December | 2013 | natureglow

Most of us overindulge at this time of the year – yippppeee, enjoy it, love up every single minute, slurp, chomp and bite. Fill yourself with love and cuddles and a healthy dose of ‘time out’.

If you know your body could do with a break from all the extra servings and perhaps, emotional triggering that occur when far-flung families get together, a cleanse could be a great thing to plan for the start of the new year.

I’ve got an example cleanse below which is really quite easy to stick to as it includes plenty of fresh vegetables, a little fruit, and for the first seven days a little protein. There’s also links to some great resources and references. I’d love to hear of any other great cleanses and your experiences – let me know in the comments below.

At the turn of the season, I completed a two week cleanse ending in a three day juice fast. It was simple and uncomplicated and felt beneficial for my overall health, but it was the element of discipline that felt most satisfying.

The first juice fast I did was over twelve years ago at the Funky Forest retreat centre in northern NSW (see reference below). I have also done a couple of five day Blessed Herbs colon cleanses, and various other ‘spiritual’-based cleanses through practices such as Pancha Tanmantra, and other sporadic self-led cleanses and fasts. There is much written on the history of cleansing and fasting, but strangely this regular practice still raises eye brows ……

Fasts are embedded in the practices of many religions and cultures such as Hindus who regularly fast during various religious festivals such as Maha Shivaratree or many Indians who choose a regular day each week to fast such as Sunday. Muslims and others fast from dawn until dusk during the month of Ramadan. A modern example of fasting is the recently popular Michael Mobsley 5:2 diet , which includes two days of reduced calorie intake.

Our bodies are already amazing cleansing machines

Some will argue that we are so perfectly designed that our bodies cleanse all the time and there is no need to undergo any additional sort of cleanse or fast. It is true, we have such a miraculous vessel of a body which is working 24/7 to ensure our systems are working as best as possible. However, in my experience, by taking pressure off the overworked organs of digestion and cleansing, we can allow the body to undergo even deeper cleansing and allow healing to occur.

The cleanse – set your self an intention

If you are keen to undertake a cleanse, I would recommend setting your self a purpose so that you can come back to that if it becomes difficult, and as you are changing habits, there is sure to be moments that are challenging.

For example, my intention on this fast was to clear my system in the changing season, rid myself of any toxic build up, break a habit of overeating (and feeling slightly out of control with food), plus give myself solitude and time to go deep within to clear old patterns and beliefs.

The Cleanse and Fast

In a nutshell this is what I did in relation to the fast, starting from the last three days working back.

3 days – juice fast (the finish line)

Three glasses of freshly pressed juice(mostly vegetables – see examples below)
A few herbal teas
A tea with raw almond milk (homemade, soaked almonds, nothing added)
A little coconut-water kefir, and I had one coconut water drink after a sauna.

4 days – fruit and veg only (mostly veg)

Breakfast: green smoothie (leafy greens such as kale, handful berries, chia seeds, ½ tsp coconut oil, MANABlend powder, coconut water if I had any or filtered water)

Lunch: salad with avocado and homemade zingy dressing (olive oil, raw apple cider vinegar, crushed garlic, grated fresh or dried tumeric, ½ tsp cayenne)

Dinner: steamed veggies, mostly non-starchy (broccoli, kale, red cabbage), and a little starchy veg (kumera/sweet potato; every second night I’d have quinoa instead of starchy veg (only 20% of the meal)

7 days – cleanse

As above but I also had some animal protein two nights (one of mum’s Austrian stews) and some fish; plus milk kefir in smoothies (omitting the kale and including sprouts such as mung-beans or sunflower if I had any growing) or an after dinner snack with berries and stevia; I also some sugar-free coconut/almond meal/butter biscuits.

More on the 3-day juice fast

I researched the web, and books I had on the topic and followed the fast regime quite methodically. This was great for sharpening my discipline, which for me is not a dirty word. In fact discipline really provides me a feeling of ultimate freedom, free from the ‘monkey on my back’.

Example juice fast intake

Glass of warm filtered water with lemon on waking. I also added drops of a parasite-cleanse herbal mixture (for more info on possible parasite cleansing see here).

Breakfast Juice (e.g. whole grapefruit, half orange, handful strawberries, couple sticks celery, ½ cucumber, one granny smith apple). I added one tsp chlorophyll to a small portion of the juice for a bit of a cleansing hit.

Midday juice (two carrots, celery, lettuce, silverbeet, tops of beetroot, ½ lemon, tumeric root, ginger).

Dinner juice (similar to lunch juice, omitted the lettuce and cucumber).

Plus a couple mugs of tea (one caffeinated, one herbal, and on a cool night I had a warming tea of sliced ginger, cayenne powder and stevia!)

Other things to help the cleansing process:

Enemas – I have been giving myself enemas regularly for about six months. Jess of The Wellness Warrior got me across the line on this one, check her posts on the topic here. For the stage of the cleanse, I did one about every four days. Then during the juice cleanse I did three a day – coffee, morning and afternoon; – chamomile tea in evening. I also had my first colonic ever the day before the juice fast. I wasn’t completely blown away by it, but it certainly allowed me to take in more liquid in the following home enemas. Go on try it – let me know if you do!

Exercise – such as gentle yoga, Pilates, walking – I did a yoga or Pilates class nearly every day. I just took my practice down a notch and rested when I needed to, no pushing, the best benefits are the deep breathing and movement. Breath work (Pranayama) could be beneficial, and meditation, contemplation, journaling.

Sweat it out – great to sit in a sauna/infrared sauna (the best) for half an hour to open the sweat glands and detox through the skin. Don’t overdo it, take it easy, make sure you are hydrated prior to going in. Probably best time is between breakfast and lunch. I also like jumping under the cold shower, back into the warm a couple of times to encourage the lymph system to turn on. Note: I am of a rather robust body type, people who are on the frailer end, underweight or going through a strong detox phase should be very cautious if using a sauna while on a fast.

Dry body brushing – Using a natural bristle brush, circular motion. This encourages the nerves under the skin to fire and improves circulation. It is also said to encourage lymph to circulate (and rememeber lymph is a ‘pumpless system’ so unlike the heart it relies on osmosis to be transported through the body.

Write, inspiration and intention – This is a great opportunity to take some time out from the big wide world. I relished the opportunity to set myself some time to be quiet and in my own world. I need to take time out regularly to nurture my introverted side. Cleansing and reducing digestive stimulation can bring real clarity. Write down things you want to create for the next season of your life. There are some great resources available on the web, and inspiring books, see below for my picks.

Prepared for deeper confronts and release – On my last day of the juice fast I had some stuff come up – old stubborn belief patterns surfaced. I turned to a few regular practices I have such as journaling, pulling cards and EFT, plus a yarn with a soul mate helped me transition this one last time. Cleanses and fasts can do that. I felt a veil come down that keeps a barrier between me and the world. I couldn’t consume away my issues. Luckily I have practices and resources to draw upon. I feel a new sense of humility around the topic and feel it will steer me clearly. If you don’t feel in a sound space to cope with issues that may confront you, I would highly recommend doing a cleanse/fast in a supported retreat setting.

Quit coffee before you start – I would highly recommend giving up drinking coffee at least a couple of weeks in advance. Caffeine withdrawal headaches can be quite rough and I would not recommend enduring these AND juice fasting. I gave up coffee a few months ago (unexpectedly as I went to a two week course where it wasn’t available – mostly raw f&v, and I was stuck a few kilometers out of town- perfect!) I love coffee and will occasionally indulge but right now it’s been great to kick the habit (I don’t like being addicted to anything, it feels restrictive, also I hadn’t realized how much it was adding to my adrenal exhaustion). P.S My housemate is a barista and roasts his own beans at home, so I enjoy their aroma daily. I am also lucky to be the recipient of any roasted beans he doesn’t want to use for my coffee enemas!

Take it easy – Don’t stress, no pressure, get a buddy for support, join a retreat, and also know when to finish. Come out of it slowly, taking time to reintroduce food. Allow yourself at least a day of just fruit & veg at the other end.

Structure

I started on Friday and was in the office all day. This was fine for me, particularly as I had had a colonic the night before (so I felt inspired to go deeper), and mostly as I had led into the fast with days of light fruit and veg meals. It also meant I had the weekend to be on the fast which was perfect for me, and I said no to too many social arrangements. I found personally I had plenty of energy in the day (great to play with my nephew at the beach), but by the late afternoon I wound right down and it was good to plan a relaxing afternoon if you can such as a gentle chat with a friend, sauna session, or reading.

Prepare your tools and tricks

Ensure you have your tools on hand such as a good juicer. I bought one on eBay the night my first day on the juice fast as my juicer was not going to cut the mustard this time. Each juice needs to be strained of pulp to reduce stimulation of digestion. This is essential. Use a nut-milk bag or knee-high panty-hose.

Other tools to have arranged prior include an enema kit and that you are regular and practiced in using it prior to the fast. I would also recommend booking a colonic the night before your fast (see Karen Kipp’s info on this below)

And of course stock up on fresh juicing produce.