Detox...Even surfers do it!

This week I had the pleasure of working with yet another competitive surfer. It has been my experience over the years working with this particular group of people (and competitive athletes in general) that even though their connection to the ocean and their respect for the planet is profound, sometimes given the demands of travel and stress of life, they too do not always have the best functioning bodies. Even though they are in top physical shape, this does not always translate to proper function of all of the different systems of the body. I know that sounds like a contradiction but it can be true. You can have rock hard abs and be ready to charge the big waves and still struggle with things like indigestion, chronic pain, IBS, systemic inflammation, addiction, depression and more.

In this particular case, the problem was digestive related. For years my client had been suffering with “irritable bowels” or “colon problems” as he tells me. The constant travel and demands of competition and life on the road can leave you feeling depleted. The irregular eating habits, the new foods with every new location and the enormous physical output without always having adequate rest and recovery time can be draining on the system to say the least. And so, he ended up on my table, looking for some help. I have to admit I was a little surprised that such a big burly guy had such an “Achilles heel” but I am glad I was able to work with him to help strengthen his overall digestion and get him back out in the waves stronger than before. Even though he was not always the most willing participant to the many treatment modalities we offer, and at one point called me a witch…in a nice way, he gave them all an honest try which is all I can ask from anyone. For a mere three days (I could of spent a lot more time but that was all I could squeeze in between his sailing, free diving, work and surf competition schedule) I taught him many different ways with which to improve his digestive health, in turn, strengthening all aspects of his health. We did acupuncture, moxabustion, massage, meditation, life coaching, detox foot baths, colonics, a juice fast, liver cleanse, made beet kvass for probiotics, drank bone broth, had turmeric tea, used the zapper, did some stretching (as he refuses to do “yoga”), and even drank an amazingly powerful but awful tasting combination of detox herbs. Although he made his health a priority during these days I have to say from my end it was a little challenging to time all of the treatments with the tide but hey, Pura Vida, that’s what I specialize in -- making it work with what I have. In all it was a great experience. He feels better and I am reminded how much I love my work and how effective it can be given the time constraints and lack of supplies. Did I mention we were at a remote surf spot in Costa Rica when all of this went down, it’s not exactly easy to get fresh organic produce out here but thankfully all my years of living here and making good connections really paid off. Of course, this is not a one-time fix; he will have to incorporate some of the things I taught him into his daily routines in order to cultivate sustained health, but at least he now has many health tools to choose from and maybe he will decide to make this a more regularly occuring program in his full schedule.

If you can relate to feeling run down from your life and you are looking for a “witch” to help you through a personalized detoxifying experience in the jungle, I invite you to join me.