Reconnecting With Self, Finding Purpose

I came to Hawaii Naturopathic Retreat Center with the intention to focus on regaining my health and energy, but I have gained so much more than that. Hawaii Naturopathic Retreat Center is truly a magical place. I have learned so much about myself here. From being healthy and happy to balanced and free. With every ah-ha moment I experienced during my stay I could feel my energy and happiness growing stronger and stronger. I had the opportunity to get to know each person working at the retreat on a one on one basis. Although different in their roles, they are all beautiful people inside and out. All involved in doing amazing things to help others, including myself, find their health and their path in life. At the retreat I not only learned about the importance of nutrition and taking care of my body but I also learned a lot about the real me that was hiding behind my ailments. I feel part of an outstanding group of people whom I now consider to be my Hawaiian Family. Always greeting you with open arms, never judging and wanting to spread positive, healthy and happy energy to everyone they meet. I will always have a part of the Hawaii Naturopathic Retreat Center family with me everywhere I go. I am eternally grateful for being part of this life changing retreat.

Aloha and Mahalo,
xoxo
Anna
16 April 2013

Detoxification, Raw Food Diet, Parasite Cleanse

The reason I participated in this venture was initially to tag along with someone else. When I arrived and was asked why I was there, I shared that I had had health issues in the past. These issues were twofold; one from many years prior and only lately realizing that it was probably parasites, and the other more recently being the result of a drug that I was prompted to take for prevention of another health issue. That drug that did not agree with me at all and caused more health issues until I stopped taking it and did a cleanse, which made me feel much better.

The protocol I was on at the retreat involved detoxification and a parasite cleanse, the result of which I lost a consistent 2 pounds a week and am now over 20 pounds lighter than when I arrived, losing some of the weight that was gained in the parasite years. I eat the same amount of food or more than I ever did and look and feel better and lighter than I have for years. With the raw food idea, I learned to eat totally different and initially spent a lot of time in the kitchen. I had a lot of compliments from friends and family telling me how good my eyes and skin looked and how slim I am, and wanting to know how they can become the same. This is a totally different way of preparing food and I love it and love eating this way.
I would definitely recommend this program to anyone, and two of my neighbors may attend soon.
My physical health is in top form today except for my stomach lately, due to stress as this change has not been embraced by all of my family. Hopefully, this negative attitude will pass and I can get back to feeling at the top of my game.

Love to all who helped me reach this road in my life.
C Gaucher
July 2012

Overweight & Chronic Back Pain

Chronic Back Pain, Overweight, Low Energy – My 10 Day Detoxification

I was feeling like a low energy slug, overweight and burdened with chronic back pain. I spent thousands of dollars on treatments and supplements which gave me partial and temporary relief over years of efforts. I fasted for 10 days with Maya’s guidance, wisdom and care. My pain steadily decreased. I broke my fast on fresh juices and raw, organic living foods. Both juices and raw foods are still the main stream of my diet and I love it!

ari1

I feel so good that I have become a true believer in the power of living nutrition. My tastes have adjusted to enjoy raw simple foods more than other junk. I have more energy and enthusiasm for exercise and have kept my weight off. I am now 10 pounds lighter, pain free, happier in my body and brimming with vitality. I no longer have body odor and my vision has improved. I am so thankful to Maya for her care and expertise and I strongly recommend fasting with her as it will surely be a very powerful, insightful and rewarding experience for you too.

Ari Vandershoot

November 2003

21 Day Fast & Silent Retreat

In the beginning of 2008 I did a 21 day fast and silent meditation retreat, plus 6 days raw food. It was the most challenging and most rewarding experience I have ever done. I went into deeply transformative spaces in body and psyche. The profound spiritual transformation is still fully present, reverberating through me as a continuous ecstatic undercurrent. In general, I feel reborn, renewed, fresh and bubbling, vibrantly alive and full of gratitude. I devoted a total of one month to the process. The fast was comprised of 7 days green juice, 7 days water, and 7 days a variety of juices. Each day I saw Dr. Baylac for approximately 20 minutes consultation.

I did not do it for weight loss or gain. It was a spiritual fast and general regeneration of body / mind / soul. Since coming back, I am generally quite obsessed with food, have an appetite double to what is usual for me, and have almost come back to my normal weight. I am fine with this, since I was happy with my weight before coming. I trust that my appetite will find it’s balance again in the near future.

During my stay I learned to feel deep gratitude for each moment of life. I learned a huge amount about nutrition, and about regeneration. I learned to expand my level of compassion and love towards myself and others.
I have already been recommending your retreat to many people. My students and friends have noticed the powerful effects in me and have expressed keen interest in my experience. I am sure some people will be coming your way from my network of contacts.

The highlights of my stay were the warm pond, the turtle beach, the walks in beauty, the sun baths, the first taste of coconut water after the water fast, the first taste of papaya afterthe 21 days fast, and the profound transformation of body and soul during meditation. What had made my stay even better would have been a special meditation temple, or a place outside designed for meditation, with a sunshade and rainproof roof, as well as zero noise from lawn mowers.

I feel your retreat centre is a place of integrity, which offers profound healing in a simple and humble way. Dr. Baylac is a very loving joyous presence. Her ability to remain present, very human, and balanced while effortlessly offering deep wisdom, is very inspiring. She obviously walks her talk, being such a radiant vibrant presence at an age when some people think of retiring.

Love, Sarita, age 50+

Anti-Anxiety and Anti-Depressant Medication Use for 20 Years

I have been on all sorts of anti-anxiety and anti-depressant medications since my first panic attack when I was seventeen. I have probably been on ten different anti-depressants and five different anti-anxiety medications since then. At one point I was taking maybe 3mg or 4mg of Klonopin. To put this into perspective, I believe that each milligram of Klonopin equals 10mg of Valium/Diazepam.

About six months ago I started to wean myself off of Klonopin using the Ashton Method. I used the Ashton chart as a conversion and I was also active on the message boards online. I also read The Benzo Book: Getting Safely off Tranquilizers by Jack Hobson-Dupont. I found it to be very scary. The book describes how these medications destroy the nervous system and the body in general. I could have stayed on these drugs for the rest of my life and not really had a life. I felt that these pills had me on a leash and it was hurting my social life. My thinking was very cloudy and I was emotionally catatonic
except for the bouts of panic I would feel before self-medicating. So, yes, I was having a hard time seeing people, and when I did, it was not fun.

I was able to wean myself down to 2mg of Valium on my own, but I felt that I needed help with quitting completely. I noticed that I was turning to alcohol more often to relieve my anxiety and I didn’t want to see myself going down that road. After I mentioned this to my therapist several times and she just kind of brushed it under the carpet, I decided that I was going to seek help on my own. I told myself that I would find a place that seemed to resonate with me and that I would go there. And that is what happened.

The program I followed at The Hawaii Naturopathic Retreat Center was very good. The components regarding nutrition, exercising, and looking inward instead of depending on things outwardly, were very helpful. I knew all of this intuitively but felt that I really needed to be somewhere where I would be guided to do it every day. When I arrived to the retreat I actually wanted to stop cold turkey since I was already about two days without medication due to the long flight I had. So I said, “Why don’t I just not take it?” But Dr. Baylac wanted me to continue just taking a tiny amount. I think I was taking 0.5mg every other day, then 0.25mg every day and then I went to a 0.25mg every other day. One morning, around two weeks ago, I just forgot to take it. Then the next day I forgot to take it as well. Dr. Baylac and I both looked at each other and said, “Why not just stop taking it altogether?” So, it has been about two weeks that I have been completely off benzodiazepines.

Before my arrival my liver enzymes were elevated about fourfold. After only ten days at the retreat they fell within the normal range. On a scale from one to ten, I had a tremor of five. After a few weeks it dropped to between a half and zero. However, I actually feel better mentally than I do physically to be honest. I still feel very tired. I think it is going to take a long time for my body to adjust to this. So, I have not been feeling super energetic and feel that I can fall asleep at any time. I still have some vertigo, but it has gotten a lot better.

I feel good about what I have achieved in the last six months and I think maybe twenty years ago I felt like this, except for the withdrawal symptoms. I am feeling the way I think I should feel, like myself again, and I am excited to live my life. Before getting off of my medication I was basically sleepwalking through my days. I am looking forward to leaving here and seeing what is going to happen to me and what I can create for myself and for others.

I actually have a career plan that I have had for a while and now it is becoming more feasible, because I am becoming clearer. I have been aware
of my goal for maybe a year or year and a half, but I did not have the energy
to do anything about it, I just didn’t care. But now I do.

March 26th, 2012
(patient chose to remain anonymous)

Alcohol & Poly-Substance Drug Addiction, Mood Disorder, Eating Disorder, Hormone Imbalance

Making the decision to seek help from Hawaii Naturopathic Retreat saved my life. In the time leading up to the physical/emotional/spiritual despair necessary to motivate a profound change, I had difficulty perceiving my unhealthy habits as detrimental because I was able to keep my life somewhat intact… I was educated, had a career, community respect, house, close friendships & despite my distance, my family still embraced me. It was hard to see that my over-stimulating lifestyle was suffocating my soul until my addictive, compulsive behavior became what traditional therapy would describe as drug addiction, alcohol addiction, bipolar ii mood disorder and an eating disorder resemblant of food addiction.

My moods were out of control, and had been for some time. It only became intolerable when the periods of high speed super-productive ‘hypo-mania’ became shorter and the periods of depression became longer, darker, and led to suicidal thinking. Living in a city where habitual & binge drinking are the norm, it took a downfall from chronic marijuana use into harder drugs – some of which I had sworn off years before – to see that I was in trouble. I self medicated with DMT, LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, cocaine, Aderall, Klonopin, Xanax, Vicodin, & loads of MDMA, laced with who-knows-what. My eating behavior would range from secretly binging on junk food to fasting on lemonade & drugs for several days; I was disgusted by the carbohydrate, sugar and fat addictions that led me to gain 80 pounds in 6 years. My hormones were out of balance and I was on the verge of becoming diabetic. If I wasn’t compulsively working, I was dependently social; I could not sustain peace in solitude.

Seven months before beginning raw detox in Hawaii, I began traditional addiction therapy in an intensive outpatient program, started 12 step meetings and got a sponsor. I wanted help for sugar addiction because I had long since discarded my insulin resistant medication and knew my hormones and weight would get exponentially worse the longer I denied my lack of control. The therapists in traditional IOP placated my food issues but the program did help me to achieve a 10 week period of sobriety. Though, the whole time I had to fight against a system that was so quick to prescribe me legal psychoactive drugs to help me get off of the illegal ones. Instead of submitting to them, I took it upon myself to supplement my treatment with a gym membership, yoga, meditation, acupuncture, massage, and plunged my energy into creating a custom diet free of processed carbohydrates and caffeine. I felt great and my primary care MD was astonished that I had cured my pre-diabetes with the diet. I developed a passion for food as medicine & began to dream about re-creating my life around this discovery of natural self healing. As a patient and potential student, I began to study practitioners as I received treatment. I regularly saw an eating disorder psychotherapist, nutritionist, herbalist, and requested blood work and tests that my MD did not think necessary or perform thoroughly.

It wasn’t enough. My body needed careful physical repair in order for my mind to sustain any semblance of health, and I needed someone other than myself to oversee that & the various treatments. Without such help, I collapsed back into my old habits, only harder. I dropped the compulsive sexual behavior that enabled my first attempt at sobriety and I picked up smoking cigarettes – an addiction I had kicked 9 years before. My first dangerously toxic drug overload induced a very scary period of psychosis and by the third one, I knew I was fighting death. Yet still, it took weeks of speaking with my therapist, friends & family to be convinced that inpatient treatment wasn’t an over-reaction, luxurious expenditure, and selfish abandonment of responsibilities.

My intuition lead me to discover Hawaii Naturopathic Retreat Center and I studied it online for a long time before making a skeptical phone call. Nicolette, an amazingly gracious, sincere woman patiently spoke with me on the phone periodically over the next month. I was such a hot mess at that point that I couldn’t fill out the intake paperwork and hardly made it on the airplane, but for the kindness of supportive friends and family. I was the drugged-up girl that wore sunglasses through airport security with a lolly pop in my mouth to pacify withdrawals, just waiting to get to my layover so I could re-up on hard drugs – at that point alcohol was not enough to sustain three flights.

Upon arrival to Hilo airport, I was embraced with a hug and a hawaiian lei by Maria, the bubbly radiant domestic goddess of the retreat center. I woke up in a haze the next morning and will never forget the moment Dr.Baylac opened my bedroom door, bright eyed & in her precious little french accent: “good morning, are you ready to face the day?”…um, no way was I ready to face the day, but I knew I had to trust the relief of her wise, soulful, healing energy. Then I met the other mother of the retreat center, Sue, a gentle, compassionate nurse who made the settling in process as easy as possible. Humor was helpful too, nothing like a little jingle “The best part of waking up… is Folgers in your butt”, to ease the initial (unnecessary) embarrassment of coffee enemas. Raw food chefs and other patients made the living feel familial by providing the comfort of fellowship as well as challenges to grow from. Each and every practitioner I worked with was lovable and integral to the healing process. Though I was hesitant about some modalities at first, it was heart expanding to experience The Work of Byron Katie, Emotional Freedom Technique, Watsu, and Reichian breathwork.

Perhaps most valuable was the attentive natural medical support; I feel all of the above could be wasted without it. Dr.Baylac studied my case thoroughly, ordered tests that revealed underlying issues that MD’s have overlooked for years, and tweaked my customized supplement routine and IV therapy support as needed. Though drug withdrawals and food cravings were nursed to minimal discomfort (massages, teas, baths & lots of love helped), my first few weeks of detox were rough with mood instability, psychadellic flashbacks, nightmares, and occasional vomiting. I was probably a tough customer to restore to sanity, but because of her intuitive nurturing and sincere passion for helping, I was able to open up and trust Dr.Baylac and her phenomenal team to guide me to serenity.

It honestly wasn’t always hard, I’ve shed 22 pounds (and counting) while eating delicious Raw food – fresh coconut, tacos, pizza, ravioli, sushi, mediterranean & thai food, chocolate pie & carrot cake, you name it! And, you don’t just get to eat it, you get educated on how to adopt a lifestyle of reclaiming your health with nourishing foods. I’ve also developed the energy to do either yoga, personal training or Pilates most days of the week, power walk and swim regularly, and occasionally I even jog – something I’ve never been able to enjoy before now! I have to say, being surrounded by a paradise of beautiful ocean, numerous swimming holes filled with tropical fish and glowing coral, jungles of wild fruit and tropical flowers, and an un-tainted view of the moon and stars, does help tremendously.

The physical, emotional, and intellectual challenges have been empowering and spiritually enlightening. Tomorrow is my last day of 7 weeks in treatment. I initially came for 30 days and have learned that a proper healing process takes time. I have a new lifestyle to maintain and though I know it will have it’s challenges, I am dedicated to doing it because I’ve experienced how right it can feel. I’m taking an easy transition out of treatment by not going directly back to my tempting environment; instead, I will stay nearby, do some outpatient work at the center for two weeks, then continue on with steps to regain the confidence I need to pursue my dream of going back to school, so I can some day help others with this type of mind/body/soul healing… something I could only be certain of after experiencing the profound benefits it has had, and will continue to have on my journey through life.

A world of gratitude to Dr. Baylac, Nicolette, Sue, Ian, Connie, Witek, Lilia, Shakti, Daina, Amber, Anne, Melissa, Elisha, Arminda, Angela, Maria, and all the patients. This experience has saved my life. Thank you, or as they say in Hawaii, Mahalo!

Aloha, ~Sarah
29 years old
12 September 2013

Detoxification, Raw Food Diet, Parasite Clean

The protocol I was on at the retreat involved detoxification and a parasite cleanse, the result of which I lost a consistent 2 pounds a week and am now over 20 pounds lighter than when I arrived, losing some of the weight that was gained in the parasite years. I eat the same amount of food or more than I ever did and look and feel better and lighter than I have for years.

With the raw food idea, I learned to eat totally different and initially spent a lot of time in the kitchen. I had a lot of compliments from friends and family telling me how good my eyes and skin looked and how slim I am, and wanting to know how they can become the same. This is a totally different way of preparing food and I love it and love eating this way.

I would definitely recommend this program to anyone, and two of my neighbors may attend soon.

My physical health is in top form today except for my stomach lately, due to stress as this change has not been embraced by all of my family. Hopefully, this negative attitude will pass and I can get back to feeling at the top of my game.

Love to all who helped me reach this road in my life.

C Gaucher

Recovery from Depression, Anxiety, Chronic Fatigue and Caffeine and Marijuana Dependency

Dr. Baylac has created the exact transformational bridge and space that I required to return home to myself. In addition, I was able to try a raw food diet, lose 7 lbs of toxic sludge, quit a 15 year caffeine addiction, and learned many things about how to live a long and healthy life. The regime of supplements Dr. Baylac prescribed worked instantly to balance out my mood and feel-good brain chemicals. I was on an emotional roller coaster and had literally fried my adrenals and emotional system prior to coming to treatment. I felt great day one. I had used heavy alcohol and marijuana as a coping mechanism for five years and this had created a small trapped world for myself. I received more effective psychotherapy treatment from Lilia in 5 sessions than going to my therapist back home for weekly sessions over a year and a half. My first Reichian Breathwork session with Dr. Baylac healed my deep grief about losing my father two years ago. I have felt peace about him ever since. I received great insight and perspective on anything that had been upsetting me over the past 15 years. I also have learned how to better understand and feel much more comfortable processing my emotions. I enjoyed the entire setup of the center. I will always remember the waves, swimming with the turtles, yoga, the geckos and the beautiful black sand and lava. The value that I received here was worth way more than I paid to get comfortable in my own skin and to reclaim my phenomenal life

Bulimia, Alcohol, Heavy Metal Detox

As a child I was ridiculed, called fat, and developed a fear of becoming overweight. I had a lot of stress and anxiety and never knew how to deal with it. Surrounded by unhealthy processed foods and dysfunctional people, I started restricting my eating at age twelve. Who knew how bogus the statement “sticks and stones can break your bones but words can never hurt you” is? The mind begins to believe words like “chub-rock, thunder thighs, and round one”. My mind became a jail and the outcome became throwing up. I obsessed over everything I ate and at age thirteen, I started purging. The purging and restricting started slowly and it was scary at first. At age sixteen, I vomited very often and I would secretively work out; I started loosing a lot of weight. I didn’t have bowel movements or periods for years, my body started to shut down, and I lost interest in school and isolated often. I was in a living hell.

I’d been seeking treatment off and on since the age of fourteen, from outpatient therapy to involuntary inpatient traditional rehab centers. However, due to my lack of readiness and lack of a supportive environment, the seriousness of my problems was not understood and that in itself exacerbated my issues and gave rise to the bulimia. I felt like I would constantly find something that would allow me to sustain myself (for example: I survived one year on small amounts of graham crackers alone and at another point, I lived on mainly peanut butter for years). Eventually the binging and purging became out of control; any time I ate, I would obsess about where I could throw up. I could not allow food to stay in my system and it made people really uncomfortable. My teeth started deteriorating from the frequent vomiting and I had to spend a fortune on dental work, eventually getting full upper porcelain tooth crowns. I felt like I was constantly on overdrive because my body was deprived from nutrients. Once the bulimia -my “numbing drug”- reached it’s peak, along came alcohol and cigarettes, more tools to numb my pain. My alcohol use became out of control. Furthermore, I was surrounded by toxic chemicals from my work. The final straw, that provoked me to seek treatment, yet again (after already spending a fortune on past attempts), was my third DUI. Before finding Hawaii Naturopathic Retreat Center, other treatment centers did not address my whole being: they had me on lock down, didn’t treat me as a human that could think for myself, forced unhealthy processed foods on me, wouldn’t allow me to exercise, the therapy was horrible and I gained twenty five pounds in two weeks. The DUI and the terrible traditional treatment center were blessings in disguise because they lead me to seek holistic treatment to heal my whole body. I needed to not only be healed from my eating disorder but to be mentally relieved from the obsessive behavior and for my toxic, unbalanced body to be cured.

Before attending Hawaii Naturopathic Retreat Center, I spent six weeks on the phone with Nicolette and Dr. Baylac developing trust in them and they gave me some hope. As soon as I arrived, I knew it was the right place for me and that I would not return home the same person. I enrolled in the three month lifestyle changes program. As soon as I met Dr. Baylac, I started crying my eyes out because I new I finally found the right support. My life change started as soon as I stepped foot on the center property. It took a lot of trust to believe in the program, to participate in modalities like IV therapy, EFT, The Work, Breathwork, etc., but I went for it full force. I did exercise, swimming, yoga, Pilates, saunas and even the enemas!

Within weeks, for the first time in my life, I began to feel what it felt like to be in my body. That’s when I knew I was on the right track. If it wasn’t for the raw food chef, Ian, I don’t know what I would have done. His knowledge helped me to create a healthy relationship with my food, I was educated on the nutrients and learned that I could enjoy complex delicious meals. My cravings became manageable because I wasn’t consuming processed foods or unhealthy sodium or sugar. Feeling the energy and nutrients build in my body, from the food and green juices, I noticed my nails started to grow, and I started to heal from the inside out. I started to detoxify, my energy stabilized, my moods became more balanced and the irritability was diminished drastically.

The other patients both made me face issues that I needed to work on, and helped to create a supportive family that will always be there. I feel very confident and more than ready to live my life to the fullest and not just survive it. For the first time in my life (since I started purging) I am not purging at all! I’m finally able to laugh again, I’m finally able to share with people, both of which are very healing. I have a new found excitement for living, I want to go back to school, continue my passion for holistic living, love the earth, love my body, and someday be able to educate others on nutrition and wellbeing.

The bottom line of what I’ve learned is that you create your own reality in your mind. Finding your truth is key for living your own live. If something works, let it be.

Sincerely,

EK

32 years old

October 2013

Alcohol, Cigarettes & Sex Addiction

I came to Hawaii Naturopathic Retreat Center because I realized that I needed help and I found that my friends and family weren’t enough. I wanted help rediscovering myself, and my true purpose and I feel that’s exactly what I did. I was helped in a compassionate yet firm way. What amazes me most about the retreat is the broad spectrum in diversity of help that they can provide to anyone in any walk of life. I wish I had enough money to send many of my friends and family to the retreat – I have a list of people I would send if I could!

The biggest benefit of the retreat was calming the storm in my head. Before coming, I avoided talking to myself with drinking, smoking, chasing girls, etc. It was hard; there were days when I wanted to leave because I didn’t want to sit with myself. The retreat is set up in a way that I could have escaped and made mistakes if I wanted to – but the fact that I was able to make the decision to stick through makes me know it was my decision and makes me feel stronger to be faced with the freedom of choice when I leave the retreat. It’s an excellent way to set up recovery for the rebellious of mind.

I feel like I was having an identity crisis and this place helped me strip the façade that I’ve built around my core. I’m reconnected to myself in a profound way. I’m still somewhat nervous about the future – but not nearly as much as when I got here.
I feel a huge relief not waking up craving cigarettes every morning. That’s like breaking out of a certain kind of bondage. No matter what your addiction is – whether it’s work, or sex, or drugs… it doesn’t matter what it is – it’s all the same masking a connecting with yourself. You have to face the parts of yourself that hurt to heal it and make peace with it. I came to the retreat to find freedom from all addictions – over thinking in itself was as much an addiction to me as sex, drugs and alcohol. My brain and my heart were really disconnected and now I know my core is a ball of golden light!!!

-J.K.
Age 31, California
February 2014