Episode 5 The Retreat

The wellbeing industry is booming.

More people seek alternative ways

to cope with rising obesity, stress and depression.

The stress levels have been getting heavier.

I don't understand why I'm so stressed and I can't switch off.

Heading for a retreat on an island in the South China Sea,

Nick Knowles joins a group who are all seeking the antidote

for the strains of modern life.

There's this place down in Thailand

says it can actually change your head around,

change your inner space around.

How will the gang cope with a completely new way of living?

I think that some of the participants,

they didn't really know what they were getting into.

It's almost cultish.

I think it's going to be a challenge.

Will 28 days of detox and alternative therapies

be enough to change their lives?

I don't think anyone would be surprised to find out

I'm the least likely person to be taking on this challenge.

This is one kick-ass detox!

Welcome to Thailand.

Milton and Kathy have taken their usual morning walk

to be the first of the gang at the hospital.

They will all be tested to provide their final set of results

and prove whether their stay at the retreat

has had a positive effect on their health.

Some of the effects are more immediately obvious, however,

and Billy's back to full power at last.

With their increased energy, Ron takes them all to burn some off,

at a gym with a difference -

a Muay Thai gym.

Thai kickboxing.

No, no, no, no! A kick for beginning.

Here for basics, for fighting.

INDISTINCT

Hands up. Hands up. When you do that, jab.

When you come, come for chin.

One-two, jab-jab.

One, two, jab-jab.

INDISTINCT

When you kick,

grab here, OK?

-Yeah. Here?

-Right.

No, no, no...

I can't...

OK.

Come on. Right kick, right kick.

I'm dead, I'm not tired.

That was energising. I haven't lifted my leg that high for ages,

you know what I mean?

It's just remembering the movements, like left, right.

-He's got the bags under the knee.

-And the language barrier.

And the language barrier, yeah.

Yeah, but you kind of get the grasp of what he's saying.

But it was good, I really, really enjoyed it, really good.

In the line-up, they started with us

and we were like, "What? What are we doing?"

Never been here before.

I think the yoga breathing technique really helps,

you know, as I'm trying to get round the ring knackered!

Breathing in through my nose, you know, getting it into my core...

-Feel...

-This one?

-Yeah, yeah.

I tried that one but he looked at me as if he was going to knock me out.

How strong were they, though?

-They're powerful, they're powerful.

-So solid.

After a quick pit stop to collect the others,

the gang are being taken out for some well-earned relaxation

and reflection to a secret spa.

On one of the highest points in the island,

the gang are treated to a view of Koh Phangan

from a spectacular angle.

The jungle!

-That's amazing, isn't it?

-Yeah.

That's one of the islands, out there?

Could be.

There was a programme on recently

where people gave up sugar for two weeks.

We've given up sugar, caffeine, alcohol, meat, dairy, wheat...

-Yeah!

-Everything, for a month!

-Yeah.

I thought it was going to be about getting myself

physically back in shape. I wanted to lose weight

and I wanted to get healthy with the food and things.

But in actual fact, it became secondary

and less important than actually slowing my mind down

and actually re-finding myself.

It sounds like such a hippy thing to say,

but it's like, the simplest way of saying it is,

it's like I've got my mojo back.

I'm suddenly really excited about going back to work,

going out and sort of going back into the world

and going back and being at full tilt.

It's like a little reboot.

I wish I'd done it ten years ago.

Five years ago, certainly.

-Yeah, yeah.

-It shows that the mental aspect, which you weren't expecting,

and finding yourself, but it's also showed us, I think,

that everything is...

Kind of works together.

-So the food helps with that aspect, as well.

-That's true.

And the yoga, and that, and the self-control, that helps.

-A combination.

-All these things that help to better you.

-It's brilliant.

-See what you've done?!

THEY LAUGH

I think yoga and meditation have some negative connotations.

I never wanted to do meditation

because I thought it sounded ridiculous.

I think it's about taking the first step.

Some of those people, you don't think would come.

Once they get here and have a little taste of it...

They'll enjoy it, because it's almost...

So, what are you going to say, then,

when you're back working on the cars,

and you're in the line of cars,

waiting for people to come out

and they go, "Milton, I saw you go on that Retreat,"

"doing all that yoga and all that reiki and stuff.

"Load of old codswallop, isn't it?"

No, but I tell them what it done for me, how it chilled me out,

got me a bit more lively and that's what it's done for me.

It makes you... It does make you stronger.

You feel stronger inside.

Your posture's better, you're not slouching, you're kind of...

Look at him. I've never seen him slouch any day I've been here.

To be fair, you could iron a shirt on him, he's that upright.

The other day, when we met the monk

and I wasn't particularly impressed by the whole thing,

did that offend you, as a Buddhist?

You were talking about him at a very personal level

and it felt like you'd missed the point of what he was trying to say.

His life might not be 100% without problems or difficulties,

but he was carrying a message and I thought you shot the messenger.

So, yeah, I did feel a bit offended by that.

I think there's a possibility that I did, to a certain extent,

that I actually did do that.

It kind of irritated me,

the suggestion that somehow he's got all the answers

and we in the West have got it all wrong.

Well, I don't think he's got the answers,

but what he's saying is there is a teaching

that's 2,500 years old that could be really helpful.

Yeah, but every religion says that.

I don't consider it an organised religion,

and most Buddhists wouldn't,

but it is considered an organised religion by most people.

But what bothered me about it was the suggestion

that somehow in the West,

because, you know, we don't care for each other,

we don't care for ourselves and we've kind of lost our way.

No, I don't think he was saying that, Nick.

I think you heard that, but I don't...

That's not what I heard.

You came here burnt out.

-Yes.

-And you help a lot of people.

So he was speaking to you and about you.

He wasn't... I didn't hear him saying anything

-that wasn't true for you or for me.

-Yeah, I suppose.

Again, very easy for somebody who...

Again, it's the person rather than the message, you're quite right.

I was more bothered by the person than the message.

Organised religion is one thing

and I absolutely agree with you about that,

but spirituality is something else.

But it's not going to work for everyone, is it?

-What isn't?

-Any of the process that we've been doing.

Some people aren't going to be able to get through the fasting,

some people aren't going to be able to get through...

are not going to enjoy the reiki.

Other people are going to enjoy it in the way

that it's been surprising that people have on this.

There's a saying...

I hope people are more open to it, as a result of watching this.

There's three things that I've been told

that really help any kind of recovery,

and that's honesty, open-mindedness and willingness.

And I think if people come and they're honest

and they're open-minded and they're willing,

I think they'll get a hell of a lot out of it,

at whatever level they are

and however much they want to open

-to other levels of consciousness or not.

-Yeah, I think you're right.

There we go, we did find somewhere where we agreed in the end!

HE CHUCKLES

With Nick continuing to wrestle

with the more spiritual aspects of the retreat,

he goes to look for Claire

to talk about her stresses as a police officer.

You came here thinking that you were suffering from depression.

-Mm.

-Do you still believe that?

Erm, I've had a lot of different labels put on

what I was going through.

Given what you go through, it would be surprising if you didn't.

It's not surprising, yeah. It isn't surprising.

And I don't think anyone...

I think people are shocked because at work, I appear OK.

So you try and hide the effects it has on you.

But I think, over time, you can't get away from it.

How many of your colleagues, do you think, are suffering in silence

and not letting on that they're...

Probably quite a few.

Definitely with stress. Definitely with stress.

But I definitely enjoy my job and I love what I do

and I do it to the best of my ability

and sometimes it doesn't work out

for the people that you want to help

and that is quite hard.

What I think, rather than you being upset with yourself,

I think maybe we, as a society, have let you down

by not actually giving you the support

and making you understand how valued you are.

I think we, as a society, need to find a way

to make you feel valued for what you do for us.

And not just you, but everybody else that does the job.

As I say, you can't keep facing the bad people

and have people scream abuse in your face all day

without it causing effect.

-Yeah.

-Very rarely does anybody write in out of the blue and go,

"By the way, thanks very much

"for making sure there are no burglars in my street."

Yeah, exactly.

I mean, don't get me wrong, people do say thank you and it's nice.

But a lot of the time... It's quite rare.

Cos we need people with your kind of heart in the force, don't we?

Yeah.

You can't just have all, like, really hard cases.

You've got to have people with your heart.

I think I just need to work out a way

of not getting drawn in too much to other people's bad times.

What I want to do today is I want to show you things that you have been

eating or drinking while you've been here now for three weeks,

almost a month. Things that you can make at home to be healthier,

basically. You want to alkalize your body

so you create a good environment,

so that the bacterias, viruses don't thrive

and don't party inside of you.

OK. We're going to make cashew cheese spread.

Salt. So, of course, it's not cheese.

-It's cashew cheese.

-Better.

This mixture, I use it as a mayonnaise.

-No, thanks.

-That's pretty good.

Like a cheese straw kind of thing going on.

Dried fruit is really good.

In preparation for returning to their real lives,

Dominique and Derek teach the gang

how to prepare tasty and nutritious vegan food.

And this is raspberry and chia.

I just soak my chia in a blended raspberry puree

and that's it. This one is pecan and cinnamon ice cream

and this one is chocolate ice cream

and they are both made from coconut milk.

-Yes.

-Mmm!

-Very nice.

-Really nice, that.

That's the first time in this entire trip that...

Like going to a Michelin-star restaurant

to have a chocolate cheesecake.

I'd rather have that than the chocolate cheesecake.

And that, with the fruit in it,

I would rather have than a pudding in a Michelin-star restaurant,

as well. That's the first time I've been properly blown away.

Some of you guys have eaten the Caesar salad, I heard.

Yes, very good.

You like the dressing.

So I made this sauce with again cashews.

OK? So, it's always better to soak your nuts.

-I explained to...

-Sorry!

-You can't say that.

Oh, my God!

You can't say that!

You should say "the cashews".

Whoever thought veganism could be so much fun?

LAUGHTER

The goal of the retreat is to change the individual

through nutritional, physical and mental training

to become calm and in control of the mind, body and spirit.

And, finally, it seems to be working.

Even for Nick.

Physically, I'm a lot healthier.

Mentally, I'm calmer.

And in terms of priorities,

I think I've learned where my priorities are,

rather than thinking that work is everything.

CHANTING

The gang have arrived for their walking meditation.

One of the ancient world's oldest meditation techniques,

the walking practice is an observation-based,

self-exploratory journey, trying to achieve a balanced mind.

I developed a lot of different types of walk...

-SHE LAUGHS

-..throughout my three-hour journey.

I found it quite hard, actually.

It's hard, especially walking on this concrete.

-Yeah.

-And we've been out already this morning, as well.

So it's kind of taking its toll.

I found it really difficult to keep bringing my...

Because a noise and your mind would start going.

You looked like you were in the zone all the time.

And then I was conscious I could see people's feet.

It's so weird cos this is slow.

Slow, that's the hardest thing.

Yeah, kind of controlled.

-Yeah.

-And you don't think that's going to be tiring.

-Yeah.

-But it really is.

Yeah. I could walk for miles now.

I could walk for five hours at my own pace, but to walk this slow,

in this confined space...

This control, it does things to your mind, do you know what I mean?

I got into, like, a walking zone

where I thought I was walking quite quickly,

but I was obviously walking slower because people were overtaking me.

Even you were overtaking me.

-I couldn't believe it.

-He actually came up to me and said, "Slow down,

"go slowly, just think of your steps."

And when I did do that, it felt like I was floating.

Know what I mean?

And time just kind of went.

And then, bang, three hours.

Done.

The gang arrive back to find Nick packing.

I've had a phone call from home

with an illness in the family,

which is obviously a bit of a worry.

The net result is that the person in the family is OK.

And...

But I feel I ought to be there. It's interesting

cos the point of me coming here was to try and work out...

Well, to get well, obviously.

But also, in my head, to slow my head down,

to be able to slow my head down

at the end and the beginning of the day.

But the other thing, as well, to try and get

that work-life balance right.

I kind of know I need to be there.

And perhaps before I came on this trip,

I would've said, "No, I'm at work.

"I need to stay at work. This is my job and this is what I do."

But the truth of the matter is I know I kind of need to be home

with that family member, adding support.

So I think I've learned the lessons I need to learn here.

I think my life has changed, so I don't need to be here any longer

and it's all right for me to be there, I think. So...

Before Nick heads for the airport,

there's just one last piece of business left.

You did your test this morning.

-This is great.

-Went to the hospital.

Went to the hospital. I see here that you lost 10kg.

-Yeah.

-Good for you.

I know! It's amazing, isn't it?

It was all in your face and your double chin.

What do you mean I had a double chin?

Yeah, that's true.

Blood pressure went down. You didn't have very high blood pressure.

Blood pressure's always been good,

but it has come down to that of a 25-year-old athlete.

All the canoeing paid off.

You went to the nude beach, tell me.

Yeah, that was the motivation every morning -

-to get as far as the nude beach and come back again, yeah.

-OK.

The good news is cholesterol went down.

Total cholesterol - you were at 227.

And I should really be at around?

Conventional medicines say under 200,

but cardiologists say under 150 to be at bullet-proof risk, you know.

And I'm at?

You are now at 156.

So, basically, you're pretty good.

Basically, I'm now healthy and I have the physique

and metabolic rate of a 25-year-old athlete.

-It's kind of almost like a magic bullet.

-Yep.

And I have to say I was sceptical

about how much effect it would have when I came here.

And you've won me over with it.

I think this isn't just for people

who want to wear baggy pants and braid their hair.

-Like me!

-Well, you know, it should be for everybody.

-For sure.

-And I hope that people

will look past the setting and accoutrements.

Yeah, you can do it at home.

-Well, yeah, that's the thing.

-It's true that when you arrive,

you were sceptical. You were scaring me a little!

-Why?

-Well, you were scaring me a little

because you were so sceptical, you know,

but I saw the change, so I was positive,

I was confident that, at the end, you would see the results.

Sadly, April is not seeing the benefits she had hoped for

with her ongoing eye condition.

Last night was very, very challenging for me.

I've had so many rips in my eyes, in my corneas, during this time here.

In these last couple of days,

I don't know if you'll see much of me.

And if you don't, I hope you'll understand.

And I love you guys. Bye.

With April holed up in her room, Luke visits with a machine

that measures how her heart-rate variability

affects her nervous system.

If you have a high heart-rate variability,

that means your heart constantly adapts

and it's a sign of good health, good homoeostasis.

The HRV monitor is commonly used by athletes

to measure their autonomic nervous systems.

With you, your heart rate variability is 60% low

and that just is showing for me

that we need to work with your nervous system a little bit more.

My concern is that you are looking to reiki, to Oran,

to all these healing modalities outside of yourself

and, for me, I would like you to try and do things

that empower you more, if that makes sense.

So when you have a good night's sleep,

I know it's very easy to be, like,

"Yes," and then have such a high,

and then the next night if you don't, it's then such a low.

I know it must be very difficult,

but when I hear that you are still smoking sometimes

or drinking coffee, then I do ask the question -

what is it that's blocking you from self-healing?

And I do just want to empower you to take this on.

Thank you, Luke.

Feeling better, April joins the girls and Billy

to learn a yoga technique that takes their practice to new heights.

Oh, it's beautiful to feel that trust and that surrender

and that's really the essence of this practice,

to cultivate these key aspects

in the art of relating.

Sebastian practises what is known as acroyoga,

and is designed to enhance and combine

the modalities of physiotherapy, breathing, mindfulness

and trust between the two participants.

-You're doing it, Billy.

-No!

-Yes, you are.

-No, I believe in what I see.

Oh, wow!

Ever up for the whole experience,

Billy steps up to the plate to have a go...

..even after he said he wouldn't.

Right, straighten your legs.

There you go.

And look up. Lift your chest. Lift your chest.

Smile! Spread your wings.

LAUGHTER

Relaxed and happy, they enjoy a meal together,

waiting to see what tomorrow's test results will bring.

I have your results.

We looked at the results from when you arrived, which were alarming.

We knew that you lost ten kilos, which is amazing,

which will drop your cholesterol.

-I lost me wallet!

-So you came with a total cholesterol of 268.

-Yes.

-And we learned that it should be under 150.

Laura, Laura, Laura...

You are down at 191.

-That's so much.

-Oh, you did drop.

-You did well.

-Thank you.

-Maggie!

-Yes.

Cholesterol, total...

-You were at 202.

-Yes.

You are down 176.

-Good for you.

-Brilliant!

-Yay!

-Well done, darling.

And you are now 181.

Well, that's good.

Yes, 150 would be bullet-proof.

As Dominique takes the gang through their medical results,

the quantifiable effects are not the only positive changes

that they will take home from the retreat.

Good job, Billy.

I feel like I'm back.

And I'm, like, a lot more engaged and happy to talk to people, and...

-And row with me!

-And row with you and have a go at everyone.

-Milton.

-Hey!

Results, more results.

-Yup, more results.

-We want more.

-Let's go straight to the diabetes, the blood sugar.

-Mm-hmm.

You came here at 170, diabetic.

You went down to 101, very good.

-Yep.

-And now...

-90 again!

-Ta-da!

It's perfect.

As beautiful as they may be,

the presence of fishing boats anchored in this bay

can only mean one thing.

Look what's happened.

Paradise has become a typhoon of rain,

wind and massive, massive waves from the sea.

As the storm shows no signs of relenting by the evening,

the gang have had to move from the beach

to higher ground for the farewell party.

But it still hasn't dampened their spirits.

And Oran gets the party going with a Persian santur.

It's been a good ride, you know.

I've enjoyed most of it.

Some parts, you know, have been a little bit tricky.

But it's been a great ride.

I came out here because I needed some time for me.

I think I found...

..re-found, if you like, my inner confidence that I think I'd lost.

You know, me and Kathy are great friends.

You don't know who you're going to pick or bond with,

but we just kind of clicked from day one, you know.

I say to Kathy, "Fancy coming for a run in the morning?"

"Yeah, what time, five?"

I didn't know she wanted to come for the whole process of doing it.

Just before I came, I was quite ill,

I was taking antidepressants,

antibiotics, steroids.

For me, it's all just a growth thing that I really wanted to come here

and experience, the self-confidence, the anxiety,

you know, just getting the tools to manage that.

I think Luke and Shakti and the others have given me that.

There's been a lot happening, and it's been quite difficult to digest.

'Learning to work with my breath,'

learning to work with some different forms of meditation.

I know that whatever I decide that I'm going to do, going on from here,

I will succeed.

I think I'm going back a different person to how I arrived.

Gradually, over the course of the programme,

I'm not taking anything now.

My head feels brilliant.

My heart feels open.

I think there's a lot more processing to happen post-retreat

and I'm quite looking forward to that.

Because I've seen it happen now, I've come here,

got into the process and done it all

and seen the results of it all,

I'm not going back there.

Before attempting any of the detox techniques or practices

demonstrated in The Retreat,

you are advised to seek out your doctor's advice.