Sura Detox History

The Sura Ethos

We have a strong ethical content to everything we do, and running the retreats has become a means of doing deep work with people that can result in great change in their lives.

Knowing this, we hold your safety, well-being, and environmental factors with great integrity.

You will feel this when you arrive.

Through education and support, we seek to enable you to take back the life that is yours.

We aim to empower you with the confidence to know that the healthy lifestyle you want is possible and easy to achieve.

You will be encouraged to understand where you are in your life, and to foster an atmosphere of tenderness and empathy for yourself.

We do this because we believe that only from this place can you begin to make new choices and create a life for yourself that is passionate with possibility.

Every aspect of what we do is greatly considered, and much time is taken to listen and respond to the multitude of useful feedback we have received over the years, thus the programme has been honed according to the need of the guests, rather than our own preferences.

Each team member is given carte blanc over their area of speciality, so that they can craft it to their requirements and feel a deep sense of ownership over what they bring to the whole.

The Story so far…

Being one of the first two detox retreats in the UK, we have dealt with more people, seen more healings, coached people through more challenges, and needed more rest than other detox companies.

We have honed our skills, techniques and programme to better serve our guests, and ourselves - yes, we need positivity and rest too.

That is why we run them only once a month, and why our care and attention is unparalleled in this industry. Running people through the conveyor-belt and ourselves into the ground was never on the cards, and never will be.

It is about teaching by doing, and leading by example.

Dao 

It all started with learning about these methods of health whilst living in Taiwan, off the coast of China.

Dao started with himself, people asked to be taken through the process, which he oversaw for free.

Home Colonics

Home Colonics, an early incarnation of the business was started by Dao and his then-partner Shoshana in 2002 in Spain.

Its unromantic name and unstructured approach was soon to be upgraded - upon their return to England to raise their daughter.

Karuna Retreats

This was renamed as Karuna Retreats (meaning "compassion" in Sanskrit) as it better reflected their empathetic approach.

Sura Detox

Sura Detox was formed in 2006; combining the expertise of Dao, Amida, Kate and Benita. Sura itself means 'teaching'.

Both Sura & Karuna now thrive, and run parallel as sister companies, using the same basic structure. It is the individual input of the team members that generates the different flavours between us.

In mid 2011 Nikki joined us as our permanent Yoga teacher. Her skills in other areas soon lead her to run the craft afternoons, and finally as raw food chef on the final day's food prep, and a fully-fledged member of the team.

Mid-2013 saw Amida stepping out of his role as both facilitator and business partner, to follow his own career as superfood distributor. His place was taken by Daniel - Kate's husband, an old friend of the team.

You can find out more about the individual team members on the Sura Detox Team pages above.

2016 Change of Venue

After around a decade working in the soft environment of Ham Farm, the owners (David & Mary) decided they should retire.

It came as somewhat of a shock to us, as we had known the venue was on the market for some years, and never guessed that they would board the place up, rather than keep it going. But such is the passage of time.

Wishing them well in their retirement, it was time for us to relocate...

To Smythen Farm.