Can a week in paradise really change your life? I went to St. Lucia to find out...
BodyHoliday’s mantra,“Give us your body for a week, and we'll give you back your mind”, might sound like the tagline from a dystopian horror flick, but in reality, it’s anything but.
Arriving at the resort, situated at the north of the island in the Cap Estate, you are handed an icy towel fragranced with citrus oils to refresh yourself. It's just a small taster for the invigorating sensory experience ahead.
Guests staying in the resort’s 155 rooms, which are nestled in candy pastel hued buildings, or enjoying a VIP experience in one of the exclusive villas hidden away in the hills, gaze down over a private beach with white, powder soft sand, lapped by azure blue waves. The resort’s 18 acres of grounds, a cacophony of towering palms, banana and mango trees, climbing hibiscus and St. Lucia’s national flower La Marguerite, are the very definition of tropical.
With no TV in the rooms, switching off is the only option, and your downtime is soundtracked by the vigorous (and loud!) whistling frogs and chirping insects, which continue throughout the night. I loved waking up with the sunrise and enjoying a coffee as I read my book on my balcony, listening to birdsong and the sound of the sea, I felt noticeably more relaxed. The resort really is the perfect setting for a physical and spiritual reset - no scary robots or apocalyptic plot twists in sight.
There’s more to wellness than not watching TV for a week though, right?
With a packed schedule of classes led by the resident fitness team - nattily named the BodyGuards - you can curate your daily schedule and pack it with whatever you fancy, doing as much or as little as you like. There’s all sorts going on, from yoga to sailing, meditation and Tai Chi to aqua aerobics and Zumba. Want something more challenging? Sign up for an early morning hike up the mountain. Not in the mood to be social? Borrow a snorkel and float face down in the sea to observe shoals of silvery fish living their best lives. It's incredibly mindful.
What else is there to fill your day with apart from exercise?
As part of your package, you get a 1 hour spa treatment included on each day of your stay. Pick from massages, body wraps, facials, Thalassotherapy or a sweat sesh in an infrared sauna. But, the real draw of the BodyHoliday’s wellness offering is Pavitra, an authentic Ayurvedic Pavilion at the top of a meandering staircase which snakes up the cliffside.
Using the results from a questionnaire to identify your dominant dosha - Vata, Pitta or Kapha - the traditional treatments are tailored to balance your body using 5,000 year old techniques which originated in ancient India.
Of the treatments I tried, the one which has really stayed in my memory is the Bolus Bag massage, which involved being pummelled all over with a warm poultice packed with herbs and oils. The rich scent of kaffir lime clung to my skin for the rest of the day, and even now the slightest whiff of the tangy citrus leaf transports me back to the massage table.
Oof that's making me hungry... what are the dining options?
The food at BodyHoliday straddles a fine line between indulgent and nutritious, with several restaurants all offering dishes packed with flavoursome local produce and freshly caught fish. However, the most spectacular place to eat is I-TAL. Overlooking Cariblue Bay, this tiny, Rastafarian inspired farm-to-table restaurant uses only organic fruits and vegetables grown on-site, which are picked just moments before you sit down to eat.
In the mood for a cocktail? Don’t go home without trying a Dirty Banana, a moreish concoction made with fresh banana, rum and coffee liqueur.
Join a BodyScience Programme for a health MOT
How far would you go for an uninterrupted hour with a doctor? In my case it was 4,223 miles. In the UK, the average length of a GP appointment is just 10 minutes - which is probably just a sixth of how long you spend on hold trying to make one, right? But, at BodyHoliday you can sign up for one of their Wellness Clinic programmes which give you a valuable insight into your health - both physical and parasympathetic - and even involves blood work (results come from a UK lab ahead of the trip, I used the phlebotomy service at Superdrug to get my samples a few weeks before heading to the resort).
Lead by Dr Maha Lakshmanan, there are seven programmes currently available:
De-stress Programme
Detox Programme
Fitness Programme
Digestive Health Programme
Healthy Ageing Programme
Weight Management
360° Programme
During your one-on-one appointment with Dr. Maha, you are scanned, weighed, measured and tested before you discuss your blood test results, and most valuably, you can address any concerns you might have, in detail.
I wanted to know if I am perimenopausal (the blood work revealed no, not yet), and most importantly to me, I wanted to discuss how I often felt like I couldn't breath properly and my heart rate was irregular. Was I just imagining it? Was it a manifestation of health anxiety due to other issues I was dealing with?
After having an ECG and my lung volume tested my fears were confirmed, and it was the effect of long-term, acute stress on my parasympathetic and sympathetic systems. Shallow breathing (common when under stress) had reduced my lower lung volume, and my heart rate was increasing at times because there wasn't enough oxygenated blood in my system as I wasn't breathing in enough air. Dr. Maha explained that my 'fight or flight systems are working totally against one another', and my body wasn't functioning correctly, I was 'emotionally unbalanced' and on a cellular level, my body was under severe oxidative stress.
Furthermore, my blood results revealed I was chronically low in sodium and potassium (which can affect heart health), phosphorus and iodine. The heavy metal test showed I was high in levels of Mercury (he recommended I replace my fillings), and Cadmium which is related to air pollution. Until I escape London for my dream life in the countryside, there's not much I can do about that one.
Dr. Maha also explained that my 'extremely sluggish' lymphatic system was affecting how my body metabolises fat, and that my blood results had shown 'slightly elevated' cholesterol levels. I also learned that I was chronically dehydrated and my kidneys were under strain.
But it wasn't all bad news. He told me that my liver was functioning normally and I wasn't pre-diabetic. He added that a lot of my problems could be sorted through positive changes to my lifestyle, and by committing to daily yoga and breathing exercises to help heal my nervous system.
So did the BodyHoliday change your life?
I want to emphasises that nothing that Dr. Maha told me came as a surprise.
When I arrived at the BodyHoliday in April 2023, I was probably the unhealthiest I had ever been. Physically, not only was I suffering with long term joint issues, but I was also under the care of an ENT at hospital as I was experiencing symptoms of Meniere's Disease - I had suffered with vertigo, deafness, and nausea for over a year - and I was on a waiting list for a brain scan to rule out a tumour.
My mental health was just as bad, and I was plagued with acute anxiety and depression. Even though I was on medication, ahead of my trip to St. Lucia I had been having increasingly frequent panic attacks (sometimes in the middle of the night, affecting my sleep). It was just the latest escalation of my poor mental health, and for years my head had been filled with increasingly violent intrusive thoughts which at times were so upsetting I struggled to step beyond my front door, or see my friends.
The results of my Wellness Clinic programme gave me the wake up call I needed. I didn't want to live like this anymore, and I didn't have to. I needed to take action, no matter how uncomfortable or painful or slow. Upon returning to the UK, I began making small changes to my attitude towards my health and my general lifestyle, letting the successes increase my confidence and push me onwards.
Thankfully My Meniere's symptoms were found to be related to a far less serious condition, Eustachian Tube Dysfunction, which was most likely triggered by catching Covid in February 2022. With that under control, I was again able to walk and exercise without falling over or feeling like my head would explode, so I signed up for a weekly tennis lesson, and gradually began adding more LISS exercise into my life. I persuaded my GP to refer me for physio to help with my knee and ankle problems, the former which has been plaguing me for over 20 years.
With a focus on supporting my nervous system, I quit caffeine, and to help my lungs, I gave up smoking, which meant reducing my alcohol consumption. To lower my cholesterol, and improve my overall body composition I became more mindful of what I was eating, and avoided UPFs, started taking salads to work for lunch rather than splurging on a Pret or a ready made pasta pot, and drank a lot more water (mostly thanks to my ridiculous giant Stanley mug).
For the first time ever, I prioritised my mental health and I started having regular therapy sessions, unravelling historic trauma and learning how to sit with difficult emotions. They have been a huge help, and therapy has provided me with vital tools I relied on to navigate through some really challenging situations - which a year or two ago I simply wouldn't have been able to cope with in a healthy way.
I've also applied a lot of Dr. Maha's recommendations, including daily breathwork practises; I have explored lymphatic drainage with a treatment at Flavia Morellato's London clinic; and I use a Withings scale to monitor my body composition and keep an eye on my body's hydration level.
A year on, I am definitely not the healthiest and happiest version of myself, but I am healthier and happier, and it all started with my trip to the BodyHoliday.
Getting there
BodyHoliday is a 90 minute drive from Hewanorra International Airport.
Flights + hotel from £2,476 based on 2 adults, 7 nights, with British Airways BOOK NOW
More healthy holiday inspo...
Philosophy, meditation and yoga at a beautiful retreat in Andalucia
'How I turned an all-inclusive Jamaican holiday into a DIY wellbeing break'
You Might Also Like
