Izabella Siodmak BSc, ND, cert. Life Coach

Symptoms are the language of your body - the only way it knows how to communicate with you. A fever, for example, that accompanies the common cold or flu, sends a message to you that something is physiologically wrong. So what about signs and symptoms of excess weight, tiredness, arthritis, headaches/ migraines, muscular aches, digestive dysfunction (constipation, diarrhea, IBS, bad breath…), hormonal imbalances (PMT, menopausal symptoms, lowered libido), skin problems, food intolerances, allergies and chemical sensitivities, irritability? These are a cry for help – a message that your body is likely to be drowning in poisons – both endogenous (generated within the body) and exogenous (coming from outside of the body).

These signs and symptoms (and there are many more) are an indication that your eliminative organs are no longer coping with removing toxins, or detoxifying,  and your body is containing them in different organs. With the dramatic increase of man-made chemicals floating around in the biosphere, just about all of us are at risk, especially if you are living in a city environment and leading a ‘typical’ western lifestyle encompassing processed foods,  polluted air, little exercise and attempting to function at a pace that is unnatural and unsustainable for the human body.

The detoxification process, I employ as a naturopath is a wholistic, synergist approach; that is improving several factors at the same time, which will give you much more healthy benefits than doing 1 or 2 healthful things at a time. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. With a biochemistry background I initially started with looking at individual elements, but soon found that wholism is the key to true and permanent success. Naturopathy was then my next step. Now, beyond naturopathic clinic consultations where most patients go home taking their herbs and adding a few fresh few foods here and there to their diet with partial results, I have devised an experiential, educational and inspirational health retreat programme that is a powerfully motivating and individual journey.

The Natural Attitudes Health and Wellbeing Retreat is exclusive – 1 guest at a time. This allows me to tailor an exact detoxification programme that suits the individual. We all have different symptoms and different eliminative organs that need greater or lesser support. And when underdoing a detoxification most patients will also take their own individual time to throw of the toxins, and often in an unpredictable fashion. As well as this, you will find there is a concurrent emotional detoxification that takes place. Supporting this aspect of detoxification is even more important, I believe, than the physical. This is where you gain clarity of emotional issues that may have been buried away in your subconscious for a long time.  Feelings will arise, and when you sit with them and acknowledge the source of them, you will come out the other end feeling emotionally lighter as well – as though a giant burden has been lifted off you shoulders. With this comes a renewed sense of purpose and direction, and a knowing of what you need to do to honour your core needs and values, whatever they may be.

The retreat programme is very practical – you experience the benefits of mostly organic, healthy, living vibrant foods, rejuvenate as you undergo various therapies (naturopathy, massage, counselling, sauna and spa sessions etc), gain clarity as you meditate daily and apply guided relaxation techniques and awaken your body with yoga routines that you can easily continue at home. Apart from this, the main emphasis of the programme is on education and awareness– choosing form the many workshops available, including:  nutrition, herbal medicine, aromatherapy, iridology, various life coaching themes, creativity, expression, colour therapy, dream analysis, environmental sustainability and various others. The workshops allow you to focus on the things that you need to improve in your life and provide you with tools to take home. The workshops provide the awareness coupled with things to action. They are always a huge motivator for our guests in continuing a healthier and happier lifestyle when they return. And being the only guest we can totally improvise to suit your level of knowledge and answer any questions you may have, in a highly personal manner.

Although our guests come for various health and emotional reasons, the foundation is always one where we facilitate detoxification of the body and heart. We look after the biochemical aspects of the detoxification (by prescribing specific herbs, healing raw, enzyme-rich foods, cleansing and rebuilding juices, colon clearing, detoxification of 5 eliminative organs, exercise schedule…) and work with you on the physical, practical and emotional journey to unlocking your greatest potential. You will go home feeling truly integrated and rejuvenated on the inside and out, allowing your new-found energy and enthusiasm to permeate your everyday life.

Izabella Siodmak BSc (Biochemistry/ Biological Sciences), ND, cert. Life Coach, is the principal practitioner at the Natural Attitudes Health and Wellbeing Retreat & Health Retreat Australia, providing residential health retreat Programmes. Contact Izabella for more information on Hair Analysis, for copies of the diagrams or to find out how to have your levels assessed.

MORE ARTICLES BY AUTHOR BELOW:

• Your hair reveals your health secrets
  (as published in Healthy Options magazine June 2006)
  Hair tissue analysis and what it reveals about mineral levels, toxic heavy metals, metabolism and more

• Beam with self esteem
  (as published in Living Now magazine May/ June 2001)
  Do you have good self-esteem? Here are some great tips on boosting how you feel about yourself

• Illness is part of the Cure
  (as published in Healthy Options magazine May 2006)
  Learn how illness is part of the cure, as you cannot know health without knowing some disease.

Heal your body . heal your mind .  
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