Cleansing, Fasting and Detoxing
Our entire digestive system processes solid wastes from the foods we ingest. Overall health is largely about having a fully functioning digestive system which is complex and needs to be finely tuned. A lifetime of improper eating habits, environmental pollution, medicinal drugs and various other lifestyle factors have contributed to an accumulation of poisons in the organs and tissues of the body. In most people the intestines and colon have become clogged with compacted dried mucus, undigested food and inorganic chemicals. This inhibits digestion and normal bowel movements but also causes a toxic bloodstream. This toxic nature of the blood is the primary cause of disease and degeneration of every organ in the body and in particular the liver because the liver is the organ that looks after us. It becomes overworked, sluggish and unable to do it’s job. This is when we feel unwell and seem to have mystery illnesses such as headaches (headaches are not normal), low grade nausea, lethargy, digestive problems, brain fog, skin diseases and so much more.
Your body is your temple. Cleansing, fasting and detoxing not only works on the physical aspects, but they also work on the emotional and mental aspects of our person. These practices help us to awaken our consciousness and transform our relationship with our body, mind and heart. Essentially we bring awareness to our nutritional needs. The food we eat plays an important role in loving and respecting ourselves by nourishing our cells and allowing our organs to function properly. The nutrients in the food that we eat are literally the fuel for a properly working system. We must also take into account our emotional landscape. When our bodies are functioning at their peak because we are feeding them properly, our emotional lives are also clearer and easier to navigate. The environment also plays an important role in the proper functioning of our body - think perfumes, cleaning products, chemicals, petrol, gas etc. So, if we have been eating a diet laden with heavily processed foods, it might be time to cleanse.
Fasting to access the deeper self
Fasting is an ancient practice. People fast as a tool to cleanse their bodies and purify their minds and it is this purified mind that allows us to connect more deeply with our own inner selves.
We can fast with water for one day or many days depending on our level of experience with water fasting. When we water fast, our bodies heal themselves through a process called autophagy where our body literally eats the diseased cells. This is the hardest type of fasting because we don’t have any fuel in the form of nutrients to support our healing and we rely on the body’s own ability to heal and repair itself. It is also the most powerful type of fasting. It’s not something that I would recommend you do on your own and with no support unless you are an experienced faster.
Juice fasting is by far the easiest form of fasting because while our body is cleansing and healing, it is also taking in nutrients which gives the organs the fuel they need to heal and recover from overfeeding our bodies with the wrong foods. When I talk about wrong foods, I don’t mean a particular diet, I mean heavily processed foods that our bodies are unable to process themselves. There really is not a disease that we cannot recover from as long as we give the body the fuel it needs to heal itself.
We can also cleanse the body by eating specific cleansing and healing foods. Typically a cleanse would include for a period of time, depending on the type of cleanse we do, specific healing foods and eliminating particular troublemakers. For example, it could be a cleanse to support the liver, a particular cleanse to heal a chronic gut problem or a cleanse to remove heavy metals which invariably we all have.
PURIFY AND STIMULATE
Cleansing, fasting and detoxing is our body’s natural way of removing poisons. It purifies the blood, regenerates and rebalances all vital functions in the body. Digestive functions use a lot of energy and enzymes in our daily life and fasting or cleansing diverts this energy to detoxification and healing. During fasting all the internal organs detoxify themselves. Digestive enzymes travel throughout the system digesting damaged cells, tumours, deeply compacted mucus, crystallised spurs on the joints and inflammation. Cleansing, fasting and detoxing also stimulates growth hormone secretion from the pituitary gland. This is the most powerful healing and regeneration hormone for the specific purpose of repairing damage to the organs and tissues as part of the healing process.
Periodically one needs to cleanse in order to protect health, promote vitality and prolong life. Cleansing is nature’s method to cure disease at the root source which always involves toxicity. Fasting, yogic cleansing practices, breathing, bodywork, massage and exercise all assist the process of deep tissue detoxification. Every drug, preservative and artificial additive we ingest tiggers a secretion of mucus in the body which becomes compacted on the walls of the intestines. One has to rehydrate and loosen the solid waste from the colon and bowel lining.
Our own body will naturally do the rest of the detox work through your blood, lymph, hormones and enzymes. But we do need to allow sufficient time for the natural system to take over. Three to seven days is usually enough to kick start you on your own journey of healing. If you are suffering from a chronic illness, you may need specific support with your cleanse.
Gain clarity, balance and healing
Many people come on our retreats thinking that they will lose weight and get some rest and get strong but the effects are far reaching. They do lose weight, they do get strong and fit but mostly they find a clarity that they had not thought was possible. They connect with a part of themselves that in some cases, they didn’t know existed and in other cases, is a reconnection. One can’t really know what real clarity, balance and health is while the body is full of toxins as our organs are not functioning at their peak and we need every ounce of energy we have to keep the body alive. Once the body is clean and clear, the mind follows, one then begins to develop a taste for healthful whole foods and our life will change for the better.
For support check out our Deep Cleansing Juice Detox Retreat or contact Annie for for help with a personal one to one cleanse.