Testimonies

To watch our 2 minute video testimonies on YouTube, click here.

Here at the Vibrant Health Institute, we LOVE to hear from our guests and learn about their individual experiences. If you want to share your experience with us, send in your own testimonial! Here are testimonies from our guests who stayed for 1 week, guests who stayed for 3 weeks, and guests who participated in our 10 day colema board cleanse. Enjoy!

1 week:

I am actually staying the course and continue to learn/try more and more every week to build upon what my time at VHI taught me. I have not bought almond milk once since leaving (thank you Chef Pat), pretty much have eliminated all dairy and gluten from my diet, and have had the best BM’s ever!

The most amazing part, though, is the anxiety and fear I felt no longer consumes me which has been incredibly freeing for me. After my WHOA! moment during our journaling session where I was finally able to put a name to my fear face, I am now able to take a step back when I feel myself going down the “what if'” road and put the thought into perspective while bringing myself back to the present moment. I’m also paying more attention to what triggers my fear/anxiety and where I choose to put my energy (for example, I’ve identified FB as a trigger so most days I don’t get on here at all). Not to sound over dramatic – but having this self awareness has profoundly changed my life, for in this moment, I am whole.

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So thankful for and humbled by the time I was able to spend at VHI and with all of you!

May, 2016

JC
Since 1982 I have journeyed several times from Southwestern Pennsylvania to “my retreat” in Hodunk, Michigan, first known as Hippocrates Midwest and later as the Creative Health Institute. I always loved the experience and came away a better person. My last visit was eleven year ago in 2004, and this year I felt a need to return. Upon exploring the Internet, I discovered that my retreat was now Vibrant Health Institute and was under new leadership. The website information indicated that the program was what I was looking for, so I booked a stay. I was pleased to discover that my experience at Vibrant Health Institute was better than any before. The wheat grass juice is the best I have ever had – quite palatable. Pleasant tasting green drinks are available throughout the day. The meals created by gourmet Chef Pat are delicious, beautiful, and, of course, nutritious. The exercise program is structured so that all, from the most fit to those who just do what they can, can benefit. Most important, the atmosphere created by all of the staff, especially Michael and Reenie, is magical. With their guidance, we guests bonded, creating and exchanging healing energy. Now, as I leave, I know that I will receive the support I need through email, the website, and the membership program. VHI is the place to come to improve the body, mind, and spirit. I will be back – and soon.

June, 2015

Cheryl Greenwood

Hello! I’m Michelle & I’ve been living a completely raw vegan lifestyle for 2 1/2 years now. I was inspired & choose this path to try & heal from symptoms that were starting to affect my life. This is a lifestyle for health & healing, not a diet. Although I’m still healing, it has helped me feel so much better! I want to educate & inspire others to eat more raw living food so they can be healthy both physically & spiritually!

I’ve suffered from what Allopathic medicine calls colitis, gerd, IBS & stomach pain since Jr. High. and by college it only got worse. I tried every diet out there & none of them worked. Eventually I started having swollen lymph nodes & bad joint pain in my knee & hip 5 years ago. I thought it was overuse from running, but I gave up running & the pain spread to other joints & tendons over time. I couldn’t work, couldn’t be on my feet or do a lot of the things I used to do.  My life was flipped upside down.  My plans to run the Boston Marathon came to a halt. Pain was all I thought about and it took a toll mentally and emotionally as well. I can remember trying to get from my car, to my class at the local community college. I parked pretty much by the door and barely made it through the doors to the bench in the hallway.  Piercing and burning pain through all my joints and tendons, I rested and mentally prepared to hop on the elevator to get to the top floor to my class. This is just one example of what my life was like at the time.

Every doctor I went to said something different.  I had symptoms of fibromyalgia, adrenal fatigue, menopause, arthritis and more.  I went to a rheumatologist & they suspected a type of RA and I was put on a steroid & a sulfa drug that was supposed to help the inflammation. After a month the pain got worse, I lost my appetite, lost a ton of weight, ended up with a high fever, toxic liver, extreme rash and swelling, bone edema & low kidney function. For a short moment, I wondered if I was going to make it through all this.  I spent 5 days in the hospital & they decided it was a reaction to the drugs, but nobody really knew what was wrong with me.

I had ups & downs after this but my pain eventually got worse. I was still having trouble with digestion and now I couldn’t stand for more than 10 minutes. Even everyday things like using scissors or doing my hair hurt.  One night I was in so much pain & remembered how some of my family members had been into juicing and herbs for healing. I was led to YouTube & found a video of this enthusiastic vibrant looking man making a green juice out of his RV. Dan McDonald “The Life Regenerator” was his name and he was raving about the power of raw living fruits and vegetables.  I emailed him right away for answers and a few hours later I was surprised to see he already responded! I followed his advice & did a short juice fast of watermelon, celery, & cucumber only & immediately started feeling better for the first time. It was like a light bulb went on. A shift happened. I knew right then raw living foods was the way to go & I haven’t turned back since! I immediately decided to start Dan’s Detox Mastery DVD series which introduced me to new recipes and a new way of eating. Through detoxification, raw living fruits, vegetables, herbs, green juices and lifestyle changes I feel so much better! I can do every day things again with very little to no pain! My digestion is better, my hormones are normal, my kidneys and adrenals function better, sleep is better, mind is clearer, hair is thicker, the bone edema healed and more.  This lifestyle isn’t restrictive, but liberating! Although I’m not at the point of running long distances yet, I am happier and I am thriving now instead of just surviving.

What doctors didn’t tell me was all that I had suffered with was the cumulative effects of toxins in our environment, toxic foods, toxic thoughts, and poor lifestyle choices, which lead to a toxic body and the symptoms I experienced. The body can cleanse and heal itself if we provide it with the right conditions, the right fuel and a positive and loving mindset.  I found that God and nature provide all we need for healing and by choosing to change our lifestyle we can thrive and live up to our true potential.

Healing takes time and is a journey. Even on a raw food diet one can over eat, suffer from stress, eat out of balance and start to slide backwards with healing.  This is why I decided to stay a week at VHI and attend their program, because I felt I needed to get back on track and feel refreshed again.  I decided to juice fast on wheat grass and green juice while there for the first two days and then I water fasted a short time.  Towards the end I began eating solid food again. All of the food and juice was very satisfying and nourishing.  The kitchen staff is great. Everyone at VHI was very supportive with my decision to detox on just liquids part of the time, which was very helpful. The wheatgrass there tasted better than any I have had before. My body loved their structured water! I normally drink close to a gallon of water a day at home and have to run to the bathroom every hour. The first day at VHI I was drinking the same amount of water but wasn’t running to the loo hardly at all.  At first I was surprised but as the day went on I felt more hydrated than usual and realized that the structured water was absorbing into my body much better than the water from home. I felt my body start to detox just from the water alone. I now realize how important the quality of water is.

After just one week attending the program I felt muscle knots and some inflammation that had flared a little go down, my teeth looked whiter, I felt I needed less food to be satisfied, my face had more color and I felt more hydrated than before. I seem to carry a lot of stress and heaviness in my chest area which causes me to hunch normally.  When I got home I realized that weight and tightness had lifted and I was sitting up straighter.  I think Donna’s yoga every morning, meditation and conscious breathing really helped.  The therapy room was great and the chi machine was my favorite.  I felt more energized after only ten minutes of using it. The rooms and the whole building was very cozy.  I loved all the lectures and discussions that took place and really felt comfortable opening up. I left feeling more confident and inspired to work on my art and my own goals. I met some amazing people and made some wonderful new friends! Looking back I wish I could have stayed for three weeks and not just one! I’m sure I’ll be back!

January 2016

Michelle Marilyn Trares
I’m Andrew and my time at Vibrant Health Institute was nothing short of phenomenal. I have had the pleasure of knowing both Michael and Donna for many years now and had full faith and trust in their process, although at moments I doubted myself. I’d like to first start with science, because that seems to be the common day “hard proof” that people want to know if something works..including me. What I am going to share is amazing PROOF that the program works. Works beyond just “I feel better”, but from a dramatic improvement in the science of my own blood! Even the doctor who did these tests was flabbergasted when these results came back.

Prior to the program I wanted to get my cholesterol levels as my family history has shown heart disease. My grandfather (on my Mom’s side) died at age 37 of a heart attack. So I was really curious what the before and after test might show.

To my dismay, I was given some pretty rough results on my cholesterol levels especially for my age and outer “you look healthy” appearance. The doctor wanted to put me on a statin drug immediately, prior to even recommending a change in diet/lifestyle.

Here is the proof!

Tests Prior to Vibrant Health Institute:

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Doctor’s response wanting to put me on a Statin, immediately:

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Blood Test After One-Week at Vibrant Health Institute:

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Doctors response to this shift – in one week:

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I would say that is a WOW factor indeed…..I don’t really blame the doctor. We are all a product of teaching what we are taught. I do believe most doctors have our best interest at heart, albeit a bit misguided. Some are open to the idea of learning alternative ways, some are not, some are just plain bought out by the drug companies and of course some just have to cover their booties because America is a lawsuit crazed country.

More importantly I walked away with some great knowledge and tools to continue a positive change in my daily habits and replace my addiction to sugar with some amazing alternatives that satisfy me beyond the pleasure that Ben N Jerry’s even could!

So, in closing. THANK YOU!!!!!!

Sincerely, Andrew Casey

January 2016

Andrew Casey

10 Day Colema Board Cleanse (see below for additional details):

I attended opening week of the Vibrant Health Institute January of 2015. At the time, Michael in one of his lectures, mentioned that he once did 10 colema board treatments in a row, 20 gallon each day, and that this really cleaned him out. My brain registered this. I reserved two weeks to do a 10 day colema cleanse at VHI in May, 2015, on our way home from our visit of Wisconsin family in April. Not having had a colema cleanse before but being familiar with colon hydrotherapy, I found the colema board cleanse much easier and much more effective. My wife Janice and I did an herbal pre-cleanse which we felt made the 10 day colema much more effective. My wife lost 7 to 9 lb. that she had been carrying for years and I estimate that I lost 5 lb. the same way. I also released a lot of old medicine. I loved the wheat grass and green juices. While doing the cleanse we could also attend many informative lectures and educational movies. Michael has an effective way of teaching how to grow our own wheat grass and do sprouting, an inexpensive and very nutritious addition to one’s diet. So I returned home not only clean but I also am growing my own wheatgrass and my sprouts instead of buying them. I love it and I love the health benefits! Thank you VHI for making this all possible at such affordable prices. I appreciatively recommend your Centre to all my friends and acquaintances. Much Love. Namaste

May, 2015

John Bastian
We arrived at VHI on the 10th of May, 2015—Mother’s Day. I had been looking forward to this 10-day cleanse and total two week ‘vacation’ from eating. My last meal, which was a wonderful raw salad, was the same day at VHI…I’ll always remember that! A couple months before our arrival date in Michigan, I became aware of a company out of London, Ontario— called Physica Energetics, a very unique health-based company. It was formed by Dr. Robert Cass, ND. I began taking their program for “Restoring Cellular Communication Pathways”, which was designed “to work with one’s own organs of drainage and elimination, providing nourishment in the form of core nutrition and safely setting the stage for a deeper level of toxin removal if need be.” It’s primary importance is to help the body’s built-in healing process. I feel the products I took were a huge factor in the complete cleansing my body went thru during those two weeks at VHI. So, our arrival on the 10th of May was not sensational….as were not the next couple days. I was filled with energy, even without eating—just consuming wheat grass juice and green juices during the day, plus a blended meal twice a day. All was super great!!! I wanted to work in the gardens outside I was so enthusiastic!! I was in the mood of “wow..this is great!!”

Then, the body went into detox. In my past, I had been doing many week-long fasts, juicing with vegetables only, colonics every day or every other day—working at the same time, taking care of my 3 kids, doing all the house chores plus! Because of these experiences, I know the signs of the body cleansing—and I was not upset—in fact, just the opposite because I could, for the very first time in my life, concentrate only on me, and appreciate what my body was going thru…I became fully 100% concentrated on my body—from head to toe. The honeymoon was over!! By the 4th day I had lost all appetite—I could only handle the 4 ounces of wheat grass, and a few green juices during the day—along with 6 to 8 glasses of water and the continuation of those pre-cleansing products, plus psyllium twice a day.

The headaches started, my sleep was poor, had bad breath, absolutely no energy and the colemas were not producing a lot. An emotional, violent situation which had happened to me when I was 5 came up in my dreams, and confusion set in because I was sure I had “healed everything” around that event. Boy, was I wrong!! I could feel the fear within my intestines when I was doing the colema on the 6th day….total fear! abandonment! no safe place to go! couldn’t find a way to go home! I was angry, and so terrified! Each time after that, when I had a colema, I worked with my little girl. It was so beautiful feeling and seeing those locked-away emotions in the intestines being freed—and as they were being physically eliminated from my body, I could feel the emotional healing happening throughout my body! On the 7th day, my intestines felt full—I was looking forward to the colema board. I had been eliminating small amounts and I felt stuffed, even if I hadn’t eaten for several days. I had not been able to continue eating the blended meals, only able to drink the juices. However, during that 7th colema, I realized the cleanse was finally working well!! or so I thought because the next day I eliminated even more…18 inch pieces came out….rubbery, black pieces! those had been glued to the intestinal walls for many decades. Before all the pieces came out, as the water was passing thru my intestines, I could feel the water ascending the descending colon, transversing across to the right side…I noticed my transverse colon was below my umbilicus…I could feel it’s location as the water went thru. I could feel the cramps going through the transverse colon, but I was relieved because I could finally eliminate—eliminate—eliminate. I was slightly concerned about the transverse colon being below the umbilicus, but being told by 2 colonic therapists that my colon was 1 to 2 feet longer than normal, I could understand the location. However….the 9th day, when I was again massaging the transverse colon during the colema, to my delight and great surprise—it was now above the umbilicus. I felt I had eliminated so very much that the weight was now out. With all the cleansing, I am certain that of the 14 pounds of weight I lost in those two weeks, 7 to 9 pounds of it came out of my intestines. I also wanted to share that about an hour before each colema, I would spend 30 minutes on the Chi machine. One can get information about the Chi machine when asking your questions at the VHI.

I am 100% completely appreciative and delighted with my experience at VHI. I feel that my body is much more healthy, I am even more aware of the importance of the health of the intestines—which affects the health of the brain and all other organs. There are several books out now, about the brain-gut connection! I would suggest everyone read those. As so many have said…health is not about the food you eat, but about how well you assimilate and eliminate what you have eaten! I wish a healthy and successful program for all involved in the success of VHI, and for all who go there for their own personal experience!! Again, a huge “Thanks” to the team at VHI!! Love Namasté

May, 2015

Janice Blanke

*The 10 Day Colema Board Cleanse requires a 2 week minimum stay. Reservations are absolutely required for this cleanse. Dates and availability may be limited and additional fees may apply.

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