Sometimes we just have to take the hints the Universe is presenting us with, and jump into action. Stephen Hopson’s chronicles of his raw food journey keep showing up in my inbox. I’ve also had some recent conversations about creating a healthier diet with my good friend Joyce O’Brien. Joyce cured herself of Stage Four cancer using alternative medicine. Yup, you read that right! She has an awesome CD on her site with information on how she did it! Finally, one of my good friends here in town started a program to cleanse and detoxify her body. Listening to her talk about how good she feels gave me the final shove into action that I needed.
In many ways, this is a bit of a self-serving post. I know that if I announce the start of my 30-day program to cleanse and detoxify here, I’m far more likely to stick to it!
There are a lot of programs out there, from structured cleanses that incorporate supplements to raw food diets to complete fasts. Some are mild, and others are pretty extreme. I personally am doing a 30-day program from a company called Isagenix. It’s fairly intense – most days consist of supplements, two shakes as meal replacements, and 600 calories worth of food. Overall, the total intake is about 1000 calories a day… and yes, I’m hungry right now!
This is not a post discussing the various pros and cons of the different ways to cleanse and detoxify your physical body. I’m sure there are lots and lots of opinions out there on the “best” way … feel free to give random advice in the comments! For now, I’d rather write about the energetic reasons why we might want to start a program to begin with.
We all have a relationship with food. It is universal, constant, a daily part of life. When we consciously shift this relationship into a new paradigm, it affects not just our bodies, but our whole Beings. Here are a few excellent reasons to cleanse and detoxify our bodies:
1. Letting go of what no longer serves us.
No matter what kind of program we choose, when we cleanse and detoxify, we usually decrease our amount of food intake so that our body can deal with the sludge that has, over time, accumulated in our system. We stop or limit input so that our body can clean house. At the physical body level, we let go of everything that no longer has a place within us. What has been stagnant can finally receive attention and be moved out.
Does this carry over into the rest of our lives? Of course. We find ourselves more willing to let go of old habits, toxic relationships, and non-productive activities as we cleanse and detoxify. In the end, we are not only carrying a lighter physical load, but have lightened the load of unnecessary responsibilities, guilt, and obligation as well.
Focusing on true nurture.
We put so much food into our bodies out of habit. We eat for entertainment, to feel loved or comforted, or even to fit in socially. A lot of our eating happens at the unconscious level. During a dietary cleanse, however, all the focus is on truly nurturing our bodies. We eat only what will uplift our physical health and well-being. As we let go of what no longer serves us, the focus shifts to what truly nurtures us.
How does this play out in the rest of our life? What makes us genuinely happy and inspired may suddenly come into sharp focus. The friends that support us, the activities that give us joy, the simple pleasures in life – all these suddenly come to the foreground of our consciousness, so that we may expand them.
Practicing detachment.
When we choose to cleanse and detoxify, we realize that there is a lot we can do without – and we can still be perfectly happy. We realize that we are much bigger than the desire for a chocolate chip cookie. We discover that we can, in fact, live without our morning latte. By choosing to give up our regular dietary habits, at least for a little while, we recognize that fulfillment is not to be found in what we eat or drink.
By extension, we realize that our life circumstances need have very little to do with our state of fulfillment in general. Things we’d never contemplated giving up because we deemed them necessary to our happiness are suddenly unimportant.
Increased abundance.
By letting go of the old, we make room for the new. And because we are filling our bodies with nurture and nutrients, our energy levels rise. Our bodies become more abundant with energy and vitality.
Does this translate to greater abundance in the rest of our lives? Absolutely. Think about the energies with which we’re creating. By choosing to cleanse and detoxify our bodies, we are embracing an energy pattern that lets go of the old, the sluggish, the useless. We are opening up to nurture, to genuine fulfillment – and all this in a state of detachment. That sounds like a recipe for abundance to me!
We are whole beings. Changes towards greater health and wellness in our physical body will manifest themselves as corresponding changes in other areas of our lives as well.
Want to join in? You can find information and products for the 30-day cleanse I’m doing here. As I mentioned above, Stephen Hopson has just embarked on his raw food journey – something I can highly recommend, having spent five months on a raw food diet myself several years back. He has some great resources on his blog.
Share your cleansing/fasting/detox stories in the comments below!
Blessings,
Andrea
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow, that was a wonderful write-up and very accurate at that. While reading it, it reminded me of some of the things I’m letting go without really trying as a result of my raw food detox lifestyle.
For instance, for the first time in 10 years, I was without a cigar to light up the last two weeks. That’s the longest I’ve been without one and I love cigars! Is it a result of the raw food lifestyle? You bet! Is it something that is a permanent thing? Remains to be seen but two weeks without lighting up is a definite good sign.
I also get what you said about how we all have a relationship with food. That’s very true. And the cleaner we get inside, the more we will find we actually need less food and even less sleep. I’m finding out the sleep aspect to be true at this time. Lately I’ve been getting up at 3, 4 or 5 am and being wide awake at those times. At first I thought it was a result of my coming back from London but I’ve been home for a week since returning and still getting up earlier than anticipated. Something definitely is happening here.
I just did a detox session in an infrared sauna. Have you tried that? I recommend it. It’s different than a normal sauna at the local gym. It’s supposed to pull toxins out of your body and when you go to wipe yourself down after a 45 min session, sometimes you’ll see black on those towels. Somehow I didn’t see black on my towels after wiping down even though I had been smoking cigars the last 10 years. The therapist thinks it’s because the raw food lifestyle I adopted in September has cleaned out a lot of the toxins inside me. Who knows?
I also recommend a colonic to clean out your colon. A great way to detoxify your body.
Congrats on going this route to detoxification!! BRAVO.
Andrea, I like your reasons for doing the cleanse/detox and I like the way you structured your reasons for doing a cleanse/detox. Having followed the 80/10/10 raw vegan diet for 108 days earlier this year, I learned a great deal about letting go of what no longer served me, focusing on true nurture, practicing detachment, and inviting more abundance into my life. One caveat I would offer is that you multiply your weight by 10 and then add 200-500+ (depending on your desired activity level) to calculate your minimum daily caloric intake to sustain your energy level, and to reduce your calories from fat to 10% or less of total daily calories while getting the bulk of your calories from high density fruit like bananas, mangoes and berries. Incidentally, my body felt incredibly light while eating primarily fruits and veggies and the clarity of mind was quite wonderful. My Spican soul rather enjoyed the experience *wink*.
Christopher
Hi Andrea,
What a timely post for me! I’d started on my own 30-day detox program (of a different nature) just 4 days ago – talk about synchronicities! I’m beginning to feel the typical “side effects” of the program and it’s not fun, but I definitely found encouragement here. Thanks!
I’ve put myself on some cleansing regimes in the past few years to heal myself naturally from skin irritations arising from over toxicity. My diet nowadays is already adjusted drastically for a much healthier one.
Still, I think that it is time for another detox. However, I’d have to schedule mine next year. An upcoming vacation will make it difficult to implement any. Most definitely, thanks for the reminder! All the best with yours
Andrea,
Way to go!
I love Isagenix — Years ago, I did their shorter program/fast. I loved the chocolate shakes and the chocolate snacks they had to offer. They were so yummy!
Best of luck,
Brenda
I’ve been thinking of doing a clense. I’ve never thought how it can change other aspects of my life to attachments. Its so true though. I’ve had a lot of love/hate relationships with unhealthy food that, as I look at it now, held me back in other areas.
I really desire to do it, but can’t seem to make myself. How do you get to that point?
Stephen – Congrats on letting the cigars go! I just recently heard of infrared saunas (on Joyce’s CD, actually, which I mention in the article) but haven’t tried it yet. It’s on my list.
Christopher – Oh, I bet you Spican enjoyed raw foods! I agree with you on the calories in theory, by the way, although I’m going to follow this program for a while and see what happens. I thought I’d be falling asleep all day on this little food. In fact, I actually feel very energized. If my energy level drops, I’ll definitely increase my caloric intake.
Irene – That is so funny, that we started at the same time! I haven’t run into too many detox symptoms yet … maybe that’s because I went for ten weeks without coffee, sugar, or alcohol earlier this year. So far, so good. Keep me posted on how it goes for you. What kind of program are you doing?
Brenda – Yup, I was tempted to just do the nine days, but you know me … jumping in all the way is my style! The shakes are not half bad, you’re right.
Wendy – You’re bringing up a good point. Often we encounter a ton of resistance just thinking about starting a cleanse! But you know what? It’s only a few days. If you’ve never cleansed, just do three days without something like sugar, or alcohol. Or do three raw days. Or one day of juice fasting. I don’t recommend a thirty day program if you’ve never done one. You need to build up those willpower muscles a bit.
So start with a small, achievable goal. There will still be resistance, but anyone can do anything for 24 hours, right? 24 hours of no sugar, for instance, is totally achievable. And when you do achieve your goal, it’s very empowering. And the next time, you go for a little bit more.
One thing I don’t recommend is going cold turkey on caffeine. Some people do it, but for me, it just creates misery. I wean myself off caffeine gradually over the course of a week.
Blessings,
Andrea
Andrea,
These are really helpful points. I have been thinking about going on a cleanse. I even have a stash of Isagenix that I have never really used that much…I guess I better get to it!
I help people detoxify or cleanse all the time when I teach them how to stop smoking. (Check my website out Stephen–I can help you quit calmly, comfortably and permanently).
Whatever kind of cleanse or detoxification you are doing sometimes it feels worse before it gets better. So hang in there and give your body time to adjust.