If you expected your journey to wellness to be similar to Julia Robert’s character from Eat Pray Love where she comes to India to spend time in an ashram, you might be a tad bit disappointed…or maybe not. We’ll let you reach the end of this piece to decide whether wellness or detox retreats are worth the hype.
There are multiple detox, yoga, and wellness retreats in India catering to different needs. A week before this article, The Lab Mag’s very own Saumya Agarwal returned from her first-ever nine-day long programme at a detox retreat and who would be a better person than her for a first-person account of her experience? Nutritionist and health writer Kavita Devgan also helped us understand the nuances of detox retreats and whether they live up to the hype created.
There are multiple detox retreats, all catering to different kinds of detoxes people need – for some, it could be a physical detox because of certain deficiencies in the body, a detox to combat stressful life, or one to work on a particular condition such as insomnia that leads to other issues. Devgan states that a person going for such a retreat needs to be clear about what they want to solve for. “Detox is like an umbrella term for any kind of intervention the person might need to get back to health,” explains Devgan who is also an author.
While weight loss is the most assumed and perhaps a primary reason for people to go to such detox retreats, Agarwal clarifies that it is also not the only one. “The aim is to make your body feel light and healthy and a person should go to a detox centre with an open mind,” she says.
According to Devgan, a good wellness retreat should help take you from a scale of -100 to a -40 in terms of your overall health because of your lifestyle. “[Detox retreats] cover a big chunk of [wellness and well-being] in one go which might take you longer if you do it by yourself.”
Devgan cannot stop stressing about how a person should not make detox retreats a habit. “People make it a habit to go every year and that is not how it should be. You go there to cleanse your body because you need that kind of serious intervention but when you come back, you need to follow through with those practices regularly. Detox retreats are great for us because we live in toxic times so just going to such an environment does half the job for us,” she adds. Detox retreats can work as a factor to cleanse your body and start afresh. The point of a detox is to be able to take a break from your everyday lifestyle. “If you transport yourself to a green place where there are no people and no pollution, it would do wonders to a body,” explains Devgan.
Agarwal, who experienced this for the first time, states that a plush environment at these retreats makes the experience less daunting. But a detox can vary from person to person. If someone is just going in for the spa treatments and a 5-star property, then a luxury hotel or resort can also do the job. Devgan also agrees. “If you don’t want to go to a retreat, even a relaxing vacation can work wonders and can work as an option. The point is to take a break from the everyday stress and a calming environment where the body and mind are relaxed can help to some extent,” she explains. Sure, a vacation with spa treatments and packages is good and it will help in relaxing the body and the mind to some extent but a detox retreat does this and more. With experts on board, they will ensure that you diet is as healthy as can be, you do your fair share of physical exercises, yoga, and other treatments for a holistic treatment. The aim of a detox retreat is to regulate and form habits that will eventually lead to benefits.
If you are a regular or someone who has gone at least once like Agarwal, you might stick to the same retreat. But as a first-time wanting to go to a detox retreat, the process of choosing the right one can be daunting. We combined a guide on questions to ask before choosing a detox retreat based on Devgan’s expertise and Agarwal’s experience.
Check it out here:
Detox retreats burn a massive hole in your pocket. A 10-day stay along with therapies and other sessions can easily cost close to a lakh, if not more. Devgan also points out that there can be a problem of people being addicted to them. The point of detox retreats is to let body – mentally and physically – relax and get better and come back and make sure to incorporate those changes in our lifestyle. “There are people who lose 5kgs, come back to their daily lifestyle, gain another 10, and go back the next year and lose just 5kgs again. So their net effect is that they go back having gained more weight,” she explains. “The point is not to look at them like a band-aid, but the point is to go there with a learning mind where you come back learning something and not expect them to do it all for you,” she states.
However, for Agarwal, the biggest drawback was the initial confusion. She went to a retreat where each person had a personal doctor assigned – the way it should be. But the initial days were confusing until she got used to the system there. However, what bothered her was her calendar being filled with back-to-back tedious therapies and since these retreats cost a bomb, people would want to make the most of the services there. This led to exhaustion for the 22-year-old and she slowly started saying no to some things to her doctor. She is positive that her second time at the retreat will be different, she knows what her body can take, what therapies to say no to and to create a perfect balance of relaxation and the therapies and sessions they offer.
“One day you are going to the office, working on your laptop for over eight hours, commuting, eating your usual lunch, and going out but suddenly the next day, you are in a place where you don’t have to work, you are being told to do yoga, drink soup, eat a lot of veggies and fruits, be on a juice diet, or even go on a fast for a few days – this takes a drastic switch on you but I know that I will still go again, more confident than before and with better knowledge of my body that before,” concludes Agarwal.
Devgan also states that she is all in for detox retreats, provided they are good, help you achieve your goal, and help you sustain even a bit of their practices in your daily lifestyle. “I would suggest everyone do it but with a disclaimer that does not do it every time you mess up with your body and think going to a retreat would make it fine, it doesn’t work like that,” she concludes.
