Rainbow City Reboot

Panoramic picture of Rainbow City, Portugal

One thing that has really inspired me to start posting again, is a recent trip that my sister and I took to Rainbow City in the mountains of Portugal, 3 hours north of Lisbon.

Founded by friends Anthony Lowther and Daniel Kruger, they have created a magical health retreat, immersed in nature and away from the hustle and bustle of every day life. This was the perfect place to go for my first 2 weeks medication free, and best of all their main focus is on living a super healthy lifestyle of which Anthony calls a 'constant health upgrade' and he's not wrong. I found this the perfect place to reboot my health before committing to treating bipolar naturally.

Anthony and son Malakai

Dan and resident dog Huxley

Now I could tell you about the ins and outs of our stay, but primarily our days consisted of waking with the rising sun and early nights, eating a raw organic diet packed full of juices and superfoods, yoga, aligning with nature, meditation and high intensity training. Our downtown was spent in deep conversation with our fellow RC dwellers, reading, singing, or watching a good movie. Not too shabby, but it doesn't make compelling reading in my eyes. So, instead of talking you through that, I think it is more beneficial for me to share the main things I took from my week and how you can apply them to your life when booking a yoga retreat or help upgrade your health from home.

Before arriving at RC, I was worried that everyone would be a yoga expert and as an amateur, I would not know any moves and make a fool of myself. However, I found that you don't need to be an expert yogi to enjoy, and benefit from, a yoga retreat.
RC welcomed anyone from the  absolute beginner to the daily devotee. And there was not air of showing off or pretense of keeping up. Everyone was free to go at their own speed whether that meant going slow with more challenging poses or pushing the limits on familiar ones. As an added bonus, there were several professional yoga teachers residing there during my stay, who were more than willing to offer me tuition. The result was that I dropped my ego and stopped worrying what people thought of my practice. I realised that no one cares, which left me feeling much more confident and able to 'feel' my moves rather than over-think them. After 10 days of yoga, it was easy to create a personal routine to take anywhere.I have practiced at home every day since I have returned and I am now even looking into courses in India for next year. 

Yoga in Dome 1

'You are what you eat' and 'Let food be thy medicine' are famous quotes that I thought I understood before my trip. I didn't realise the truth that rings through them until my two week diet upgrade. The RC family buy all local organic ingredients and prepare vibrant colourful meals. Breakfast typically started with a raw juice, smoothie or porridge with superfoods such as chia seeds, goji berries, spirulina, chlorella, maca or cacao, to name but a few. Lunch and dinner included fresh dips, soups, salads and all the fruit and veggies you could want. Throughout the day there would always be offering of fresh raw desserts, which were the biggest winner for me. You really do have to taste them to believe how good they are, and when you know they are sin free, they taste even more glorious!

Before diving headfirst into Rainbow City life, I had dabbled in raw cuisine but found it intimidating and unsatisfying. Since returning to the UK I have maintained a diet of aroun d 70% raw foods. I am motivated, not only by how good it tastes, but also by how alive eating raw makes me feel. I feel supercharged in mind, body and spirit. I really believe that it is my new diet that is helping me cope with living with bipolar medication free.

Raw chocolate brownies with goji berries

One thing that I found particularly healing was the pace of the days. The days are structured, not ordained. As volunteers there were certain things that we needed to contribute towards as part of the community such as preparing food and cleaning, but apart from that the days pretty much took care of themselves and there was not need to worry about planning. With the conflicting symptoms of depression and mania, bipolar can see like I am always fighting against the two extremes, so it was a huge relief when I realised I could try just sitting back and letting the schedule unfold before me. This gave me an opportunity to go with the flow of my moods and also indulge in my passion of painting. My sister and I completed a huge wall mural in the cinema room. It felt amazing to contribute a long lasting piece of art for other guests to enjoy. Going with the flow, and embracing my creativity are lessons that I am hoping to live by moving forward.

Wall mural created by myself and my sister

At Rainbow City there is huge emphasis on community living. As someone who has always suffered from depression, mood swings and anxiety, I thought this would be challenging for me, as I tend to hide myself away to avoid others seeing. It was in fact the opposite. It encouraged me to listen to my own moods and challenge some destructive behaviours that I have such as isolating myself and being dishonest to others about how I am feeling. There is such a stigma surrounding mental health that I often only socialise when I am feeling 'normal'. This experience allowed me to be more accepting of myself and stop worrying about how others see me. It helped that everyone at RC was so lovely and on my wavelength. Living as part of a tight-knit community was new to me, but I really did feel like a houseguest, friend and even part of one huge family but the end of my stay.

Rainbow City ladies

My main reasons for going to Rainbow City were to destress, work on a yoga practice, learn how to breathe, and put away my smartphone and connect with my feelings and moods. I got much more than this. I left with a new sense of self, great feeling of accomplishment and a new Rainbow family from all corners of the globe. Not bad at all.

If you would like more information about staying at Rainbow City, please get in touch via their Facebook Page.