Ayurvedic Weight Loss for Health and Well-being

Let us help you get started on a healthy new path with a 14 or 28 day stay at the Ayurveda Health Retreat. Our Weight Loss Program clears the mind, detoxifies the body and allows you to focus, without distraction, on your health and fitness.

During the retreat you can expect to:

• lose weight
• gain energy and stamina
• restore self-confidence
• reduce stress
• learn tools for supporting a healthy lifestyle

Our program makes it easy to start making the right choices for balanced weight and health - even after you return home.

Find Your Balance: Rediscover Yourself

“To lose weight, it’s not just about counting calories, carbohydrates and fats; its about healing your relationship with food and taking control of you life.”

-Richard Masla

Today’s yo-yo diets are oftentimes unsuccessful and discouraging. Even worse, you learn to dislike your body. We make weight loss an enjoyable process by combining the best of Ayurveda therapy with yoga, exercise and meditation - treating the whole person. Because we put emphasis on both your body and spirit, you will be aware of the many transformations that accompany weight loss including increased energy, more confidence, better mobility, and deeper appreciation for your body.

Yoga and meditation are highly recommended, but not compulsory. Yoga is a peaceful and non-stressful approach to both fitness and relaxation, and we facilitate you for 1-2 hours daily as you desire. Meditation strengthens your mind and helps you in keeping your resolve in losing weight.

Ayurveda and Weight Loss

When our guests come for our weight balance program I encourage them to understand better know themselves and their relationship with food. Do they eat when not hungry? Partake in nervous, emotional snacking throughout the day? Ayurveda teaches us to respect and honor our bodies. Our bodies are a gift that we have for 100 years, and we must take care of them. Many people take better care of their automobiles then they take care of their bodies. We all know that every 3000-5000 miles we change the oil, every 10,000 miles rotate the tires, 35,000 miles the transmission fluid... How we care for ourselves is concomitant in determining our health and happiness. Do you honor yourself, listen to and trust your inner knowing? Healthy eating is an education in itself. It’s simple and fun. Before you eat anything ask yourself, “is this going to support my health and happiness? If the answer is no, put it down”.

Here at the Ayurveda Health Retreat we do not diet, we eat healthy foods; people are amazed at how the weight comes off naturally. We use mostly organic ingredients in all our meals at the retreat and offer an Ayurvedic cooking class every Saturday evening.

Professional dieters count calories and carbohydrates; they may lose weight but soon gain it back. Ayurveda is all about balance- eating to live, not living to eat. We teach our guests to eat delicious and nutritious foods and to be consciously aware of how food nourishes their bodies, mind and spirit.

Ayurveda suggests that digestive fire (agni) is responsible for our individual metabolism. It is the metabolic "fire" that takes the essence of nourishment from food. Agni is also part of the immune system since its heat destroys harmful organisms and toxins. The imbalance of the dhatu agnis (tissue agnis) is due to our improper lifestyle and eating habits. A low meda agni (meda means adipose tissue) can create ama or toxins and congestion in the body, adding excess weight. Ayurveda Panchakarma cleanses the system and purifies the mind by supporting healthy digestion. (ingestion, digestion, absorption, assimilation and detoxification).

Tips for weight loss:

• Sip hot water throughout the day. This keeps that digestive fire going and supports detoxification.
• Breakfast is optional in Ayurveda; if you are hungry eat. In the summer months, fruits are a wonderful breakfast. In the colder months, oatmeal is a hearty meal. The largest meal should be around noon when the digestive fire is strongest. Dinner can be light, perhaps some soup or a vegetable dish.
• Add fresh ginger to your meals and have a small slice sprinkled with fresh lime juice, salt and pepper before meals. Ginger is a natural protease enzyme and supports digestion of proteins. It can increase metabolism up to 25%.
• A small amount of room temperature water along with meals is good. Do not drink too much with meals (one cup is fine) as it dilutes your digestive juices (hydrochloric acid, bile, enzymes). Never drink iced drinks or iced water with meals as it vaso constricts the blood in the stomach area, impairing digestion and metabolism.
• Avoid drinks for 30 minutes before a meal and 2 hours after. This allows the body to work optimally.
• Sit down to eat in a relaxed atmosphere. Do not eat if you are angry or upset.
• Eat a balanced healthy vegetarian diet of grains, beans, fresh vegetables and fruits. Dairy products increase kapha and should be avoided during the weight loss time. They may be reintroduced in a balanced fashion when the desired weight is attained.
• Chew your food well. Digestion begins in your mouth as the amylase enzyme in your saliva begins to break down carbohydrates.

3-Day Cleanse

You’ll begin your Weight Loss Program with a 3-Day Cleanse. Cleansing the body from accumulated toxins is known as detoxification. Detoxification has been shown to be extremely beneficial as a preventative measure for different health problems, or as a means to enhance therapeutic procedures for a variety of medical conditions. The removal of these toxins from the system enhances the organs’ ability to better absorb nutrients and improves biological functions, which, in turn, accelerates the healing process. The 3-Day Cleanse facilitates detoxification to support the beginning of your weight loss program.

Udvartana (Herbal Weight-loss Massage)

This is a specialized Ayurvedic herbal massage treatment for effective weight reduction. An herbal powder is applied with friction massage over the body.
This therapy is very effective in naturally reducing weight. It helps remove cellulite, revitalizes the sense of touch, gives a good complexion to the skin and removes toxins from the body.

Abhyanga Massage

This full body massage with warm medicated oils is given to help you expel toxins and balance specific conditions. The oils contain herbs that pacify elevated vata energy, a root cause of most ailments.

Nasya (Nasal Therapy)

During this therapy, several drops of medicated oil are administered into each nostril. This opens and cleanses your nasal and sinus passages, enhancing the flow of oxygen to the brain. It may relieve allergy and sinus conditions and improve your memory.

Swedhana (Aromatherapy Steam)

This treatment allows the Ayurvedic oils to penetrate deeper into the tissue, enhancing the detoxification process. It strengthens the immune system and moisturizes your skin, making it soft and smooth.

Shirodhara

During this relaxing therapy, a continuous stream of warm Ayurvedic oil flows over your forehead. Shirodhara is used to heal chronic neuromuscular disorders and vata imbalances: hypertension, insomnia, depression, anxiety, headaches and restlessness. It can have a powerful spiritual effect on the mental and emotional wellbeing of the individual.

Rates include:

- Accommodations [see photos or take tour].
- Delicious vegetarian cuisine
- Yoga and cardio exercise daily
- Daily Panchakarma treatments
- Ayurvedic weight loss consultation and follow-ups
- Psychological counseling

We offer additional therapies at your request. And be sure to check our calendar to see what special workshops, seminars, classes and community events are scheduled during your visit.