Summer Cleanse Juice and Raw Food Detox Week

This week is not a starvation diet. Yes, you will likely eat less than you normally do but consider this: Your body is likely starving for proper nutrients right now even though you eat regularly. Your body will be so nourished, relaxed and rejuvenated you’ll not miss a bite! You will have all the micro and macro nutrients you need, serving your body in a synergistic way – no supplements because Mother Nature has it all!

We feel hungry when our body is needing nutrients. That’s why we can eat lots of junk food and not feel satisfied. Your body still needs the nutrients. Give it the nutrients in whole food form and you feel satiated with much less volume of food. The difficulty with this kind of a cleanse is craving salt, sugar and fat for a couple days. No worries though – that’s why we do this in a retreat setting. We support each other on the journey and you won’t have junk foods hanging around to tempt you. Healthy snacks if you need them are always available.

Ideally what you learn this week will become a normal practice when you return home. Adding fresh juice or a smoothie into a well balanced diet is a perfect way to keep supporting your health.

Our society, with all of its advances, has a lot of drawbacks. The price we pay for faster and cheaper takes the form of stress, toxins, chemicals, air pollutants, and radiation. It’s found in our food in the form of over processed and demineralized ingredients, herbicides, pesticides, food colorings, and preservatives. The body is constantly working to eliminate toxins and a strong and clean body can rid itself of most toxic waste. But without proper cleansing, this waste can and will build up. A buildup of toxins is like a wall coating our intestinal tract. it does not allow good absorption of vitamins and nutrients. This makes our bodies susceptible to diseases and ailments. Without help, the immune system weakens.

This is a week to get on track with healthier habits for your body, mind and spirit, and lose some stress with a break from the busyness of your life. You will become confident with preparing whole vegetable juices, smoothies and nutritious raw foods with food prep classes each day. Return home armed with recipes and confidence to keep up the momentum you start this week. If you have significant health issues this may be just the week you need to get on track with better eating habits. You are what you eat so why not eat nutritious, whole foods?

A warm loving environment with the added bonus of FANTASTIC FOOD!  The juicing retreat could be as intense or relaxed as you wish.  No judgement.  I truly appreciated the space I was given to sleep, read or walk alone.  Liz offered great workshop topics and provided me with a tonne of information.  A wonderful week with beautiful people.
Kelly Metheral, Nov 2015

Most people lose about between 2 – 9 lbs on a cleanse of this sort but what you lose will depend on your weight to begin with. The more you need to lose the faster weight comes off initially. With the skills you’ll learn this week you will be able to confidently continue the process at home getting to your ideal weight in a healthy way.  We encourage you to lose weight slowly and mindfully.

If you’ve wondered how to:

• start a healthier way of eating,
• slowly lose weight without gaining it back,
• feel emotionally balanced and energized
• deepen your sense of spirit
• become more mindful
• cope with stresses of life
• start some gentle exercise

Then this is the retreat for you!

We think of weight loss as a process of getting clear with what serves you. Excess weight doesn’t serve you – so allow it to go.

There will be no suffering through fasting or eating anything that doesn’t taste awesome. This is a FEEL GREAT week! We make healthy and delicious food, that your friends will want the recipes for!

Right thinking, right eating, right exercise. So simple? It can be.

This week has a focus on all aspects of your body – what you eat, how you eat, how you feed your mind, and how you feel in your body. You will eat well and nourish your body with yummy organic juices, smoothies and vegan soups freshly made every day.

Come into physical balance with daily yoga classes that will flex your muscles as well as your mind and spirit. Anyone can do yoga! If you’re breathing you can do yoga! No physical limitations prevent you from participating – use a chair if you need to.

Create emotional balance and mental clarity with mindfulness practices aimed at permanent weight loss via mindful eating meditations and general stress reduction so you’ll learn how to better cope with the stresses in your life. No one gains weight because they don’t know proper nutrition. Mindfulness opens the doors to gently explore limiting beliefs that are often covered with food or other addictions.

Explore yourself via yoga, meditation, healthy food and group discussions.

Meet new friends and become your own best friend!

If you have a juicer and you’re not sure how to use it, feel free to bring it to the retreat and Liz will help you lose the fear of this incredible piece of machinery. Many people buy a juicer and then it never comes out of the box so if that’s you, seriously, bring the juicer here!

“Perfect to get away from the busy life – I enjoyed every single minute there. Especially the fabulous food, I am not a vegetarian but I really love their food.  Fully relax and recharge in 3 days. Highly recommend.” Laichun, Markham, Canada

Each day offers:

• Mindfulness practices
• Physical practices – choose from yoga, hiking, gardening, bird watching
• Discussions and workshops to help change unhealthy patterns of thinking and behaviour
• Gluten free, organic juices, smoothies, soups & salads
• Tea & snacks 24/7
• Peace and quiet
• Free time to reflect, nap, or climb a tree
• New connections, new friends, create a new healthy relationship to yourself

*Workshops: Topics vary by the day, but have a focus on nutritional information, stress reduction, psycho-education sessions on motivation, willpower, and more.

My stay at Sugar Ridge was one of the defining experiences of my life. From my journal:
“I don’t know how to meditate,” I say. “Yes, you do,” Liz says, as if she’s surprised. “It’s the moment when you look at a sunset, and before judging that it’s a sunset, you simply understand that it’s beautiful.” Kelly S Forest Park, Illinois, United