Power of Healing – Your body is a Miracle

Fasting is the single greatest natural healing therapy. It is an ancient “remedy” for many illnesses. It is the most beneficial thing for the body to do periodically. In the Western world most people overeat, eat too often, and eat a high-protein, high-fat, rich-food, building and congesting diet more consistently than they need. This leads to a variety of healthy problems and severe obesity. I recommend for most people to do a 10 day juice fast every 3 to 4 months. Fasting gives body a chance to rest and the organs are not working to digest the food that you have been putting in. As a result your system is focused on self-healing, rejuvenation and restoration rather than on processing. 10 day fasts are best, but best to start them gradually. If your diet is less than perfect right now – alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, meat – then first you need to remove these toxic substances. Increase your water intake per day and allow your system to adjust. Going off to fast right away when your body is highly toxic may be very challenging.

If you are meat eater and decide to become a vegetarian, this is considered a

Fasting means to abstain from all food

modified fast as well for the period of time that you are adjusting to the new life style. Have a piece of fruit every time you crave meat – this will start to teach your brain and your body a new way of living. Fruits are filled with vitamins and minerals and low on calories. In this case any time we are increasing in the vibration of food it is a fast. Remember that when improving our diet you are craving your old bad habits – you are craving what is in your blood stream – aka – detoxing.Generally speaking there are a few things that are considered to be a real fast

• dry fasting – nothing to drink or eat
• drinking only water and not consuming any solid food,
• drinking freshly made juices and water,
• drinking freshly made juices, water, herbal teas.

Benefits of fasting

Biologically refraining from food minimizes the work done by the digestive organs, including the stomach, intestines, pancreas, gallbladder, and liver. Most important is that our liver has a time to rest and regenerate during this time. Not only is it one of the larger digestive organs but as well our liver process our emotions. Giving it a well deserved holiday is a necessity.

Here is a list of some of the benefits of fasting:

• purification
• increased energy
• better sleep
• deeper relaxation
• more clarity mentally and emotionally
• creativity and inspiration
• change of habits
• diet changes
• clearer skin and clear eyes
• anti-aging effect
• improved senses – vision, hearing, taste, smell
• reduction of allergies
• weight loss
• increased resistance to pathogens
• Spiritual Awareness
• drug detoxification
• while fasting also you will start to reawaken your ability to take energy from life – sun, rain, wind, the Earth.

To begin: Start with a 1 day fast on juices and water once every two weeks, then increase to 1 day per week. See how you do and feel. While fasting take a bowel strengthening formula such as an Ayurvedic herbal formula Triphala which:

• helps to correct constipation, cleanses and tonifies the gastro intestinal tract
• Promotes detoxification of the whole body and improves digestion and assimilation
• helps to reduce high blood pressure and hypertension and improves blood circulation
• Very helpful in Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Ulcerative Colitis

Next do a 5 or 7 day fast with juices, water and teas. While doing a longer than 2 day fast it is not advisable to take any supplements (such as above mentioned Triphala) reason being is that this activates the body to process the supplement and in the longer fast we want to give the body a total rest and permission to find its own divine healing power and balance. This is a good start to help your body to cleanse.

Detox

Breakdown of stored or circulating chemicals is the basic process of detoxification. One of the most crucial things while fasting is aiding the body in this process.  If you are not detoxing then the body is having a more difficult time eliminating toxins. Your skin, colon, lungs and kidneys are working hard to clean out your body. To help in detoxification – enemas, colonics, liver-flushes, sauna, showers, dry skin brushing, yoga asanas, pranayama  - all these things help to remove the toxicity from the body and calm your mind. It’s amazing to see how well people do and how easy fasting becomes when all of these methods are applied.

The fast isn’t a torture – it is actually a pleasant and tranquil experience. When you are experiencing difficulties with fasting its due to high volume of  toxins in your body. Fasting is also a very personal time. It’s not a time to be hanging out with your beer drinking buddies (if you have them) people don’t often understand what fasts are for, and will throw in their unhelpful two bits which may be discouraging to a first timer.

Here is a powerful quote from Dr. Christiane Northrup – it is so relevant to many aspects of our lives such as our beliefs about food and nutrition and health and healing.

Beliefs and memories are actually biological constructs in the body. Think of your mind as an iceberg. The conscious part peaks above the surface. The submerged part, the biggest part, is the so-called subconscious part of your mind. It is important to understand that our beliefs go much deeper than our thought, and we cannot simply will them away.

Fasting is a way to not only change your body but also to change and cleanse your mind and beliefs. I guarantee that while fasting you will have different thought-stream going through your mind than when you are eating Italian gelato. It’s good to notice and observe these patterns we have and ways in which we like to make ourselves comfortable. Fasting is not about discomfort but it is about letting go of the things that no longer serve us.

Ultimately, we must be willing to take responsibility for our lives, if we are to truly create health. This means understanding that illnesses have meaning. They don’t just jump out of the closet and land on us.

~ Dr. C. Northrup

BrEaking your fast

This is probably THE most important thing. How you break your fast is going to shape how you will maintain your results.

If you are fasting on water and herbal teas the best way to do it (I found on myself) is to go on fresh juices for 2 days. After that pick one fruit you would like to eat and have that fruit for a day or two with juices, from that keep adding one fruit or one veggie more per day. Nuts and seeds can be added on day 6 and beyond. I am hoping you wont be adding any meat products so I wont be mentioning them here. Spices and salt can be added after a minimum of a week. Remember you have just cleansed your body – don’t use it as a garbage can to add toxicity to it again.

If you are fasting on juices you can break your fast with a fruit of a choice for 2 days and then follow the above mentioned for the rest.