A couple of weeks before this month began, I found myself in a slump. It was the lowest I’ve felt in a long time and I felt frustrated when, after sitting in silence for hours, I still couldn’t shut out all the noise in my head. Don’t get me wrong, I couldn’t really meditate for hours. It was sort of a purging I like to practice, just letting all the ideas run through my head without my notebook to take notes and taking the risk of bidding what could be a few good ideas goodbye. If they stuck afterwards then, I work on them. But at that moment, it would be just consciously emptying the mind and letting it de-clutter itself.
When that didn’t make me feel better, I gave up. My energy was low and just the thought of opening my laptop to work made me feel sick. Was I lazy? I didn’t think so. I was drained, just like many of us. I strongly believe that no matter how much you love what you’re doing, the need to recharge must not be taken for granted. Fortunately, I was scheduled to visit the IASIS Health and Wholeness Center in a couple of weeks and I thought to myself, this couldn’t have come at a better time. I was tired from having to rush through my days–hopping from one studio to the other to teach my classes, going in and out of meetings and having to be online and connected all the time.
I think, no matter how much you love what you do, a time to replenish the tank every once in a while is as important as giving a hundred percent in your job. From then, I counted the days until we would have to drive to the GK Enchanted Farm in Angat, Bulacan and stay at IASIS for a full weekend.
SOMEWHERE WE CAN ALL HEAL
The word IASIS is Greek for “healing” and that’s exactly what this place does. I came in just feeling a little weary, but otherwise healthy. Many would think I didn’t even really need to be there.
But IASIS goes way past the juice detox diets we so often subscribe to. It goes past the massages at the spa or the yoga classes we get excited about when we sign up for retreats. I thought I was just fine when I arrived–like a piece of china with a few thin cracks that barely go noticed. Not broken at all. These fine lines come with the passage of time, growing just a little longer each day. But for most of us, or at least for me, it was nothing. I was okay.
However, towards the end of my stay, I felt a deeper sense of wholeness. Like those cracks I never bothered to fix, all went away. I thought these had no effect on how I go about my daily activities, but I was surprised to feel the huge difference afterwards.
I thought to myself, “if only every person today could see how much even the smallest things we do everyday (like being on Instagram all the time), can take a toll on our health, the world would be a much better place.” And being just about 1.5 hours away from Manila, IASIS makes it convenient to escape the chaos anytime.
TOXICITY AND DEFICIENCY
I love learning from like-minded people every chance I get. During our visit, we had a couple of lectures with the heads of detoxification and retreats at IASIS and I learned SO MUCH from them. It was simple, really, the root causes of sickness today are two things: our bodies taking in what SHOULD NOT be there (toxicity) and our bodies NOT HAVING WHAT SHOULD be there (deficiency). And the solutions to these are so simple, even a pre-school child knows these are good for us. But as adults, we’ve long forgotten the value of drinking water, going out for a healthy dose of sun, moving, breathing, eating less crap, etc. The team behind IASIS firmly believes these are nature’s doctors and I couldn’t agree more. No professional fee, no drug prescriptions!
A number of detoxification treatments are available at IASIS too. Apart from a couple of amazing deep tissue massages, we also got to try their infrared sauna which, we were told, is more beneficial than a regular steam bath or sauna.
10-20 minutes in an infrared sauna raises the core temperature of your body, detoxifying it at a cellular level where toxins are held. It could relieve you of aches and pains (DOMS, anyone?) and leaves you feeling more relaxed after just a few minutes.
The highlight of my detox has got to be the one I’ve always been scared to try–a Colema. It’s a type of enema or colon cleanse that goes deep into the tissues of the large intestine with the use of coffee and water (sorry, no photos of this one!). It washes out the toxins from your gut that has been left behind for the past months or even years. France, my therapist, told me that even after being vegetarian for 4 years and vegan for 1, I would most probably still have “residue” from my meat-eating days. True enough, during my therapy, she said that there still were a few that my body was finally able to get rid of. I couldn’t describe how great it felt after. My hair and skin gave out a healthy glow immediately after my treatment and I felt so light and clean. Yep, definitely doing that or a Coffee Enema again!
BACK TO BASICS–THE HEALING ENVIRONMENT AT IASIS
Over lunch, one day, Daniw mentioned that IASIS was the only establishment in the GK Enchanted Farm that had a manicured lawn. When we toured the whole place that afternoon, I saw why this was so.
There were over 50 species of Bamboo inside the farm. There were trees everywhere, children from the community playing outdoors and a beautiful field to look out to from the farm’s infinity pool.
Just outside the lanai of IASIS was my favorite spot with a few lounge chairs that looked out to another stretch of land. We hung out one afternoon and watched the head of gardening, Cedric, do his thing. It’s amazing what this guy could do! The perimeter of IASIS was covered with herbs and plants such as Dill, Tomatoes, etc. most of which were used in the delicious meals they serve at the Nourish Cafe.
There weren’t any clinical doctors around at the time of our stay (we didn’t really need one anyway). But we were surrounded by people who did not just plaster on a band-aid to whatever health problem their clients have. These are the kinds of people I consider true healers.
You don’t really need a degree in medicine to be one, you just have to genuinely care about other people. Although IASIS has partnered with a few functional doctors who promote alternative healing methods and don’t just prescribe you with medicine (my kind of doctors, to be honest), I think it helps that each person from their staff is a pillar of hope especially to those who are going through more serious illnesses.
During our last night, we got to experience the mysterious yet beautiful practice of Inner Dance. Developed by Pi Villaroza, CEO and Programs Director of IASIS, Inner Dance is…okay, it’s really hard to describe. It’s not literally a dance, if you’re worried about that. You start off in Svasana, and the facilitators play music to induce sleep. From there, all you have to do is let go. The energy takes over and I, during my first session, started having visions. Deeper experiences, based on stories I’ve been told, involve uncontrolled movement caused by surges of energy or prana. It’s an experience that is different from everyone and is something I would want to do again.
RAW AND SIMPLE– THE NOURISH CAFE
I’m still dreaming of the food from the Nourish Cafe to this day. If you can’t commit to staying for a retreat at IASIS, you can drive to the place for a delicious vegan meal.
Most of what we had were raw and crazy good. I ended up trying to make them at home but still not as good as the stuff we had there!
I did pick up a few techniques to add more raw vegan food into my diet, thanks to Daniw and Arlene (head of kitchen).
Don’t be intimated by the fact that they only serve Vegan food, the cafe offers DIY Pasta and Pizza loaded with the freshest ingredients and packed with superfood. Note that they do not scrimp on the (dairy-free) cheese too!
Prices are very affordable too, ranging from P150-P300 per dish. Be sure to contact them ahead as their menu changes depending on the produce available since they’re always made fresh and from scratch. Nothing processed nor pre-packed.
Alternative Medicine, to me, is no longer just an alternative but the first choice.
When I arrived, I was told a story about one Filipino client who came in with cancer. Her doctors (from abroad) gave her only six months left to live and she chose to fly back and spend what was supposed to be her last six months in her home country, and opted for alternative ways of healing. She came in on a wheelchair and her nails have turned purple, the staff recalled. And after a month with them, she re-gained her strength to walk and her nails have turned pink again. She was still in touch with the team to this day. I was truly inspired by this story, and while no one can guarantee defeating cancer through alternative healing, the reality is prescription drugs and other clinical methods can’t make the same promise either.
I guess I was “made whole” by my experience at IASIS not because I ate more (deliciously prepared) raw fruits and vegetables and consumed at least two servings of cold-pressed juice a day, nor was it because of the fact that I’ve had a couple of amazing massages and other detox treatments. It was mostly because the food was prepared with an intention to nourish, the treatments were done with a purpose to heal and rid the body of whatever wasn’t needed and the hospitality was genuine, the talks and lectures were done with passion and authenticity.
The entire team behind IASIS knew what they were doing and were all very glad to be sharing their knowledge with us. It was like getting us equipped with practical ways to live more mindfully, stay healthy and feel more centered so that we can continue on with these practices even after the retreat.
The place was overflowing with positive energy, something I find, is crucial when you are on your path to healing. Our spirits were lifted and I actually felt my soul smiling at IASIS. The following day, back in the studio, I knew I had much, much more to give to my students. <3
I know I said I left the place feeling whole, but I have to admit, I left my heart there with them and I am happy about it.
IASIS Health and Wholeness Center is located at Gawad Kalinga Enchanted Farm, Angat Bulacan. Find out more about what IASIS Health and Wholeness Center has to offer through their website, www.iasis.ph or check out their Facebook page HERE.
