Why your body needs a spring cleaning...
This week Jessica is wrapping up her final exams, go Jessica go! So, I’m taking over the blog to give you a sneak peak into my adventure on a five day cleanse.
Ooo, that word cleanse, I kinda don’t like it! A bit overused in the current lexicon, it conjures up images of limited food choices, nasty cravings, colonics, and a general sense that I’m not good enough as I am! Let’s call it a nourishing infusion, instead, ok? Here’s why I’m choosing to experiment with this infusion for the next week:
Need a kick in the pants to evolve to the next level of health?
I suffered a pretty nasty neck and jaw injury two years ago; think whiplash, severely sprained jaw, nasty migraines, I couldn’t turn my head or look up and down for months. I spent one year dealing with the fallout and getting my daily functioning back, and I’ve spent the past year building back into a regular work schedule and helping my body continue to heal. I’m baaaaaaack and feeling great, but I’ve been noticing that my usual vigor for playing tennis, doing martial arts and working on functional strength has continued to hang out in the background. No more! After my slow roll out of hibernation, I’m ready to grow and push myself. What better way to encourage this new out spring of growth than to infuse my cells with the easily assimilated nutrition of green juice and smoothies.
Why breaking routine is good for our happiness
My daily routine of spiritual practice is great, morning and evening meditation frame my day, and I fill the inner bits with a teaching yoga and music, time with friends, my physical yoga practice, mucking around in the garden, playing with my dogs, and writing. But, routine can turn to rut very quickly. It’s good for our neuroplasticity to mix up our routines. Even switching the way we drive to work can help us uncover new and creative thoughts. This five days will really break my routines surrounding food, and I’m looking forward to insights about my own food ruts that I might remain ignorant of without this Monday to Friday adventure.
You say “ama”, I say “gross”
In yoga land, we call undigested food and energy ama…a sticky substance that hangs out in the digestive track, mucking up the works. Gross, right?! After a winter of heavy and warming foods, I’m feeling a bit sluggish. I long to feel the quick energy of the radiant green growth I see outside in my garden, so I’m going to infuse my cells with green happiness from green juices, smoothies and fresh salads.
Wanna lose those jiggly bits?
One other fallout from my slow-but-steady recovery from my injury is a few jiggly saddle bags that have gotten a little jigglier. I love my body and all it does for me, but I’d be a big fat liar if I didn’t admit that I’d love to drop a few lbs this week, too. Can you relate?
Use food to help nourish your spiritual practice
I look at my whole life as a spiritual practice. I try to observe my thoughts, actions and be of use to the world. I'm a spiritual being in a human body, and my human side constantly looks forward to dessert. I love my sugary treats! I think it will be a cool experience to see how my mind handles a week without it’s usual perceived ‘treats’-it’s already scheming and telling me “well, certainly a little dark chocolate couldn’t hurt during the week, right?” I’ll let you know how it goes, keep your fingers crossed for me!
Want to experiment?
Here’s my favorite peeps, I’ve followed and used their recommendations personally, with positive and inspiring results:
Kris Carr-lighthearted and fun inspiration for juicing and vegan living, backed up by scientific explanations.
Dr. Mercola-a wealth of articles on holistic living.
Dr. Fuhrman-his Eat to Live book is awesome! Very heavy on the research side, with my inner science geek loves.
Jason Vale-I'm doing his 5 day cleanse this week, stay tuned for my thoughts on the juice master.
I’ll be documenting my thoughts and experience over the next five days, and I’ll share my journey with you next week, stay tuned! In the meantime, hop on over to the blog and leave a comment-have you ever ‘cleansed’? Does the idea scare you or inspire you? Can’t wait to hear your thoughts!
Om Shanthi Om,
Peace to you,
Gita