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To the retreat, I will be bringing :

Aside from making half of the fresh juices during the week with Amida, I am the major source for general information on fasting and detoxification, as well as the structure of the week.

A large part of this is the discussions around diet and detoxification, both to the group during the afternoon nutritional talk, and the morning one to ones. As these are my specialties, I am very happy to answer questions on these subjects.

My area of interest and knowledge is the physiology of what you will be going through as an individual during the fast, both physiologically and psychologically. But my speciality is the biology.

Though the others are perhaps better qualified to answer your questions about the emotional experience of the retreat, I hold the position as the physician.

About Dao

I came from a background of standard English schooling, which I left at 16 to join the - then thriving - printing industry. School had left me somewhat unprepared for the world, and the thought of the print industry's bloated wages was enough to set me on that track. However, I soon found the bully-led system of management therein equally as intimidating as the child-squashing system at school, so as soon as my apprenticeship ended, I was off...

Thailand for six years, Japan, Taiwan, India for 2, Spain for 3.

I spent my first few years turning my resourceful mind to the depressing subject of covert political action - how larger nations (that shall remain nameless) keep their dominance over the developing world through influencing politics and business to give rise to dictatorships, etc.

It was only once my head was so full of darkness that I started my explorations in a lighter direction. This was my first step in taking responsibility for myself, my thoughts and my actions. I began to think about how our choices affect us, whereas beforehand I was too busy blaming the world for my choices to see that there was actually any choice at all...

Hope Springs Abundant

My travels soon became a search for a home and a people, and in Taiwan I started reading into Chinese Medicine, Tai Chi, etc. Eventually I discarded this, if offers many practical solutions, but few answers. Eventually, I came across self-administered colonics, fasts, raw foods, etc. through the work of Dr. Jensen.

Slowly as I began to play with my life more consciously, and the results attracted the attention of others. I was still living in Asia, but suddenly I was no longer affected by skin irritations and infections, etc. My system was changing in ways I never heard any school of medicine talking about.

I also spent some time in Australia, studying Permaculture, and still see much of the world through this practical and simple paradigm; choice, action, cause, effect. More effective and appropriate action means less work and less to clear up! In this way, I still see it as humankind's greatest practical hope in the face of such dire forecasts.

Down to Business

After years of taking friends and colleagues through Jensen-style fasts and colonics, Shoshana brought structure to meet my knowledge, and blew life into the business that started as Home Colonics in 2002 in Spain (along with our daughter Yamuna), and both have been growing ever since. We renamed ourselves Karuna Retreats (meaning "compassion" in Sanskrit) when we got to UK, as it better reflected our empathetic approach.

It was during these years with retreat groups that I refined and evolved my reasons for running these retreats. I now know that it is not in the colonics, or in the fast itself, but in the talks, that I come alive. And it is through these talks that I make a difference to peoples lives.

The format of the fasts were basically in place, and having gone as far as I could go with Shoshana, I searched for a work environment that that better suited my ‘we are all in it together’ approach, so I started this new venture with Amida, Kate and Benita.