Spa’s Colon Cleansing Program, Yin/Yang Exercise Classes, Luxury Villas and Resident Nature Expert Make Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat Unique
by Susie Ellis
SpaFinder Insider

Before leaving the Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat here in Australia, I wanted to share a few more observations. From my previous posts you will notice that I found their program to be quite thoughtful and progressive. Here are some other unique aspects:

1. The detox week I attended included colon cleansing. I immediately thought this would include colonics. To my surprise (and delight), that wasn’t exactly the case. Instead they provided a colon cleansing drink (kind of a chalky taste with a lemon juice chaser) which worked perfectly. I found this to be a smart and simple solution to a colon cleansing program.

2. Exercise classes were divided into yin and yang. The yin classes were the more right brain, creative ones like yoga, Pilates, and dance. The yang classes were more left brain incorporating more vigorous movements such as body pump with weights, or boxing. We were asked to select between yin and yang exercise options each day. People who have more yang (that would be me), probably need to engage in more yin type of exercise. Those who are more yin, could benefit from more yang oriented exercises. A novel way of looking at movement.

3. Gwinganna is building several super luxury villas at the top end of their property, to be completed in September, and I was able to get a sneak peek tour. Trust me, they are fabulous! The views of the ocean and Gold Coast are drop dead gorgeous. The villa design and furnishings are tops.

4. I was told not to miss a morning hike with John, their resident botanist who is known to be a real “man of the land.” He lived up to his reputation. Leading our hike, he pointed out and named all the various plants and animals we encountered. He demonstrated which plants were edible by munching on most everything we walked by, and even drank what looked to me like very muddy water! He reminded me of the guy in the movie Into the Wild except I don’t think John would have died in the end. Later I learned that he had lived outdoors in a tree for 12 years!

Well, onward to Sydney for one final day of spa visits before heading home to New York.

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