# Medical Retreats - URL: https://thehealthlodge.com.au/medical-retreats/ - Updated: 2026-10-31 Integrative Medical Retreats · Byron bay ## Time to understand what is *actually* happening in your body & mind. Five or ten days of continuous assessment and care from a multidisciplinary clinical team, in one place. ARE OUR RETREATS FOR YOU? ## Our retreats are built for people who are *seeking to understand* their full health picture*.* You may have been unwell for years. You may have seen many practitioners, had many blood tests, and been told repeatedly that your results are normal. You may have a diagnosis that explains part of what you're experiencing but not all of it. Or you may have several diagnoses that nobody has connected. Two weeks with us gives us something a series of appointments cannot: continuous observation. We can see how you sleep, how you respond to food, how you breathe, how you recover, and how those things relate to one another. We work with people living with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and mast cell activation syndrome, with burnout and long-term stress, with post-viral illness including long COVID, with postnatal depletion, and those seeking a comprehensive baseline assessment for preventative reasons. --- Not sure if this is you? Talk it through with Reine. [BOOK A FREE 15-MIN CALL](https://thehealthlodge.com.au/) How the program works ## The first week is about *understanding* your pattern. The second is about *responding* to it. The Diagnostic and Integration Program runs across two clinical weeks. THE SETTING ## Where you will be We sit at the edge of Arakwal National Park. An eight-minute walk through the park brings you out at Tallow Beach, on a quiet stretch that most visitors to Byron never find. THE ACCOMMODATION - Blue-light-filtered lighting - Purified filtered water - Mould-free, low-toxin rooms - Organic meals from the onsite Wellness Kitchen THE BYRON BATHHOUSE - Three infrared saunas - Cold plunge - Mineral pool, double filtered with no chlorine - Red-light therapy EXPLORE THE ACCOMODATION ### Step 1: Phase One · Diagnostic WIP WP ### Step 2: Phase Two · Integration 3 2 | | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 8am | *Breakfast* | *Breakfast* | *Breakfast* | *Breakfast* | *Breakfast* | | Morning | Breathing and airway assessment, bathhouse orientation, dental photography | Pathology collection | Somatic breathwork | Osteopathy | Craniosacral therapy | | Late morning | Psychology | Naturopathy | Combined session: Naturopath and Dentist | Twelfth session to be confirmed | Integrative Doctor review | | 1pm | *Lunch* | *Lunch* | *Lunch* | *Lunch* | *Lunch* | | Afternoon | Combined session: Integrative Doctor and Naturopath | Osteopathy | Breathwork and HRV review | Naturopathy | Findings report and protocol walkthrough with your coordinator | | Late afternoon | | Intravenous therapy where clinically indicatedADDITIONAL COST | Walk to Tallow Beach | Cooking session with the Naturopathic Chef | | | 6pm | *Dinner* | *Dinner* | *Dinner* | *Dinner* | *Dinner* | | Evening | | | Restorative yoga | Sound bowls in the bathhouse | | | Overnight | Sleep study | | Sleep study | | | | | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 8am | *Breakfast* | *Breakfast* | *Breakfast* | *Breakfast* | *Breakfast* | | Morning | Restorative yoga | Hypnotherapy | Somatic breathwork | Repeat pathology collection | Craniosacral therapy | | Late morning | Psychology | Naturopathy | Combined session: Naturopath and Dentist | Psychology | Integrative Doctor review | | 1pm | *Lunch* | *Lunch* | *Lunch* | *Lunch* | *Lunch* | | Afternoon | Combined session: Integrative Doctor and Naturopath | Osteopathy | Breathwork and HRV review | Naturopathy | Findings report and protocol walkthrough with your coordinator | | Late afternoon | | Restorative yoga | Walk to Tallow Beach | Cooking session with the Naturopathic Chef | | | 6pm | *Dinner* | *Dinner* | *Dinner* | *Dinner* | *Dinner* | | Evening | | | Restorative yoga | Sound bowls in the bathhouse | | | Overnight | Sleep study | | Sleep study | | | PHASE ONE · MONDAY TO FRIDAY ### Diagnostic The first week is heavily diagnostic. You are assessed by our doctors, naturopaths, biological dentist, osteopaths and psychologists, alongside breathwork, nutritional and hydrotherapy assessment. DURING THIS WEEK WE UNDERTAKE 1. Comprehensive pathology, collected on site 2. Overnight sleep studies across consecutive nights 3. Continuous glucose monitoring, observed against your actual meals 4. Breathing pattern and heart rate variability assessment 5. Airway, dental and myofunctional assessment 6. A full review of your current medications and supplements 7. A personalised protocol for using the bathhouse #### Reading pathology differently Much of what we run is standard pathology. What differs is the question we ask of it. Conventional interpretation asks whether a result sits inside or outside a reference range, and looks for patterns that indicate disease. We ask a second question alongside it: what these results say about how your systems are functioning. How your immune system is behaving. How well you are digesting, absorbing and using nutrients. How your hormones sit in relation to one another rather than each read in isolation. A full picture of thyroid function rather than a single marker. Markers of immune and autoimmune activity. This is functional medicine. It is also why we ask for your previous results before you arrive. Read this way, tests that were reported as unremarkable can still be informative. PHASE TWO · MONDAY TO FRIDAY ### Therapeutic Integration Once the pattern is clear, the second week is about responding to it. Your protocol is refined based on what the first week revealed and how you have responded since. The schedule deliberately opens up. There are fewer appointments in the second week, and that is by design. Findings need space to be understood, and changes to how you eat, sleep, breathe and move need room to be intergrated rather than simply prescribed. Assessments and investigations are ordered as clinically indicated rather than as a fixed package, so no two programs are identical. FAQ ## Frequently asked questions ### Can I arrive on the weekend? Yes. Most guests on the ten-day program arrive on the Sunday before their first clinical week and depart on the Saturday after the second. Clinical sessions run Monday to Friday. Extra nights can be added at an additional cost. ### How often do the retreats run? There are no set dates for the retreat, as they operate year round, based on the availability of our practitioners and accommodation at the retreat. Generally speaking, we require at least 2 weeks’ notice before your desired retreat date. ### Do you cater for specific dietary requirements? Our kitchen works from your assessment rather than from a fixed menu. Our chefs are culinary-qualified with training in nutrition, and complex intolerances, elimination protocols and food-triggered conditions are ordinary work here rather than an exception we accommodate reluctantly. ### Do I need to disclose my medical history when booking? Yes. Your discovery call is the place to raise anything that affects whether a program is right for you, and your full history is taken during the intake assessment. ### Is the $380 intake fee taken off the program price? No. The intake is charged as a standalone assessment and is separate from program fees. ### Can I bring a carer, partner or support person? Yes. Carers, partners and support people are welcome for the length of your stay. They have their own room at a reduced nightly rate. Meals and bathhouse access can be added for them at additional cost. ### Can my baby come with me? Whether a baby can come with you depends on your program and your circumstances. Raise it on your discovery call and we will work through it with you. ### Who is this program not for? This program suits people who are medically stable. It is not designed for acute presentations, and we are not a hospital. If your situation needs emergency care or close medical monitoring, that has to come first. We are also not set up to provide withdrawal management or acute psychiatric support. If addiction or a mental health crisis is the most pressing thing you are facing, a service built for that will serve you far better than we can, and we are glad to help you find one. This is not a quick fix, either. The program asks something of you: attention, participation, and a willingness to keep going once you are home. The people who get the most from it are those who want to understand what is happening in their body, not only to be told what to do about it. ### Will anything be added to my bill without my knowledge? Everything is itemised on your invoice before you arrive. Nothing additional is ordered without being discussed with you first, and costs are confirmed at the time anything is recommended.