The Last Resort Wellbeing

THE SPA

When I opened The Last Resort in January 2005, folks would question my spa business of organics, health and cleansing. Ten years on, and I am truly honoured to say I have worked with thousands of people from all walks of life, with nutritional and cleansing programs. When you are ready to take responsibility for your health, the results are simply life-changing, and always for the better.

THE RETREAT

Kookie Hill Retreat is a magical place built by my husband Dan and is located 3.5 hours north of Sydney, and 30 minutes from Forster. Breathtaking beaches, lush rainforests, stunning lakes and great surf surround this special part of Australia and are all yours to experience. We ask you to kindly turn off all your mobile devices (sorry, no Instagram pics) and take this time to focus on number one (that’s you).

MY STORY

I learnt from an early age that keeping negative emotions buried within was incredibly detrimental to your health and wellbeing. I learnt this invaluable lesson from the one person I hold closest to me, my mother. Our upbringing was tough and as a result, my mother carried with her a lot of sadness. We shared a really strong bond and I felt her lack of trust, deep insecurity and pain first hand.

She died at 44 years of age from breast cancer. I was 13 years old and even then I knew that her cancer was a direct result of keeping negative emotions deep inside. I witnessed her lose all confidence and self worth, and although she was a healthy woman, it was her state of mind that eventually caved.

My mother was an amazing woman, a true witch doctor, healing our colds and ear aches with natural medicines. She offered endless amounts of love to all around her, but forgot to give the same unconditional love and care to herself.

My interest in the human body came about then. I wanted to understand how your state of mind could affect your body, and what you could do to heal. And so, with the beautiful lesson my mother taught me, my journey began.

I have been a model and I have been a party-animal. I have been a devoted vegan and completed my yoga teacher’s training in India when I was 22 years old. I did my black belt in kickboxing and had two amateur bouts. I have been super-skinny and I have been fat. I have been depressed and paralysed in grief. For a number of years, I had psoriasis all over my body and my fair share of body issues.

I spent a lot of my twenties visiting health retreats, and doing many types of fasting, meditation and intensive yoga and detoxification courses. I worked through my insecurities, grief, fear and lack of trust. It was tough and I suffered. But I always marched to a different drumbeat and was never afraid to speak my mind. I had learnt inherently that if you bottle things up inside yourself, they become toxic to no one else but you. That lesson I learnt from my mother remained clear and gave me strength in the toughest of situations.

I am now a mum to two wonderful children, a wife to an amazing man, a naturopath and business owner of a spa and retreat. I know that health is as much about the food you eat as about your state of mind. They’re intrinsically linked and when you’re living a life in tune with both, you’re living your best life possible.

To me, achieving and sharing this knowledge forms the work I now do. My journey is testament to the fact that you can accomplish whatever you want in your life, no matter where you come from. You are not your ‘story’. There will always be people and situations that want to pull you down, but real power is not power over others, or even over the situations, real power is over one’s self.

Much Love,

Saimaa x