A GLAMPING DESTINATION AND NATUROPATHIC HEALING SANCTUARY

Alternative practice addresses the symptoms and root causes of illness by looking into the patient’s psyche, history and lifestyle

Taking a bite of the sweet cherry tomato from her wild spinach salad, naturopath Elizabeth Micaller remarks, “This came from the birds.”

She is referring to how birds propagate vegetables by dropping the seeds that invariably bloom into vines.

The salad is an introduction to the vegan lunch of curried potatoes and mushrooms, savory beet root salad, falafel patties and creamy caramelized bananas.

Most of the ingredients are plucked from the plots of her latest venture and residence, the Nourish Well-being Eco Paradise in Lipa, Batangas.

The 2.8-ha property is designed to be a self-sustaining environment. If there’s a war or a major catastrophe in the National Capital Region, you can hie off to this place, says Micaller.

Nourish is designed as a glamping destination and healing sanctuary based on naturopathy. This alternative medicine practice addresses the symptoms and root causes of an illness by looking into the patient’s psyche, personal history and lifestyle and administering natural remedies.

Detox

“The philosophy of Nourish is naturopathy in action,” explains Micaller. The health resort is a showcase for her school, Philippine Institute of Naturopathic Science (PINS), which is accredited by the Department of Health.

A pioneer naturopath, Micaller espouses that healing begins with detoxification.

In the ’80s, she introduced colonic irrigation, the hosing down of water to flush out the toxins from the gastrointestinal tract.

“Your ailments are caused by toxicity in the body. That’s why we detox,” she says. The patient’s medicine is eating the right food, albeit pesticide-free, complemented with natural supplements for vitality.

Up until the pandemic, most of her patients complained of heart conditions, worsened by a diet of junk food. At this time, Micaller says the healing protocol for COVID-19 is the same.

“Cleanse the body and strengthen the immune system.

The virus dies on its own. The body has four elimination organs. To cleanse the colon, eat high fiber foods and vegetables and rinse out with colonics or enema. For the kidneys, drink half a glass of water every hour. The skin sweats out toxins through the sauna, while lungs are cleansed through breathing exercises. First, do you want to change to get well? You must reboot your lifestyle.”

She underscores, “Consciousness is the real important element to healing. You can take the medicines, but they won’t be as effective if you are angry.”

Health through the eyes

The main building at the health resort houses PINS, which has been offering online courses. The most popular, Iridology, the analysis of the iris to determine the individual’s health, comes with a manual and instructional videos.

Partner doctors of different specializations come over for face-to-face consultations. Guests can set up an appointment with a specialist in functional medicine.

Although Nourish is on its soft opening, guests have been booking the place for special events or a staycation. By May, it will offer the healing modalities—hyperbaric oxygen therapy, colonic irrigation, intravenous infusions, psychotrauma counseling, acupuncture, nutritional counseling, acupressure, acupuncture, face analysis and sclerology or the study health through of the whites in the eyes.

Nourish Restaurant is decked with chairs and tables made from recycled and found woods. Each table is partitioned for privacy and

mock for diners to take naps after lunch. The lighting fixtures are made of gnarly tree roots.

The menu is designed to use all the herbs, fruits and vegetables harvested from the garden and the freerange chickens and eggs from its poultry farm. The fruit trees are fed with Epsom salt to bear sweeter fruits. A greenhouse for soilless farming provides vegetables that are packed with more nutrients than greens from the soil. The organic beef is imported from Australia and the United States, while vegans can have their nongenetically modified organism tofu.

Another building hosts an open kitchen for the herbology classes for aromatherapy and a laboratory that produces silver solution, made of distilled water and ionic silver. This formula serves as an antiviral killer and immune booster.

Quiet time

Most visitors come over for rest and recreation. Glamping tents, about the size of deluxe hotel rooms, are comfortably furnished. While the lap pool is being built, portable pools are provided for the children. Guests can entertain themselves in the game room or play cards and mahjong.

The outdoor activities were inspired by Micaller’s childhood. “We enjoyed the slides, the swings and mini golf at Burnham Park,” she says.

The facilities—basketball court, archery range, gym, a rubber tire playground, a kiddie putting range and a petting zoo— encourage an active lifestyle.

There’s quiet time for the seekers. Others can relax in an herbal bath, rest in hammocks under the canopy of trees at the healing garden or hold bonfires at night.

Corners for meditation provide silence and privacy, while a Reflective Park, comprised of multiple mirrors, invites people to examine themselves. Mirror gazing is a psychological tool which enables the individual to change the perspective of the self, control emotions to stoke insecurities and be kinder to the self.

Part of the guest experience is to pluck berries and fruits or harvest coffee beans, amaranth, tawa-tawa (the asthma plant) and other herbs.

“The goal is to bring people back to nature,” says Micaller.