By Gagandeep Ghuman
Published: Feb. 18, 2012
Nirmala Raniga still remembers the day she drove to Whistler to meet Deepak Chopra and share her plans about starting a de-addiction centre in Squamish.
She had to navigate a crowd of 500 people.
“I wanted to give him a package, but it seemed like everyone there had a package to give to him,” she said, jokingly.
When she finally managed to explain her idea to him, he was impressed, and decided to partner with Paradise Valley Wellness Centre.
In the two years, the centre has helped people from all walks of life, from all over the world, to overcome addiction with yoga, meditation, healthy eating, and verdant, peaceful surroundings.
Drugs and alcohol are not the only addiction the centre helps expunge.
It also tries to provide a cure for other destructive behaviours, such as gambling, nicotine use, overeating, internet use, and sexually addictive behaviour.
“The centre also serves people seeking treatment for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder,” Raniga said.
Most days for guests start at 6 a.m. After a light breakfast, there is yoga, followed by meditation, mindfulness walks with staff, followed by individual and group therapies.
“Our addiction programs merge the wisdom of traditional healing arts with the tools and insights of modern psychology and medicine,” she said.
Raniga moved to Canada in the 1970s from Fiji, where her parents had migrated from India. She got into the de-addiction business in the 1980s, when she realised there was only one de-addiction centre in Vancouver at that time.
She first opened a clinic at New Westminster, which was a roaring success.
“People started coming the minute we opened it,” she says.
She now operates five such de-addiction centres all over Lower Mainland, but it’s only the Squamish facility which is residential.
Paradise Valley Wellness Centre is limited to adults, but she is hoping that in the near future she would be able to extend it to teens that face addiction issues.
“We want to protect our future,” she says.
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