or milk thistle and a small tea cup of hot water with cider vinegar in it and
nothing else. Apart from the evening when a small mug of savoury electrolyte broth is on offer at 7pm prompt.
There is a 'breaking the fast' healthy meal at the end of the detox to take you gently back to the world of chewing, which for us may as well have been the most sumptuous banquet ever eaten. Never have a I had such appreciation of half an avocado.
Does it work? I found it tough - I can't remember going without solid food for that long when I wasn't struck down with the flu. Strangely, after a while you do stop feeling specifically hungry, or at least I did, but I did feel tired and had quite bad headaches. I was still a touch sceptical as I returned to eating my first proper meal in five days, but then something happened. I had been suffering quite badly with depression before the retreat and as the detox headaches subsided, I found my mind had cleared and my mood lifted completely. I felt a whole lot better in myself and I had lost three pounds! A definite success. Both my digestive system and my brain had obviously been given a much needed rest. In fact, now I know what is actually involved I think I would try the experience again and maybe opt for some of the other therapies, After all you only get one body and one life and no one can look after you as well as you can. Platinum Healing retreats have the expertise to help you go forward, wherever you find yourself on that journey. Check out the website to find out about up and coming retreat opportunities.
