Okay, I survived a 3-day juice cleanse in Bali. Sure, I was hungry sometimes but it was worth it!! I feel amazing!! My bloated belly is gone, my skin is clearing up and I feel a great sense of accomplishment. Now, I must return to solid food. Slowly but surely.
I start day 3 with an early morning Hatha Yoga class – after taking my herbs and litre of water of course. I really love starting my day with fitness so this was a great way to commence my final detox day. Hatha offers a good mix of poses; relaxing and challenging. After the 90 minute class, I’m feeling great but looking forward to some nutrients. I hike up the twenty-some stairs to the cafe for my green breakfast.
I really love the routine and ease of rocking up to the counter, handing over my vouchers and having a green juice, coconut water and wheat grass shot delivered to me. And if this could happen every day, I reckon I could stay on this detox system. Detoxing at home is way harder when you are the one who has to provide all the healthy stuff.
I don’t have much time to linger though. At 10am, I’m off to another sauna session. Armed with magazines and a water bottle, I enter the sweat box in my birthday suit. It’s truly for one person only so when I lay down, only my back has room on the bench seat, which forces my legs up the wall. Hey, I’m actually doing yoga in here!!! Not sure why I bothered to bring reading material. It’s too hot to read. By the end of my 30 minutes, I’m drenched in my own sweat. Good pouring, detoxing beads. A cool shower revives my mind and body before my next appointment.
I meet Levi, the astrologer, in a cabana near the guest house. He’s been working on my birth chart and is now ready to reveal my secrets. I’ve had my chart done before by Jo Tracey who lives in Sydney (and totally recommend her!), but I felt I needed a refresher. Levi pointed out several things that helped me understand my personality and life’s intent. What I really loved about this reading was the list of key words I made during the reading: consistency, sustainable, ENJOY, time, present, less, Earth, rigid, responsible, control – CONTROL LESS.
I do have a need to try to control every minute of my life (and others’) so this was a big slap in the face to hear from a complete stranger (hahaha – not really, eh? He knew things about me that I didn’t even want to know!!). My biggest take away from the session is this: ENJOY EVERY MOMENT.
And I’m trying to follow through on this notion. It seems like a simple suggestion but for me, it’s not easy. I’ve been attempting to “live in the NOW” for several years but I don’t excel at it. Practise makes perfect?
The rest of my afternoon is lazy and easy. I drink heaps of water and finish my prescribed liquids before a 6pm Restorative Yoga class. I’ve done lots of restorative yoga before but this class was quite different. Hard even. Outside of the warm up and closing Shavasana, the class consisted of only 5 poses that were held for up to 10 minutes each!! Ouch! I was regretting not committing to daily yoga. My body is just not up to long holds.
I finish day 3 with an evening stroll around Ubud town. Shop owners are even too tired or lazy to lure me into their place so after a quick hour out, I return to the guest house for an evening enema. I haven’t mastered it yet but as least I’m giving it a go.
I go to bed planning tomorrow’s “breaking the fast” menu. It’s amazing how the mind insists on thinking about food even when I feel totally fine, well even, without solids. Tomorrow I shall murder a pineapple.
Sorry it’s taken so long for me to post the accounts of Detox in Bali Day 2!! Click here to read about day 1.
For the second time, I awake to laughter and squeals before 7am. There’s a school beside the Yoga Barn guest house and boy, they start early! It’s hard to get upset about waking up to happy children though.
7am
I sit up and reach for my water bottle and herb capsules. I must drink a litre of water before anything else enters my system. After a couple mouthfuls, I’m forced out of bed and to the toilet. Elimination is key to a good detox.
A few scrapes of my tongue is next up in my morning regime. Rinse with filtered water. Bali is like Mexico: Don’t drink (or brush teeth with) the water.
In my room fridge is a bottle of coconut kefir. It’s a probiotic – great for good gut health. I have my morning shot then jump in the shower.
9am
I have a busy schedule today so once showered and dressed, I wander to the cafe for a coconut water, green juice and more plain water.
I feel satisfied with my liquid breakfast now it’s time to get naked.
10am
I head to the Spa for my infared sauna booking. I like saunas because they make me sweat. I’m not a huge sweater (unless nervous or anxious which is just embarrassing). Another litre of water is downed during my 25 minute stint in the tiny wooden heat box. A cool shower feels heavenly afterwards.
11am
No rest for the wicked now though; I’m off to a Yin Yoga class. I’ve never been to a yin class but I choose it for its gentleness. During a detox, there’s no point pushing the boundaries on your energy levels. Slow and easy does it. There’s a lot of hip openers, which is not easy for me so the 90 minute-class is not as easy as I would have hoped for. I do my best to relax into the poses and enjoy the pain. Hahahahahahaha
1pm
From class, I race to my room for a quick rinse and more peeing then back to the Spa for my Kati Basti massage. Now, this is more like it. All I need to do is lay face down and let some Indian man pour oil into a donut (hmmmmmm donut) shaped clay mould on my lower back. It’s warm and relaxing. The entire treatment is focussed on my lower back, which in Ayurveda, it’s said to house excess Vata. I won’t go into the basis of Ayurveda now but it’s a very interesting way of life from India. My dominating dosha is Vata so this was a valuable session for me. But, what massage isn’t awesome?
230pm
Believe it or not, another appointment but I will keep the details private. I have my second coconut water during this one and of course, more water. During the day, there are many trips to the toilet – to pee. Contrary to what many people think, there is no diarrhoea during a safe detox.
PS. I cheated a little by scraping the inside of the young coconut with my straw. The gel-like meat gets stuck in the straw. It feels like a may suck my eyeballs into my skull as I try to get at that coconut meat.
530pm
Each Wednesday at the Yoga Barn, the American yoga teacher, Levi holds a free community talk on Astrology. Levi does this as a way to promote that fact that he is an astrologer and does readings. Even though I’ve already booked a session with him for tomorrow, I attend the free seminar where he answers general questions about the stars, sun and moon. Afterwards, I stop in at the cafe for the last of my liquid meals for the day: herbal tea and green juice.
730pm
My last appointment for the day: Sound Medicine. I feel like I’ve walked into a 1960s hippy commune when I enter the room. There’s all sorts of musical instruments – everything from drums to Tibetans bowls as well as colourful silks and pillows. There are 3 hosts: 2 are bearded and one’s in a flowing dress. We start off with a sing-along. Now, I really feel like flower power is upon me. Peace man. Once we lay down on our mats we are to be still for the rest of the session. It’s easy at first but then my entire body and soul aches and screams for me to shift and fidget. The girl beside me (who is also on the detox) stomach is growling. Sometimes, there’s a drum or cymbal sounding right over my face. Then, a piece of material is placed on my stomach. Suddenly, my body relaxes and I am calm again. When we are told to open our eyes, I see the red silk on my tummy and I’m amazed at how this was able to still me.
9pm
I’m so tired and hungry that I don’t even attempt my enema. I shower and go straight to bed. I try to read but there’s no point. I can’t stay awake. Day 2 is over. Bring on Day 3. I’m already planning my return to food on Day 4 (breaking the fast).
Okay, so I know this post is well overdue. It’s been over 2 months now since I actually did my detox in Bali and over a month since I wrote the first post in this series. I won’t lie. Life’s busy and getting busier each day.
Many of you may have forgotten about my detox series but here I am, back to remind you that I did do a mini detox in Ubud and it was fantastic. So, let’s get on with what happened on day 1.
~
I wake up eager to start the day even though I had a fitful night. I regret not bringing my fleece onesie along. I didn’t expect it to be so cool. But, there’s no time to dwell on that. It’s the first day of my mini juice cleanse and I’m pumped to get started!
I arrive to the Kush Spa just before my 8 o’clock appointment. I pour myself a glass of water from the fountain and sit back in a wooden chair. It’s hard and uncomfortable, kinda like what most people think a detox will be.
The deck of the Colonic Hut looks onto a small rice field. It’s dry and brown but the birds love it.
A petite woman arrives and heads to the door. I sit up in my seat.
“Hi, are you Andrea?” I ask.
“Yes. You must be Jennifer,” she responds. “Follow me and we can start.”
Her accents suggests she is American and her smile shows that she is friendly and approachable.
She shows me to a small office just inside and to the left of the main entrance.
After some chitchat Andrea gives me a questionnaire and leaves the room. It’s basic health stuff until I get to this:
Draw your poop
When I arrive in Ubud, Bali the sun is high. It warms my back as I walk the long alleyway to the Yoga Barn where I will spend the next four nights.
It’s only 10 am and my room is not ready so I leave my bag at reception and head out in search of a few healthy cafes I have listed in my notebook.
Lucky for me, I come across Clear Cafe, a stunning eatery a 15 minute (or so) walk away. ( I posted a review about it here.) Continue reading
The view from my table (well, when I stand up)
On my only food friendly day in Ubud, I wonder the streets in search of a healthy cafe. I have a list of potentials and ask a local man to point me in the direction of one within walking.
‘This one too far,’ he says as he points to the notebook in my hands, ‘you need taxi. Don’t know this one’, as he points to another but then, ‘ahh, Soma is not far.’
‘I can walk there?’
‘Yes, not far you can walk,’ he says as he moves his right hand in the direction of the cafe.
So, I turn right from the Yoga Barn’s alley and onto Jilan Raya Pengosekan.
It’s mid-morning and relatively quiet. I love how the shopkeepers do not harass me nearly as much as they do in Kuta.
Shops are close together, piled up on each other it seems. I keep my eyes open for Soma as I walk and take it all in.
Just when I thought I may have missed it, I spot the sign for Clear Cafe. This one’s on my list and I remember a positive review from another blogger so I decide to go in.
Six days in Bali proved to be a marriage saver. Or at least a Band-Aid.
Happy 10th Anniversary
When Mr M suggested we go to Bali for our 10th wedding anniversary, I knew it was not only to celebrate the milestone but an attempt to fix what was becoming severely broken.
So, focussing on the solution, we travelled on our anniversary.
It’s such a short flight from Perth and low season in Bali, we were at the Dynasty Resort in Kuta by 3pm.
Drinking fizz
We chose the Dynasty because of its kids club but Master T only spent 2 evenings there for the dinner/movie nights. He loved it and we loved the kid-free time.
just the 2 of us
The first night, we had quiet cocktails at the rooftop lounge, H2O before heading out on the streets of Kuta in search of a cheap massage.
And boy oh boy, there are plenty to choose from!! With every step you are inundated with brochures.
“Massage, you want massage?”
“Come. You get massage”
“I give you massage. Cheap.”
Personally, I don’t like their selling techniques.
Being dragged down an alley to be shown their less than pristine salon is a bit much. Mr M nearly had to take down a woman when she refused to let go of his wrist. He was alone when that happened. On our trip out that evening we didn’t have any problems.
Thankfully, he had already chosen a place so we passed all the beggars and went straight to M&M day spa.
It wasn’t flash but what can you expect for a 1-hour Balinese massage for $5? Seriously, $5! We had side-by-side beds too so there was no happy ending for Mr M!! Though, I’m not sure this is practised in Bali anyway.
On the way back to the hotel, we grabbed some Indian take-away and ate it in the room.
I slept through the night that night – the first time in weeks!!
On our second date night, I treated us both to a flash massage at the resort spa, Ashoka.
A spa more to my liking
Ashoka is more my speed. I’m not a snob but I like a clean, quiet, softly lit place to be pampered.
We each had our own rooms because we had different treatments. I chose the Ayurveda Shirodara.
The 90-minute back and head massage was blissful. Sounds of soft music and a babbling brook (that was actually a water feature) lulled me to a semi-conscious state as the masseuse carefully worked her magic hands around my back.
The big reason I booked this treatment was for the hot oil part. It’s big in Ayurveda and though I have had many Ayurveda massages in the past, I had never experienced hot oil poured over my third eye.
I’m not sure if I liked it or not, to be honest. Sometimes the oil was too hot and I had to tell her. Of course, the oil drizzles down your forehead and into your hair so a thorough head massage and conditioner treatment followed.
It was all very lovely and worth the extra $35 or so (still a bargain!!). Especially since I took advantage of the 6-9pm 20% discount!!
Afterwards, Mr M and I met in the reception area for a delicious ginger and lime drink, a great way to prime the tummy for dinner.
We ate dinner in the resort restaurant where we had had our family dinners. Really, it was better than the food we had outside the resort and better prices too!!!
Date night ended at 9pm when Master T was picked up from his movie night.
Even though we only had 2 evenings “alone” the time we spent together as a couple was great and much needed. But our family time was also great and even when we weren’t actively doing “stuff” we were still all having a good time.
While Master T made friends around the pool, we lazed on the lounge chairs or sat on the underwater stools at the swim-up bar while indulging in the twice daily happy hour. I just love having a cocktail at noon! And why not?
We didn’t need to be anywhere, do anything or argue about anything on that trip. There was no stress. Period.
Clouds over Kuta
With my primary position of stay-at-home mother/wife reinstated (and accepted), I’m hoping the stress-free feelings stay.
If not, we may need another Bali Band-Aid.
Kai Chronicles 