I don’t tend to ever allow myself to get burnt out as I am hugely into self care both mentally and physically, however, with the world as it is lately, I felt I thoroughly needed a break and deserved a hiatus from life!
Where else to choose but the breathtakingly beautiful resort in the Philippines – namely The Farm at San Benito. Yes, it may be a long way to go to recharge, but trust me, it was one of the best decisions I had made in a very long time.
I had never visited the Philippines before and despite many of the country’s nationals living in the GCC, I firmly believe, we don’t appreciate the beauty of this country and everyone should visit at least once in their lifetime.
My flight to Manila was a breath of fresh air, I chose Gulf Air with a short layover in Bahrain (amazing airport) and nine hours later after departing Dubai, I woke up in magical Manilla. Having an Irish passport meant no visa, however I would recommend that the country promotes that one has to have a QR code upon arrival, which can be obtained via the eTravel online portal before you fly.
The journey to The Farm takes approximately 1.5hours on the motorway and the team from the farm that picked me up were absolutely delightful – a sign of what lay ahead.
Upon entering the lush green driveways of The Farm, I knew I made the right decision of choosing this little piece of heaven on earth to celebrate my birthday – alone! Something I wanted to do for myself and I can thoroughly recommend!
The check in procedure was a dream, I was given my schedule for the next few days of which included colonics, massages, yoga and diet plan to mention but a few. The sense of calmness that I felt when my feet hit the floor upon exiting the car is something I actually cannot articulate into words. It is an experience one has to feel, deep within ones soul.
After being escorted to my villa with its own private pool, the beautiful team decorated my room with birthday delights and I felt that I would never leave………..my journey into this life changing experience had commenced!
First on my schedule was an appointment with the resort’s highly skilled and knowledgeable medical team for a full health assessment. My bloods were taken and analyzed and all came back super healthy thankfully. I had a full body analysis and nutritional assessment done which is the basis of how my diet was chosen for the next few days. I can fully understand why so many come to The Farm for up to six months to lose weight and live a healthy lifestyle. I would imagine, the support of this amazing team, will achieve outstanding results if here for an extended period of time. Mentally I felt relieved that I was super healthy and given a diet plan based on juices, soups and beyond delicious vegan food options.
The question I got asked the most from everyone during and post my trip was the one about colon hydrotherapy! Yes, we can all view this as an invasive procedure and one that we are somewhat embarrassed to do as it is rather personal, let me tell you, I had one done almost every day and didn’t feel the slightest bit awkward as the team make you so relaxed and at ease that you forget all worries you had. These particular treatments made me feel so much lighter and my stomach had never been so flat and personally have not experienced any bloating since.
The spa – every single treatment I had was more magical than the previous! Coffee scrubs, full body massages, the actual BEST head massage I have ever experienced, reflexology – the list goes on and on. The infinity pool you can dive into pre or post your treatments is also an experience. I literally felt like I was walking on clouds daily. The team are also highly skilled, attentive and professional, they listen to all questions (and trust me I had a lot), and do everything to make you feel at peace with nature.
As someone which is super fussy with food and has many allergies including being anaphylactic, the team of chefs in each one of the restaurants went above and beyond to ensure my juices, soups and solid food experiences matched that of a Michelin star venue.
As someone who loves my own company, I didn’t feel bored or alone during my time at the farm. In addition to the beautiful humans at this resort, there were also so many magical animals roaming freely around such as geese, ducks, swans and lots of kitty cats. I was also visited on a daily basis by many mosquitoes and ants and embraced them all! We must not forget, the forest is their environment – we are simply there visiting!
Yoga lovers have the most beautiful setting to be at zen every day.
Tree huggers like me (a newly self proclaimed one) will get to feel the energy of one of the world’s oldest mango trees of which is over 400 years old.
Those wanting to explore parts of themselves they didn’t know existed will be a changed human after the “Shivling” experience in the Secret Garden.
The five days I spent with this team, and as cliche as this sounds, this team I felt had become family over the period I spent there, was literally the best body, mind and soul rehab that I needed. I felt so relaxed, healthy, peaceful and happy. And I felt proud of myself that I allowed myself to embrace all of these emotions as at times we forget to be kind to ourselves.
This experience is one I felt highly emotional about leaving, I shed some tears but one thing I do know is that I will be returning very soon to this beautiful family who made my body and heart so extraordinarily happy.
Find out more about the farm on their website: https://www.thefarmatsanbenito.com/
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