Guest Spotlight: Meet Liz Reale, an OHI guest for almost 35 years!

While OHI welcomes guests of all ages, we rarely are lucky enough to host teenagers.  It takes a great deal of maturity to work through a detox at such a young age, but those that are truly engaged in the process experience a health transformation very few teens ever undergo.  Liz Reale was one of those lucky teens.

“I first heard about OHI 33 years ago when a friend from school invited me to go with her for a week to the San Diego campus,” said Liz.  “As a teenager, the cleanse I experienced was amazing.  I had never felt so good!  I always told myself I would go back to OHI as an adult.”

Fast-forward 27 years, native California girl Liz was residing in Orange County, California.  A retired hairstylist and now a busy stay-at-home mom, Liz found herself facing a health opportunity from living in a house that had toxic mold.  “I had skin issues, joint pain in my back and knees, memory loss, and brain fog,” said Liz.  “I also had chronic fatigue.  I was at the end of my rope, and knew I needed some serious help.  Out of desperation, I booked a 4-week stay at OHI.  I walked in not sure what to expect of my body, and over the course of that month, all of my symptoms disappeared.  I can’t tell you what a relief it was to feel like myself again.  Truthfully, I felt better than my old self.  I learned how to eat clean, and why.  I learned how to quiet my mind, and just be.  The mental stress I had been experiencing from my every day life just melted away.”

Liz continues her healing health journey by visiting OHI twice a year for two weeks each stay.  “Whenever I need to get away, I head to OHI.  It’s truly a magical place.  All of the classes are great, and I hear something different each time I take them.  The Emotional Detox classes are my favorite.  I always have some emotional burden I’ve been unconsciously carrying around, and as soon as I sit down in the Emotional Detox class I realize how freeing it is to let things go.  I also enjoy going to the Conscious Breath class.  It serves as a reminder to me how to quiet my mind, whether I’m at OHI or back at home.”

Liz works diligently to continue the OHI program when she’s at home, and makes her spiritual healing a priority.  “Meditation has become an important tool for me to connect to God, to heal anything needing to be healed.  It helps me stay centered in my daily life.  I continue to walk, journal, and meditate daily to nurture my mind and body to be the best they can be, and that enhances my spiritual life.  Of course, stress can still impact me.  To counter that, I’ve become very aware of my breath when I start to feel stressed at home.  I literally stop and ask myself, ‘How am I breathing?’  It forces me to become fully present in the moment.  When I stop to clear my mind and alter my breath, I find it helps me take control of the situation, and the stress has less power over me.  Overall, when I look at how my life has completely changed since becoming part of the OHI community— a clean diet combined with mental clarity and spiritual growth — I gain excitement for life and a sort of euphoric state that is indescribable.  It makes me realize that this is how life is really supposed to be lived.”

Liz makes the most of every visit to OHI by fully embracing the community itself as well as the program.  “I go by myself to OHI to get the full experience,” said Liz.  “I meet so many amazing people every time I visit, and continue to maintain friendships with them.  I can’t describe how much the relationships I forge there mean to me.  They are so much deeper and more meaningful than I ever thought possible.”

As Liz reflects back on her 33-year relationship with OHI, her connection to the experience is sincere.  “When I look back on my life, I can see it all clearly now,” said Liz.  “There was a reason I didn’t feel good.  I was completely toxic, and my body was overwhelmed.  The OHI diet can jump-start the healing for anyone, no matter what health opportunity you are facing, but I personally needed support from the OHI community to truly heal and get well.  I am so grateful to each and every person who has reached out a helping hand to me along the way.  I am a happier, healthier, more complete person for all the love I have received.  Thank you OHI!”

Optimum Health Institute is here for you! We will motivate you to stick with your commitment to health and discover new ways to empower yourself. Explore the holistic healing program offered at OHI. This program offers three week-long sessions, where you will learn to cleanse the body, quiet the mind, and awaken the spirit. Call OHI at (800) 588-0809 or visit www.OptimumHealth.org today for more information.