Prana introduced an intensive detox program late last year and it has proved a resounding success, with many testimonials from participants who felt completely cleansed, refreshed and bursting with good health after completing the week-long program. Here is a diary from one participant, yoga instructor Maya Strange, on how she felt during and after the program.

Day One

I was excited to start my detox today. I have pr epared with a pre-cleanse, so I'm hoping that my detox symptoms won't be too intense. So far, so good. I feel a little bit low on energy, but otherwise pretty good, not hungry at all. I'm im pr essed how organised the staff are, and how well the pr ogram has been thought out. Every little detail has been taken care of.

Day Two

Well, I was a bit peckish last night. But it's more just thinking about food than actually being hungry. Today was really hot and I felt nauseous in the afternoon -- I think from being outside for too long, and because of this tummy thing I had before I started. So I had a little nap and took it easy. I had two colemas today. Now that I've got the hang of it I'm really enjoying that part of it. It is so satisfying getting rid of all that stuff!

Day Three

Today was challenging. For the first half of the day I felt great, and had a lot of energy. Then in the afternoon I felt some nausea again and took a nap. At night I felt really hungry and started obsessing about food, then I got into a bad mood. I think some stuff was coming up -- not just physical but emotional.

Day Four

I woke up feeling amazing! Had a great colema. It's my favourite part of the day, which sur pr ises me. I put on some music and just relax during the procedure. I feel so good during and after, even though it can be a little uncomfortable as I am doing it. I think you get a rush from releasing all those toxins.

Day Five

I'm over halfway there! Again, I feel great today. I seem to have turned a corner. I'm not obsessing about food anymore, although I did have a dream last night about pizza! I'm really feeling how good this is for my body and that is keeping me going. When I catch myself thinking about food, I just redirect my thoughts. It's funny how many ways you can think about food.

Day Six

Well, I am not thinking about food anymore. But I still have this nausea. I suspect it's not detoxing, but some other issue. I had it before I started and it has been persistent the whole time. Normally, detox symptoms will pass after a few days. I talked to Alice about it and she recommended that I see the naturopath after the pr ogram if I don't im pr ove. Otherwise I feel great. No other symptoms.

Day Seven

Waking up this morning was like the day before Christmas, only one sleep to go... I know most people feel great in the last few days of their detox, but I actually feel completely wiped and nauseous. I can't take the drinks anymore, so I am fasting and doing the colonics and taking it really easy.

Day 7 1/2 (last colema and breaking the fast)

At the end of yesterday I had a major breakthrough. Everybody kept saying that nausea can be associated with anxiety. I had dismissed it because I didn't think I was feeling especially anxious. But I checked out some medical sites on the web and they kept saying the same thing. And I started to think about the intention I had set before the cleanse- to clear out the underlying fear I walk around with. It's something that is always in the background, driving my personality and behaviour. And I realised, anxiety is the way fear shows up. You could say I'm an anxious person (not so it's noticeable, but underneath). It's not that I was more anxious than usual, I was getting in touch with some deep emotional holding and it was scaring me. I didn't want to feel it. So, as long as I resisted, I felt nauseous. It explained why I got sick before the detox -- I was scared to go there. And I had already started my pr e-cleanse, cutting out sugar, caffeine, meat, dairy etc, so the pr ocess had already begun then. When I finally saw that, I allowed the emotions to come out. It was really intense, but fantastic. And, like a miracle, the nausea was gone, and didn't come back!

I had a wonderful, blissful night and today feel incredible. Superhuman! I broke my fast and couldn't believe how good food tastes! Most importantly, I feel like I have released that pattern of fear. I feel so relaxed, happy and accepting of myself.

Summing Up

I feel so grateful and blessed. It ended up being so much more than I expected. I went in thinking the hard part would be the physical cleansing. Actually the physical part was pr etty easy. It was the emotional detox that was the hardest for me, and I didn't even realise it until the end!

I would recommend this pr ogram to anyone. It's the best cleanse I have ever done. And I recommend doing yoga and going to the spa, it really helps.