On my second morning at Ti Sana Detox Retreat, I woke up with a pit in my stomach. I was majorly craving a hearty breakfast and knew I couldn’t have one. It was juicing day.
The daily program began at 8:30 with a “rebounding” exercise class led by Mario Sella, Ti Sana’s nutritionist and (as I learned) and enthusiastic aerobics instructor. Myself and the other participant each had our own small trampoline and were led through a series of jumping exercises. The Ti Sana philosophy is that daily muscular exercise is very important, especially as we age.
Breakfast was a juice blend of beetroot, cucumber, apple and zucchini, which was surprisingly tasty. Following breakfast guests could join a group walk to visit a nearby river and historic church, though I opted to hit the spa.
The spa at Ti Sana is the true highlight of the retreat, including a Turkish hammam, Scandinavian sauna, dipping pool, array of waterfall showers and infrared sauna (to which I became addicted as you can also bring a book or computer inside!) Given the rainy weather, I was very glad to have these facilities – to which guests have unlimited daily access – for some much-needed R&R. I can imagine it would be an ideal place to relax for an entire weekend in chilly spring or autumn.
In late morning, nutritionist Sella led a seminar focused on how we get ill. Despite a few language barriers, the key message of his speech was clear: stress is the root of all illness. It leads inflammation, which in turn leads to sickness.
“Of course if there is a lion running towards you, it’s a stressful situation and your body will do what it needs to do to deal with it,” Sella says. “But constant stress inflames our cells and makes them a fertile ground for breeding diseases like cancer, insomnia, depression, obesity, autoimmune syndromes, hypertension, anxiety, allergies, fatigue and pain syndromes.”
He discusses “Medically Unexplained Symptoms” (MUS), which are symptoms that most Western doctors can’t explain but attempt to “treat” with pills. The Ti Sana philosophy is that most of these symptoms have a root cause, which can be treated with a diet and lifestyle change that significantly reduces stress levels. And don’t forget – an unbalanced, unhealthy diet filled with toxic, processed foods also adds mega stress on the digestive system.
By the end of Sella’s seminar, my stomach was grumbling though another juice had to suffice for lunch. In the afternoon, I revisited the spa facilities for an Anika detoxifying body treatment. After being scrubbed down, I was wrapped into a plastic sheet to sweat out toxins for 15 minutes while receiving a glorious facial massage. After showering off the sweat and cream, I received a full-body massage. (I’m sorry to report that my second massage on day three wasn’t quite as relaxing or noteworthy, and the general consensus amongst guests was that quality varied per masseuse).
Later in the afternoon I had my first ever colonic cleanse, about which I could likely write a small novel but I will summarize with four words: it wasn’t that bad. Thanks to a special machine at Ti Sana, I was able to be alone in the room while receiving the treatment. Afterwards, I felt less bloated and very motivated to treat my intestines with a TLC diet post-cleanse.
By dinnertime I had a splitting headache, which Ti Sana staff said was a normal symptom of a juice detox. For dinner we were treated to another babyfood soup – a welcome change from juice. Feeling weak from a day with no solid food, I retreated to my room for a solid 12 hours sleep.
Text: Lydia Parafianowicz
