Norhan Nishan, 26, frustrated from the city that killed her energy, creativity and productivity, she packed a small bag and took off for a detox program in Thailand. Yes, as simple as that.
Norhan has always been a travel junkie, so she surfed the Internet for a new adventure to revive her mind and body and booked a program called ‘New Body and Mind’ in Thailand offering an unparalleled detox, health and rejuvenation holiday.
“I like to travel a lot but I could have never imagined going on a trip and fast the whole time. I’m a chocolate addict and was never on a diet and was never convinced to do one in the first place, so it was weird but I decided to try it out anyways. I wanted something different and I wanted a real purpose to escape so what’s better than detox and a daily massage?”
Body
The Ko Samui retreat is a 7 day ultimate detox program. It combined Yoga, Meditation, Breathing Exercises, Herbal Cleansing, Shiatsu Massage, Thai Herbal Steams, Dietary Education, Fasting, Colonic Irrigation, Colon Cleansing and extensive Workshops.
“instead of eating and in order to stay alive, we had a daily supplement schedule to follow to ensure the necessary intake of vitamins, minerals and nutrition that our body needs to operate during the fast”
It should be an ultimate escape from the stress and pressure of our fast paced modern life. The program included a fasting schedule for a minimum of 7 days in which we didn’t eat at all during this period of time in order to provide our body with a good chance to cleanse itself from all toxins that are built up over the years. So instead of eating and in order to stay alive, we had a daily supplement schedule to follow to ensure the necessary intake of vitamins, minerals and nutrition that our body needs to operate during the fast. These supplements were all natural and included Colon Cleanse formula (which creates a bulk mass in your stomach to suppress the feeling of hunger and assists in the internal cleaning of the intestines), Phyto-Fiber, Multi-vitamins, Ginger Tea, Spirulina, Carrot Juice, Vegetable Juice, Tamarind Juice. In the evening, we used to have a vegetable broth for dinner during the fast.
On the first day, I felt that I wanted to escape and go back to Egypt. It looked really hard and I thought that I would starve to death all alone in Thailand. I thought about changing my ticket but thenI decided to enjoy the heavenly place and wait for surprises.
“we practiced 3 main exercises on a daily basis: a morning walk, yoga and stretching and an afternoon exercise to stimulate weight loss and muscle toning”
When it came to exercise, we practiced 3 main exercises on a daily basis: a morning walk, yoga and stretching and an afternoon exercise to stimulate weight loss and muscle toning. There were also the daily educational workshops which were great. They gave us an insight on how to change our lifestyle, how to eat healthy, how to handle emotions and how to deal with stress. For me, the best part was the massage session. We got an infra-red sauna session and a steam bath session incorporated in the daily schedule. Very soothing!
Mind
Meeting new people was definitely a plus. Not just making new friends, but also knowing people from different cultures with different traveling purposes. I met an alcohol lover who came once year seeking detox to cleanse his system. I met someone who wanted to lose weight, I met a woman who recently came from a mission in Afghanistan and wanted to revive her mind from the hard life she lived there. When you see lots of different cultures and backgrounds, you feel that we are all one and every one of us has their own challenges.
Soul
Every time I travel to a new place I become more spiritual and in touch with God. It’s weird but seriously, the best part of travelling to beautiful places is that it strengthens my faith and enhances my spirit. I feel blessed that I’m able to get the chance to see all this beauty, see the differences of people and how we all meet at one point in the end. It’s an incredible feeling. I advise anyone to grab each opportunity they get; it’ll absolutely lead you to an unexpected path.