Cleansing & Fasting
(This is an excerpt from a University Of Metaphysical Sciences course at www.umsonline.org,
please feel free to visit the school website)
Cleansing & Fasting
Written by Laurel Sherer
The following course does not provide medical advice. This course is for information purposes only. The health related information in this course is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, cures or treatment. Always seek advice from your medical doctor.
Introduction
Review Of Literature
Toxic Environments: Internal & External
Three Main Types Of Toxins
Detoxification Systems Of The Body
Symptoms Of Toxicity
Cleansing & Fasting Benefits
Setting Up Space For Detoxification
Optimal Time For Detoxification
The Body's pH Level
Types Of Cleanses
Raw Food Diet: An Overall Cleanse
Types Of Fasts
Many Levels Of Detoxification
Cleansing Reactions
Exercises For Detoxification Support
Discussion
Conclusion
Bibliography, Cleansing & Fasting
Introduction
Cleansing and fasting have been used as medicine for the body, mind, and spirit for thousands of years. Fasting holds an important role in many world religions, including Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and as part of the Essene community. It is a way for people to deepen their communion with the Divine through purifying their bodies and tuning into the energy of the universe. Cleansing practices can be found in traditional wellness systems, such as the Ayurvedic system of health from India. Although still practiced throughout the world, cleansing and fasting do not hold a medicinal role in the United States' mainstream culture. Instead, people either overeat food or continually try to limit their food intake through dieting. Both of these ways of using food do not include a sense of food being our medicine. Food is either an addiction or a source of unwanted body fat for many of us. Many of our eating practices do not honor the intimate relationship between the body, mind, and spirit, whereas many religions and health systems do honor this relationship. Religious leaders and nutritional traditions have put emphasis on what human beings put into their physical bodies because it affects their emotions, mental patterns, and sense of spirituality. The Essenes, a community that lived near Egypt and authored the Dead Sea Scrolls, believed Jesus Christ was an advocate for cleansing, fasting, and eating raw foods. Ayurveda is designed to bring harmony to the body, mind, and spirit, and an important part of this system is one's diet. So why isn't the belief that food can be used as medicine a part of the United States' mainstream culture? With what has it been replaced?
In looking at the length of the average work week in the United States as consisting of forty hours, it is understandable why many North Americans do not want to spend a lot of time cleansing and fasting. However, everyone desires happiness within, and many of the leading cleanse and fast experts say that cleansing and fasting can have a very positive effect on one's overall well-being. Mental clarity, happiness, and healing experiences can be just some of the emotional and mental benefits of cleansing and fasting. On the physical level, cleansing and fasting can provide the body a chance to rejuvenate itself. In a society in which fast food is consumed and stress is often experienced, giving one's body a break from digesting to focus on cleansing itself can be highly beneficial. Peoples' bodies are constantly cleansing themselves of toxins both from the environment and the foods they consume, regardless if they are consciously choosing to help the cleansing process or not. When so much energy is used toward continual detoxification, the body cannot focus as much on healing other aspects of itself. What would a person's life be like, especially toward the latter years, if a person's body was able to heal itself more?
In this course, we will address these questions by looking further at the benefits of cleansing and fasting for people in today's world. Together, we will explore the benefits of cleansing and fasting for the mind, body, and spirit. We will go into considerations to keep in mind when thinking about cleansing or fasting, cleansing reactions that can occur with both practices, and helpful ways to deal with such reactions. Several types of cleanses and fasts will be looked at in depth, as well as additional exercises to enhance the detoxification process. This course can be a helpful tool for both those who are experienced with fasting or cleansing and those who are not. In either case, you will be better prepared to support others who are thinking about cleansing and fasting or those undergoing one of these practices. It will also help you to become more aware of what can be toxic for your body.
As a participant in this course, you will be more empowered through knowledge to make healthy choices for yourself and to help others in their decision-making processes as well. This course will give you a mental understanding of cleansing and fasting through information from many detoxification experts and through personal stories of cleanses. The experiential knowledge of cleansing and fasting, however, can only be acquired through undergoing a cleanse or fast.
This course does not license you to counsel others on how to do a cleanse or fast. Furthermore, please keep in mind that the information contained in this course is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure, or prevent any diseases. It is instead designed for informational purposes only.
Review Of Literature
One of the books that was greatly helpful in writing this course was Cleanse & Purify Thyself (1988) by Richard Anderson. Richard Anderson, N.D., N.M.D., has dedicated much time and effort toward finding herbs that effectively help the body in detoxifying itself. He has designed an intestinal cleanse based on his research and personal experiences called the Arise And Shine Cleanse. This book addresses the need for general cleanses and specifically why intestinal cleanses are highly important. It outlines the stages of the Arise And Shine Cleanse, cleansing reactions that often occur, and how to best deal with such reactions. Dr. Anderson is a highly motivating author who shares his personal experiences of cleansing. Included in this book are also many testimonials of those who have undergone the Arise And Shine Cleanse and the many benefits that they have experienced from doing so.
A wonderful book that focuses on food as medicine is The Food Pharmacy (1998). Author Jean Carper emphasizes the healing role that food can have and shows how pharmaceutical drugs have taken over as the mainstream source of medicine. Included in this book are many types of food and their medicinal values. It is easy to use as a reference book or for inspiration on using food and herbs instead of pharmaceutical drugs. The book Conscious Eating (2000) by Gabriel Cousens has information on the raw food diet, including many wonderful recipes that can make raw food much more appetizing for cooked food eaters. Gabriel Cousens received his M.D. degree in 1969 and started teaching meditation in 1973. He studied with Swami Muktananda Paramahansa in India and became a certified Siddha Meditation teacher. Gabriel Cousens felt drawn to spread knowledge of raw food after spending time with Swami Muktananda Paramahansa and began writing books on spiritual eating and raw food. His life work also includes teaching at the Tree of Life center, which is a vegan raw food school and retreat center.
Another book that I used for this course was Gabriel Cousens book Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine (2003). This is also a helpful book for raw food information. It addresses the cycle of chronic disease, foods for optimal health, and outlines phases that one can undergo in switching from a cooked diet to one that is made up of raw foods. The second half of the book gives many raw food recipes, written by the chefs at Gabriel Cousens' center called the Tree of Life.
Gabriel Cousens also wrote a book called Spiritual Nutrition And The Rainbow Diet (1986). This book explores the chakra system and a way of eating called the rainbow diet, which is designed to enhance the functioning of the chakras. There is a large section of this book on fasting, and Gabriel Cousens shares his experiences with a forty-day spiritual fast. Another part of this book that I found helpful is on spiritual nutrition and its effects on the mind.
Elson M. Hass, M.D. wrote the book The Detox Diet (1996). Dr. Hass has focused on detoxification as a path of healing since 1975. He has helped many clients reach higher levels of health. In his book The Detox Diet, specific addictions are addressed by looking at the symptoms and risks of overuse. This book gives specific cleanses for each type of addiction, which include sugar, nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, and chemicals. It also talks about ways to decrease one's need for detoxification by creating a balanced diet that corresponds to the cycles in nature.
Paul Pitchford wrote a book called Healing with Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition (2002). This book merges traditional Asian dietary healing methods with modern nutrition. It covers nutritional guidelines and recommendations for ways to transition between diets. This book also explores how one can use the Chinese system of healing in one's diet and specific combinations of foods to help with diseases. Many recipes are included from cultures around the world. Paul Pitchford encourages people to move toward a vegan diet by learning nutritional information and creating a personalized diet through Chinese and Ayurvedic methods of healing.
Another book, which focuses on environmental toxins, is Detox (1984) by Phyllis Saifer and Merla Zellerbach. Saifer and Zellerbach offer many examples of toxins that can exist in one's life and outline the general types of toxins to help people become more aware of them. They furthermore give a general detoxification program that can help one's body to be more resistant towards toxins.
The Essene Gospel Of Peace (1981) is a book of Jesus' teachings as recorded by John, a disciple of Jesus. This book was translated and edited by Edmond Bordeaux Szekely. It contains approximately one third of the information from manuscripts written in Aramaic, which exist in the Secret Archives of the Vatican and from those written in old Slavonic, kept in the Royal Archives of the Habsburgs. The Essene Gospel of Peace, offers another version of Jesus' teachings. Jesus calls on humans to cleanse themselves and to eat raw foods in order to stay pure. There are many beautiful metaphors and teachings in this inspirational work.
Edmond Bordeaux Szekely translated and edited the second part of the Aramaic and Slavonic texts as well. Szekely compiled these texts into The Essene Gospel Of Peace, Book Two (1981). Coupled with beautiful pictures, this is another highly interesting text. This book contains the Ten Commandments by Moses, the vision of Enoch, excerpts from the Dead Sea Scrolls, and fragments from the Essene Book of Revelations. The Essene path is one that embraces three paths of truth; these are the paths of consciousness, nature, and the accumulation of wisdom from past generations.
A book containing much knowledge from yoga traditions is The Sivananda Companion To Yoga (1983). Swami Vishnu Devananda, a disciple of Swami Sivananda, was sent to the West in order to spread the knowledge of yoga. During this time, Swami Vishnu Devananda set up yoga centers throughout the United States. Written by one such center, called the Sivananda Yoga Center, this book offers information on the eight limbs of yoga. It furthermore gives several hatha yoga sessions with pictures and directions that make them easy to follow. There are relaxation techniques, breathing techniques, and meditations in this book. Part of the path of yoga is one's diet, so this is addressed as well. Cleansing routines are given, which can be helpful as complimentary practices to cleansing or fasting programs. In his own words, Swami Vishnu Devananda says in the Foreword, "...I would like to tell you that Yoga is not a theory but a practical way of life. If you have never tasted honey, no matter how often I tell you that honey is good for you, you won't understand until you try it. Put Yoga into practice and you will see the benefit yourself. This book will help you to get started and serve as a companion and inspiration along the way." (Foreword)
The final book that I used in writing this course was one written by Michael van Straten called Super Detox (2003). This book gives questions that we can ask ourselves to see whether we are in need of detoxification. Kitchen remedies for the skin, hair, nails, and hands are included. It also shows several detoxification programs of increasing length, which start at a twenty-four hour cleanse. Super Detox encourages readers to think positively, perform exercise, and rest well. This is a book full of information and set up in a way that is pleasing to the eyes, with colors, pictures, and diagrams.
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Toxic Environments: Internal & External
Many North Americans live day to day with symptoms of toxicity, which they regard as being normal feelings for their bodies. Saifer and Zellerback illustrate this point in their book Detox (1984): "These individuals think that everyone is drowsy after meals, wakes up with a slight headache, or feels claustrophobic around smokers." (3) Today, many U.S. citizens grow up taking in moderate to high levels of toxins and have thus never experienced life without them. A toxin has been defined by Elson Hass in The Detox Diet (1996) as, "any substance that creates irritating and/or harmful effects in the body, undermining our health and stressing our biochemical or organ functions." (22) Toxins come from both what we consciously put into our bodies and from the environment we live in. David Wolfe and Gabriel Cousens, two of the foremost leaders of the raw food diet, claim that they experience bountiful energy and never get sick. Cases such as theirs suggest that feelings of sluggishness, constipation, headaches, and other symptoms of toxicity do not have to be a part of our daily lives.
So when did symptoms of toxicity become normal for North Americans? To understand some of the history of the U.S. public's health, Richard Anderson gives findings from a survey done by the Public Health Service, quoted in Cleanse & Purify Thyself (1988). This survey focused on human health levels for people in the United States and in 99 other participating countries during the last century. Findings showed the United States was the healthiest country in 1900, but then dropped to second place in 1920. It was during World War II that U.S. citizens raised their health level to the healthiest country once again. According to Dr. Richard Anderson, this can be attributed to the shortage of meat and sugar and the increase of family gardens during this time. The United States dropped to 79th place in 1978 and then in 1987 the U.S. was number 100 out of the 100 participating countries. In his book Cleanse & Purify Thyself (1988), Richard Anderson questions, "In 1987 we hit rock-bottom- that's number 100 on the list. Yet we are said to be the wealthiest nation in the world. Are we also the most gullible?" (19) Anderson urges us to question the health paradigm in the United States. The Standard American Diet (often abbreviated as S.A.D.) is generally composed of meat, dairy, refined sugar, refined flour, fried foods, and alcohol.
People living on the standard American diet often experience illnesses during their lives and receive pharmaceutical drugs to alleviate the symptoms. According to Richard Anderson, medical drugs caused 162,556 deaths in the U.S. in 1996. He attributes many of the current health problems that are so prevalent in the United States as coming from the practices of the medical industry. Anderson urges us to reclaim our health by stepping outside of the mainstream health paradigm for the United States and instead, to turn to natural means of preventing illnesses, such as healthy diets and detoxification processes. "If we sincerely want to bring the American people back to health, or if we personally wish to reclaim our own perfect health, we must stop using drugs and chemicals that pollute, suppress, and weaken our bodies. We must return to the natural methods that our Creator designed and created; and that obviously means using herbs and other natural methods that cleanse, purify, and strengthen the body," states Richard Anderson in Cleanse & Purify Thyself (1988).
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Three Main Types Of Toxins
A first step in cleansing and purifying our bodies is to identify the sources of the toxins that are causing us to feel drowsy, have headaches, and later progress into illnesses. There are many sources of the toxins contained in a person's body. According to Saifer and Zellerbach in their book Detox (1984), there are three main types of toxins. These are contactants, inhalants, and ingestants. Contactants are toxins that enter the human body through the skin. Cosmetics are one large source of such toxins. Although the FDA regulates the health effects of medications, it does not do the same for cosmetics. Soaps, hair dyes, perfumes, laundry detergents, and lotions are all potential sources of toxins that enter our bodies through contact with our skin. The skin is the largest organ for detoxification of the human body. Many people, however, put products onto their skin that contain a warning against ingestion, even though the skin has the ability to absorb. Anything that is not organic will contain chemicals because the plants used to make the products will have been sprayed with pesticides. In addition, many other chemicals are often added to non-organic products. Organic products offer a solution for those who can afford them because they do not contain chemically grown plants. Saifer and Zellerbach show the potential danger of using chemical products in an extreme case that occurred over 20 years. Thirty-nine infants died in the United States from having soap used on their skin that contained hexachlorophene, an antibacterial agent. Although cases such as this are rare, it certainly raises the question of how products with chemical components may be affecting our health.
Ingestants, the second type of toxins, come from the food that humans eat today. Commercial food is grown with fertilizers, pesticides, and other sprays that contain many chemicals. Pesticides use arsenic, a deadly poison, as the main active ingredient. If this can kill insects, what is it doing to human bodies? Water is often a source of toxins as well. Water can be polluted with chemicals coming from the run-off of pesticides into streams, dumping into rivers, and the addition of chlorine. Chlorine began to be used during World War I for gas warfare and according to Dr. Richard Anderson in his book Cleanse & Purify Thyself (1988) chlorine is one of the causes of cancer.
The final group of toxins is inhalants, which come from air pollutants. The American Lung Association (www.lungusa.org) states that the air we all breathe contains ozone, carbon monoxide, fine particles, sulfur dioxide, and lead in addition to the oxygen that we need. A human breathes about 15,000 liters of air per day according to the American Lung Association. So, the level of inhalants taken in daily may be high for many humans today. In looking at these three types of toxins, only some specific toxins have been identified It is important to remember that there may likely be a larger amount of toxins present than known, and some of them are unseen (and un-smelled) pollutants that no one is aware of.
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Detoxification Systems Of The Body
When our bodies take in high amounts of toxins from contactants, inhalants, and ingestants, our detoxification systems are heavily worked. There are five detoxification systems of the body that will not be able to function optimally if we are highly toxic. According to Hass in The Detox Diet (1996), these are the gastrointestinal tract, including the liver, gallbladder, and colon, the urinary tract, composed of the kidneys, bladder, and urethra, the respiratory tract, with the lungs, bronchial tubes, throat, sinuses, and nose, the lymphatic tract, including lymph nodes, and the fifth system is the skin and dermal systems.
When our bodies are toxic, they try to handle toxins by responding in three ways: neutralizing, transforming, and eliminating. Hass states that vitamins C and E, along with zinc, selenium and carotene, all help to neutralize free-radical agents. The liver functions to transform toxins into harmless parts that the body's blood can then take to the kidneys. Our bodies can eliminate toxins by sweating them out through the skin or by the liver releasing them from the body through its bile. The human body becomes toxic when it takes in more toxins than it can handle, which often occurs when we overeat or abuse substances.
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Symptoms Of Toxicity
There are many effects that toxins can have on one's body. Exposure to some toxins may create immediate symptoms, while other toxins may take a while to produce symptoms in the body. The effects of toxins often depend on the dosage, frequency, and potency of one's exposure to them. Elson Hass outlines the short-term symptoms of toxins as including headaches, joint pains, coughs, frequent colds, wheezing, sore throat, backaches, fever, hives, nausea, bad breath, constipation, environmental congestion, fatigue, and anxiety (The Detox Diet 1996). Health problems arising from toxicity in the body include acne, allergies, hepatitis, heart disease, cancer, parasites, kidney stones, stroke, menstrual problems, Alzheimer's disease, tension headaches, and Parkinson's disease (The Detox Diet 1996).
A central belief in many detoxification programs is that there are always roots to diseases that can often be eliminated through cleansing and maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle. In his book Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine (2003), Gabriel Cousens looks at how the cycle of disease begins. The cycle of disease starts when the cells in one's body are put under stress. This comes about through taking in sugar, an acidic diet, acidic thoughts and emotions (which will be looked at later in this course), environmental pollution, radiation, low oxygen, and dehydration. These substances and conditions change the body by making it more acidic. When this happens, the red blood cells change from having a healthy negative charge to a positive charge. The red blood cells are thus no longer repelled from each other and instead begin to clump together. When they clump together, the red blood cells become overrun by mold and fungus. Unhealthy red blood cells also clump to healthy ones, causing the healthy cells to become positively charged as well. The fungus and mold that are able to thrive in such an internal environment release acids into the body, such as lactic acid, alcohol, and uric acid. These disturb the functioning of the body's organs. As a result, the body moves into a state of chronic disease because the cells of the body are dying.
The beginning of the cycle of disease includes the use of sugar and other acidic foods. These have not been a part of human diets throughout history. Anderson says that since 1900 there has been a departure from nature in both the health care and food industries. This has meant a shift toward unnatural drugs and processed foods, both of which cause our bodies to become filled with toxic waste. In modern day North American society, drug companies advocate the use of pharmaceutical drugs as a cure for mental and physical distress. Before the emergence of pharmaceutical companies, however, food was used as medicine for thousands of years. Jean Carper states in her book The Food Pharmacy (1988) that pharmaceutical companies "have taken over as magic bullets, making us forget much of our rich heritage in the medical uses of foods. Food is indeed our largest, most complex pharmacy, a monumental drugstore stocked with an elaborate display of non prescription drugs of nature's mysterious design." Food can be medicine, and this belief is certainly part of the process of cleansing and fasting.
By choosing to eat certain foods and herbs, cleansing experts say it is possible to first eliminate any toxins in our bodies that are there from previous diets and lifestyles and then prevent toxins from building up. David Wolfe, one of the leading experts of raw food, encourages people to seek high states of physical, mental and spiritual wellness because they are possible. Wolfe experiences bountiful energy and feelings of purpose and connectedness in his life. He states, "If you keep doing what you're doing, you'll keep getting what you're getting" (www.davidwolfe.com). If we continue to eat the Standard American Diet and use pharmaceutical drugs, we may likely follow in the path of the many people who have had difficult final years of their lives. Fasting and cleansing can provide effective, alternative methods of releasing built-up toxins, which can then help us to make lifestyle changes towards healthier and happier lives.
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Cleansing & Fasting Benefits
The benefits of cleansing and fasting are vast and can be experienced on the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual levels. Both cleansing and fasting serve to detoxify our bodies by releasing, neutralizing, or transforming toxins. All of these processes clear the build-up of mucus that occurs when our bodies are toxic. In The Detox Diet (1996), Elson Hass says, "We detoxify/cleanse for health, vitality, and rejuvenation-to clear symptoms, treat disease, and prevent future problems." (31) In The Essene Gospel Of Peace (1981), Jesus talks of the greatness of cleansing one's body. Through fasting, water enemas, and prayer, Jesus says that all evil, which are toxins, shall leave the body through its organs of elimination. The Essene Gospel Of Peace quotes Jesus as saying that once all toxins are cleansed from one's body, "your blood shall become as pure as our Earthly Mother's blood and as the river's foam sporting in the sunlight. And your breath shall become as pure as the breath of odorous flowers; your flesh as pure as the flesh of fruits reddening upon the leaves of trees; the light of your eye as clear and bright as the brightness of the sun shining upon the blue sky." (17-18)
The physical benefits of cleansing the body can be that skin irritations such as acne completely clear up, one's eyes become more clear and bright, one's body odor becomes sweet, and one's bowel movements come more easily. A person's body may also feel more energized throughout the day. Cleansing serves to give our often over-worked digestive organs a break. These organs can then perform other work that they may not have been able to do while focusing on digestion. With detoxification, the body's immune system and eliminative functions can reach a level of health that will allow them to be able to handle environmental toxins that the body encounters. The benefits of cleansing our organs can be noted by looking at an iridology chart, such as the one included in Dr. Richard Anderson's book Cleanse & Purify Thyself (1988). This chart shows points in the iris that correspond to organs in the body. When people have dots in their irises, it means that one or more of their organs are not in optimal health. An iridology chart allows us to map the dots in our irises and figure out the organs to which they correspond. Many people have small dots in their iris' that disappear with intestinal cleanses, revealing the connection between intestinal health and full-body health. Other benefits of detoxifying the body, as outlined by Elson Hass, are slowing down the aging process, improving flexibility, becoming more fertile, reducing symptoms of toxicity, and enhancing the senses. (The Detox Diet, 1996).
A further physical benefit of cleansing for some people is weight loss. One of the main causes of obesity, according to Richard Anderson in Cleanse & Purify Thyself (1988), is the entrapment of toxins, acids, and proteins in the body. When these toxins, acids, and proteins are taken into the body faster than the body can eliminate them, the body wraps them in mucus or lymph and then stores them. This is a way for the body to protect itself from so many toxins, and as a result, people experience an increase in their weight. In Richard Anderson's book Cleanse & Purify Thyself (1988) there is a testimony of a man who went from weighing 308 pounds to 240 pounds with the Arise And Shine intestinal cleanse. For people with large abdomens, often called "beer bellies," intestinal cleansing can help to shrink their abdomens. A stretched abdomen, according to Richard Anderson, comes from excess mucoid plaque in the colon. Mucoid plaque is a layer of mucus that can cover the walls of the intestines and stomach. It is formed as a way of protecting the body against an overly acidic stomach and bowel, which comes about through taking in high amounts of refined food, dairy, meat, coffee, drugs, or having negative thought patterns. Mucoid plaque prevents nutrients from being absorbed readily. It creates a barrier between the food that enters one's intestines and the 22 digestive enzymes that the intestines secrete in order to aid with digestion. Anderson asks, "When mucoid plaque lines the intestines, how can these enzymes make contact with the food we hope to digest? And even if there are enough enzymes to digest the food, how can the food be absorbed through the intestinal wall? And poorly digested food is a major contributor to toxicity." (45) All cells depend on food assimilation in order to function. When food isn't digested properly, one's entire body is affected. "The bowel feeds every organ, every tissue, every cell in our bodies. When the bowel environment and function has become contaminated or inefficient, the cells and organs in the rest of the body will reflect that contamination and dysfunction. A toxic and acid bowel means toxic blood and lymph, toxic organs and cells, and poor health," states Richard Anderson (44).
Intestinal cleanses can reduce the amount of mucoid plaque in our bodies or eliminate it completely. As a result, our bodies will be able to absorb more nutrients. The effects of being able to absorb more essential nutrients include the need for less food and an increase of energy. Dr. Richard Anderson furthermore points out that there are many nerve reflex points in the intestines that are short-circuited when there is a build up of mucoid plaque. These nerve reflex points are connected to other organs in the body, which can be positively affected by cleanses. One such organ is the heart, which has a reflex point in the descending colon. Anderson has found that about 75% of the time when a person has a pocket of mucoid plaque in the descending colon, she/he will likely have a heart condition.
A 26 year old man, after doing Dr. Richard Anderson's Arise And Shine Cleanse states: "The 'terrible problems' I faced on a daily basis weren't so terrible, my chronic fatigue disappeared; the bags under my eyes vanished along with the tiny crows feet around my eyes; my handwriting even changed!" (Cleanse & Purify Thyself 1988). As this testimony shows, it can be possible to eliminate symptoms of health problems through cleansing. Anderson claims that additionally, intestinal cleanses can rid our bodies of the sources of disease. While some people will say that the sources of disease are bacteria, fungi, molds, parasites, and viruses, Anderson notes that all of these "germs" will not be able to live in a detoxified body. According to Richard Anderson in Cleanse & Purify Thyself (1988), "It is what we do to ourselves (diet, lifestyles, emotions, etc.) that develops a specific internal environment in which dis-ease and germs can thrive!" (200) Dietary and lifestyle choices can create toxic bowels, where potentially harmful bacteria can live. Anderson states, "A toxic bowel is the perfect breeding environment for billions of dis-ease related bacteria, germs, and parasites." (92) The potentially harmful bacteria that live in a toxic bowel can be eliminated safely through intestinal cleansing. Once the body does not have to work as hard to safely release toxins, it can then focus its attention on rebuilding and repairing itself.
Disease needs to be looked at not only from the physical level, but from the emotional and mental levels as well. Both emotions and mental patterns are sources of disease. Richard Anderson brings awareness to the connection between food and the emotions that are often unpleasant for us. People in the United States' culture often use food to make themselves feel better. When people feel sad, stressed, or depressed they may turn toward comfort foods such as sweets with high sugar content and fried fatty foods. These foods are acidic, and along with the emotional component of being sad or depressed, can lead to the formation of mucoid plaque. This plaque then holds the energy of the emotion that we felt when we ate the mucoid-forming food. Instead of being resolved and released from the body, many emotions get trapped in our bodies' cells, affecting our bodies without our minds consciously being aware of it. Suppressed emotions affect the body's glands, immune system, mind, heart and other organs.
Richard Anderson looks at the example of suppressed anger. Anger stored in the body can block nutrients and blood from flowing properly to the frontal cortex and other organs, which can hinder the brain's ability to memorize, concentrate, and be clear. This can be healed, however, by detoxifying the body. Anderson says in Cleanse & Purify Thyself (1988), "When we fast or cleanse, these emotion-carrying cells, especially the weak, dead, or dying cells are rapidly released from the body. In this way we release forever the emotions that were trapped in those cells." (59) Thus not only can the physical body greatly benefit from cleansing, but one's mental and emotional states can be positively affected as well. Anderson states, "...The body can and must be healed through the mind, and...the mind can and must be healed through the body." (68) Further mental and emotional benefits of detoxification as outlined by Elson Hass are that people can become more creative, productive, relaxed, motivated, energetic, conscious, inwardly attuned, spiritual, relationship focused, and environmentally attuned. Hass also states in The Detox Diet (1996), "A cleansing program is an ideal way to help us reevaluate our lives, make changes, or clear abuses and addictions." (31) It can also give us a break form our normal lifestyles to really ask ourselves what is important to us and how we actually do feel on a daily basis.
The practice of fasting can provide a time of rejuvenation for the mind, body and spirit as well. As with cleansing, fasting allows the body to detoxify and the organs to rejuvenate themselves. Elson Hass states that fasting is the missing part of the Western diet. People take breaks from work in order to relax their minds and bodies, but often do not do the same with food. Hass recommends fasting as a way to prevent many illnesses from happening, especially those stemming from excess nutrition (The Detox Diet 1996). Excess nutrition can cause degenerative diseases such as heart disease, allergies, cancer, and diabetes. Hass also states that fasting can be highly beneficial for those people who experience symptoms of congestion, such as flues, constipation, and bronchitis. Such symptoms of congestion can lead to further conditions and illnesses if they are not healed. Fasting can help alleviate symptoms and conditions related to congestion. It can also help people shift their dietary and lifestyle patterns to ones that are healthier. Hass notes that during his own experiences with fasting, any stagnant energy in his body began to flow again and allergies and pains were relieved.
In his book Conscious Eating (2000) Gabriel Cousens states, "Fasting allows our physical bodies to turn to the assimilation of Divine or cosmic energy rather than biochemical energy."(229) Addictions to food and drinks can be overcome by the experiential realization that it is the energy of the universe that sustains the body. With the release of toxins from the body that comes about through fasting, the energy of the body can flow easier. According to Cousens, after one fasts several times, the body is able to be a clearer vessel for spiritual energy, and when the body is more in touch with the spiritual energy of the universe, it tends to make choices that continue to align people with the Divine. Mahatma Gandhi encouraged people to fast in order to purify themselves and experience happiness. Cousens quotes Gandhi as saying: "Fasting will bring spiritual rebirth...the light of the world will illuminate you when you fast and purify yourself." (230)
Cleansing & Fasting: Index >>
Setting Up Space For Detoxification
In looking at cleansing and fasting for ourselves or others, the environment in which we detoxify is highly important. One's environment can hold a range of toxic energies to healing energies, which will depend on the individual's definitions of each. For some people, a small amount of disorganization can be a source of stress, while for others it may be comforting. Any stresses in one's environment should optimally be alleviated before starting a detoxification process. A toxic environment can create a resonance with the toxins in a person's body, making it more difficult to continue with the detoxification process. However, an environment that is healing and inspiring may help a person continue cleansing even in times of doubt. Each person has different needs when cleansing and fasting, and so it is essential to listen to one's body before and during these processes. Important things to think about in relation to toxic environments include levels of toxic residues from cleaning agents, dust levels, and organizational cleanliness both at home and in one's work environment. Another aspect of one's environment to consider during the cleansing or fasting process is how it will feel to possibly go through cleansing reactions there. If you get a headache at work, will you be able to take a break to deal with it? Do you have obligations throughout your entire work week or are you relatively free? Foreseeing the possibility of experiencing cleansing reactions can enable us to be more prepared both at home and at work. This involves looking ahead at one's weekly schedule to see the optimal time for starting a cleanse. The two intestinal cleanses that will be covered in this course, Arise And Shine and Ejuva, both have four phases of cleansing that people can shift between depending on their weekly activities. It can be highly effective and more pleasant to take time off from work to cleanse or fast, so that one can devote all of one's energy towards the process. This is certainly not necessary, however, since many types and levels of cleanses exist.
In his book The Detox Diet (1996), Elson Hass recommends starting a fast or cleanse on a day when we have some time off from work. This can be helpful because the first days are usually the most challenging. Being in a nurturing and familiar environment without the demands of work can be very nice during this time. Hass further recommends that during a detoxification process, people keep their evenings free of demanding activities, since evenings are also one of the more likely times to experience cleansing reactions during the first several days. It is also important to consider the people that we choose to be around and the activities that we decide to participate in during the cleansing process. If you are ready to do a four week raw food cleanse, it may be difficult for you to be around friends or family who are not supportive of this decision. It may also be challenging to be with people who are participating in habits that you are abstaining from during your cleanse. David Wolfe, one of the leaders of the raw food diet, highly encourages us to only do activities and to only be around people that uplift us. Wolfe believes that this is crucial for outstanding health. One of the reactions to cleansing that can occur during detoxification is the re-emergence of old emotional patterns. Suppressed emotions will often be felt again while they are being eliminated from the body. Richard Anderson talks about the importance of staying positive during such healing reactions. When old emotions come up, one can focus on the overall picture of what is happening: they are being released for good from the body. Friends and family who understand this and are supportive of cleansing can be very helpful for us in keeping a positive mindset. This can help us to not get stuck in the immediate reality of the perhaps uncomfortable feelings that may be present, but to instead focus on the many overall benefits that will occur.
Before starting a cleanse or fast, it can be beneficial to mentally or physically create a list of reasons to detoxify your body. Then, if feelings of reluctance or fear arise during a cleanse, the list can be revisited for new inspiration. Reading books on the benefits of cleansing is a way to stay focused as well. David Wolfe suggests making affirmations and setting goals as powerful tools for succeeding with a cleanse as well.
Cleansing & Fasting: Index >>
Optimal Time For Detoxification
How does one know when it is time to detoxify? According to Dr. Elson Hass in his book The Detox Diet (1996), almost everyone living in Western societies needs to detoxify their bodies from the excess of food and drugs that are a part of these cultures. There are times, however, that are better suited for cleansing than others. These are based on both internal and external factors. Internally, it is recommended by Dr. Hass to cleanse whenever one feels congested. An example of this is given by Hass: "When I start to feel congested from too much food, people, or activities, I will feel better if I exercise, sauna or steam, drink loads of fluids, eat lightly, take vitamins C and A, and get a good night's sleep." (27) Our bodies go through cycles of wanting to cleanse, and these cycles correspond to external factors as well. Every day, for example, our bodies will detoxify during the night until midmorning if given the opportunity to do so. Women also cleanse with each menstrual cycle. Changes in the seasons are external times when our bodies can highly benefit from detoxification. Elson Hass recommends a one to two week cleanse during these seasonal changes.
In order to better understand the cycles of cleansing, we can look at Hass' "trilogy of nutritional action." In this trilogy, detoxifying is one part, while building and maintaining are the other two aspects. If an individual eats a balanced diet low in fats, meats, dairy products, chemical foods, and processed foods, Hass says that he or she will need a lighter detoxification process. With this type of diet, the body is able to detoxify itself naturally, which occurs mostly at night and during the early morning. Someone who eats a diet high in fats, meats, dairy, chemical and processed foods, however, will need to cleanse more deeply in order for the body to release the high amounts of toxins. If the body has signs of disease, high toxicity, or congestion, Hass strongly recommends cleansing. According to Hass in The Detox Diet (1996), signs of toxicity include, "headaches, fatigue, congestion, backaches, aching or swollen joints, digestive problems, 'allergy' symptoms, and sensitivity to environmental agents such as chemicals, perfumes, and synthetics." (23)
Another way to determine whether one's body is highly toxic, and thus potentially in need of a cleanse or fast, is by looking at the tongue. When peoples' bodies are completely detoxified, their tongues will be bright red. If one's tongue has a coating, which is often yellow, gray, or white, it is a sign that the body is toxic. Richard Anderson states in his book Cleanse & Purify Thyself (1988) that the tongue shows what is happening in the digestive canal. Often when people go through intestinal cleanses, their tongues become clearer and their breath more sweet.
The Body's pH Level
The pH of our bodies is an indicator of our toxicity levels and is highly affected by the food that we eat and the mental/emotional patterns that we hold. In order for the body to function properly, its pH needs to be within a specific range. The pH level of the body has to do with how acidic or how alkaline the body is. According to Anderson in his book Cleanse & Purify Thyself (1988), "Following breathing, and the heart beating, the next most important physiological function our bodies perform is the maintaining of a balanced pH." (24) Every food has a pH, which is categorized as being either acidic or alkaline. Anderson defines pH in Cleanse & Purify Thyself (1988): "pH is the symbol for 'potential hydrogen' and is used with a number to indicate levels of acidity or alkalinity. The greater the amount of hydrogen atoms, the stronger the acid, and the lower the pH number. Anything from 0-7, indicates acidity. The more diminished the amount of hydrogen atoms, the more increased the alkalinity and, the higher the number." (24)
The only part of the body that needs to be acidic is the stomach. It is in the stomach that hydrochloric acid, which has an extremely acidic pH of 0.5, is produced in order to break down food. The low pH stimulates pepsinogen enzymes that help in the digestion process of proteins. Food is mixed with acid and enzymes in the stomach and then enters the duodenum, which is part of the intestines. An alkaline pH is necessary in the intestines because the intestinal enzymes can only function well in a pH above 7. When people ingest large quantities of acidic foods, their bodies buffer the acid by assimilating it with the electrolyte organic sodium and bicarbonate. The pH of the body rises when organic sodium is absorbed in order for the body to be able to safely release the acids. Every time the body uses an electrolyte to buffer acidic food, the electrolyte supply of the body is slightly depleted.
Food naturally contains all the enzymes it needs to break itself down in the body; however, the process of cooking food kills the enzymes and the body then needs to use enzymes from the body's limited enzyme supply. Each body has a fixed amount of enzymes that are catalysts for chemical reactions, including the processes of rejuvenating and healing the cells of the body. If someone eats all acidic food, her/his body will use all of its electrolytes for buffering the acids. This person will become electrolyte deficient, and her/his health will decline. If this depletion were to continue, it would result in death. In the book Cleanse & Purify Thyself (1998), Richard Anderson states, "A key to good health is to eat enough food that has a greater amount of electrolytes than acids-alkaline-forming food. For when we eat too much acid-forming food, we drain our bank account of electrolytes" (25).
When the body uses organic sodium to buffer acidic foods, it first pulls the organic sodium from the bile. The body can take sodium from its bile without any immediate harmful effects, but the chain of reactions that this begins is devastating to the body. The pH of the bile becomes more acidic each time organic sodium is taken from it. If the bile's pH becomes too low, gallstones will form, which can have life-threatening effects on the body. Acidic bile also hurts the intestinal walls and can even burn holes through them. Anderson states, "Bile irritation is associated with development of polyps, bowel tumors, colon cancer, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), leaky gut syndrome, and various other bowel 'dis-eases.'" (28) In order for the body to protect itself against acidic bile, it secretes mucin in the intestines. Mucin is the main part of mucoid plaque that covers the intestinal wall, preventing effective absorption of nutrients and causing many types of diseases.
The second place from which the body takes organic sodium to buffer acids is the stomach. The stomach produces hydrochloric acid (HCI), which is necessary for digestion. In order for the stomach to do this, it needs organic sodium to buffer the HCI. If the stomach becomes depleted of organic sodium, it can no longer produce hydrochloric acid and proteins can't be effectively digested. Anderson states, "When HCI is unavailable, due to sodium deficiency, we become more vulnerable to disease, digestion becomes inefficient, and then even good food can become toxic. This is a typical scenario affecting the lives of approximately 80% or more of the population of the Western World." (29) In order to find out whether individuals fit into this group, pH papers can be used to test the body's pH level. PH paper is used by testing the saliva on the tongue.
According to Richard Anderson, the main difference in how acidic and alkaline foods affect one's body is that acidic foods deplete the electrolyte reserve, whereas alkaline foods build up the reserve. There are benefits to eating both types of food in one's normal diet, for alkaline foods are cleansing, while acidic foods are building. It is the overall pH of the body that should be alkaline for good health. Acidic foods include all processed foods, baked bread, alcohol, cigarettes, coffee, dairy products, eggs, drugs, legumes, meat, soft drinks, soy, black tea, nuts, and seeds. Alkaline foods include all raw and fresh vegetables, fruits, and sprouts, raw juice, and apple cider vinegar. Food is not the only source of alkaline and acidic states in the body. Emotions and thoughts can have alkaline or acidic affects on the pH of the body as well. Stress, anger, complaining, and lack of exercise are acidic to the body, whereas appreciation, joy, and fun are highly alkaline.
Mental and emotional cleansing can affect one's health in very positive ways. In Healing With Whole Foods (2002), Paul Pitchford notes that the exact ratio of alkaline to acidic food is hard to determine "since the balance is altered by chewing, food preparation, exercise and lifestyle, and even our level of positive thinking." (275-276) Pitchford says that soaking mildly acidic foods, such as legumes and whole grains, can make them more alkaline. Soaking some foods begins the process of sprouting, which is very alkalizing. Thoroughly chewing one's food can also make it more alkaline because one's saliva is alkaline and is full of enzymes.
In a society in which acidic food is consumed in such high quantities, it is important to note that a gradual change from acidic to alkaline foods is safest for the body. If an individual eats highly acidic foods with very little or no alkaline foods, a change to a 100% alkaline diet can be dangerous for the body without doing a digestive tract cleanse first, such as the Arise And Shine Cleanse or the Ejuva Cleanse. Cleanses for the intestinal tract release large amounts of acids, while building up one's electrolyte supply as well. Anderson notes, "It is ironic that because of cleansing reactions it sometimes appears that eating fresh, raw food makes a person sick, while eating cooked or junk foods makes a person feel temporarily better. All that has really happened in this scenario, however, is that the eating of junk foods has stopped the cleansing process" (186).
Knowledge of these properties of alkaline and acidic foods can be a helpful tool for one's normal diet. If an individual feels like cleansing more, alkaline foods can be eaten, and if it becomes too much, an increase of acidic foods can be reintroduced to the diet. In Healing With Whole Foods (2002), Paul Pitchford notes, "While it is best to alternate cleansing and building, in most cases people eat far more building foods than cleansing ones." (274) Pitchford advocates the presence of both of these cycles in one's diet. During the wintertime, Pitchford suggests eating more building foods, whereas in the summer, he says eating more cleansing foods is best. There are ways to keep a balance between acidic and alkaline foods in one's lifestyle. Since many people are very much out of balance, however, a cleanse can help them to release the many toxins stored in their bodies from a heavily acidic lifestyle. After such a cleansing process, new diet changes can more easily occur and a balance can more likely be kept.
Types Of Cleanses
There are many types of cleanses from which a person can choose. This section will explore cleanses for the intestines, blood, liver and kidneys, emotions and mind. By knowing about these general types of cleanses and some specific cleanses within each type, you will be more informed to make decisions both for your own detoxification processes and to help others with their cleansing experiences as well.
Intestinal Cleanse
Intestinal cleanses are extremely important for the detoxification of the entire body, as the intestines are the place of assimilation of nutrients and a major place for the elimination of toxins. In the book Cleanse & Purify Thyself (1998), Richard Anderson says, "The bowel may be likened to a septic system in a house. If your leach line becomes clogged, you may find septic debris flooding into your bathtub or shower, especially after that one last flush." (78) When the intestines become filled with mucoid plaque, the blood and lymph become backed up with waste. The cells of the body are even affected by the back up of the intestines by becoming filled with debris. We can clear our bodies of mucoid plaque and other debris, however, by performing intestinal cleanses. Anderson notes that after intestinal cleanses, white blood cells (immune cells) have been documented to move four to ten times faster than they did prior to cleansing. This is due to the release of the debris within one's white blood cells, which enables them to move faster. Once congestion in the bowels is alleviated, the blood and lymph are more able to take toxins to the elimination organs to be released from the body forever.
In order to look further at the components of intestinal cleansing, two types of intestinal cleanses will be explored, the first of which is the Arise And Shine Cleanse. The Arise And Shine intestinal cleanse is a powerful four week process of detoxifying the intestines formulated by Richard Anderson. Anderson searched for effective ways to cleanse his body for years. After trying many intestinal cleanses with minimal results, Richard Anderson went on an expedition with a friend to fast on fresh, wild herbs and water. Anderson had the experience of releasing mucoid plaque after eating herbs from a meadow. It was this experience that led him to research how to use these herbs as powerful cleansing allies in a cleanse for other people as well. The result of this research was the formulation of the Arise And Shine Cleanse, which uses herbs that are grown near Mt. Shasta.
Two herbal formulas are used during this intestinal cleanse. The first herbal formula is important in aiding peristalsis, which is the wave-like movement of the intestines. It also serves to break up mucoid plaque, release the mucoid plaque from the body, purify the blood, expel worms from the body, and reduce cleansing reactions, gas, and appetite. The second formula makes the first more effective and also provides nutritional support for the entire body. This formula gives one's body essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals, chlorophyll, and supports all organs. In addition to these herbal formulas, which are taken several times daily, shakes consisting of psyllium husk powder and liquid bentonite clay are consumed throughout the day. Both psyllium husk powder and bentonite clay help to prevent cleansing reactions by aiding the body to quickly release toxins. Psyllium husk powder serves to loosen mucoid plaque from the intestinal walls and then pushes it out of the body. Liquid bentonite absorbs toxins from the intestines.
Richard Anderson states that the aluminum contained in bentonite has a negative electrical charge, which is the same as the charge of the cells in intestines. In Cleanse & Purify Thyself (1998), Anderson states, "Like the polar opposites of two magnets repelling one another, the cells of our bowels absolutely repel the bentonite from entering the inner sanctum of our bodies. This means that you never need to be concerned about absorbing anything that is in bentonite." (103) Probiotics are additionally taken as part of this cleanse to provide the intestines with beneficial bacteria necessary for good health. The diet of mostly raw foods eaten on the Arise And Shine Cleanse helps to feed the friendly bacteria in one's intestines.
There are four phases during the Arise And Shine Cleanse, which correspond to the amount of toxins being released from the body. Three meals are eaten on phase one, and then one meal is eliminated on each of the following phases. During the fourth phase, only fresh juice is consumed. This allows the body to spend very little time digesting and thus more time cleansing. A large focus of this cleanse is on releasing mucoid plaque, which often happens during the final phase.
Ejuva is another intestinal cleanse that serves to detoxify the intestines, blood, organs, and tissue cells. It is a four-week cleanse which contains four phases, each lasting for about one week. A combination of 24 organic herbs is taken to help cleanse the body of mucoid plaque. Another formula helps to balance one's energy during the cleansing process. It consists of a combination of Chinese and Ayurvedic herbs and aids in keeping one's energy level high during the entire cleanse. Intestinal flora is taken to feed one's beneficial intestinal bacteria. During this cleanse one also has a shake made of psyllium seed husk powder, Chia seeds, and Slippery Elm powder. This formula cleanses intestinal pockets of fecal matter and mucoid plaque. It also nourishes the intestinal tissues. Instead of using bentonite clay, as the Arise And Shine Cleanse does, the Ejuva Cleanse uses a formula of Ayurvedic herbs combined with herbs from Japan. This formula "works not only to cleanse and regenerate the tissues and intestinal tract, but is especially formulated to be effective against parasites. In our experience, this formula is unsurpassed in allowing you to cleanse, and feel energetic without the worry of a sluggish feeling and ingesting heavy metals from bentonite." (www.ejuva.com) The Ejuva Cleanse chooses not to use bentonite clay because it contains 21% aluminum, which can become stuck in the body and create further toxic residues.
After the intestines are cleansed of mucoid plaque and the body is able to release many trapped toxins, it can additionally be helpful for the body to do a gallbladder and liver cleanse. Some people choose to do liver cleanses without any other cleansing experiences. Richard Anderson, however, emphasizes the importance of first completing an intestinal cleanse because of its ability to release the high level of toxins that can be stuck in the intestines. Gallbladder and liver cleanses serve to safely remove stones from both organs. According to information from www.highvibe.com, most people in the United States are susceptible to having stones in their livers and gallbladders. Anyone who eats cooked food, especially a diet high in animal fats and sugar, and low in fiber, raw fruits, and raw vegetables, is likely to have a clogged liver. This happens because the body can't break down the types of cooked fats eaten by many North Americans and so these fats become solid stones. When the liver is clogged, it isn't able to produce as much bile, which is essential for the elimination of toxins from the body. The Koyman center (www.koymancenter.com) notes that the liver is responsible for removing toxins from the bloodstream. When the liver becomes taxed through high levels of toxins flowing through the bloodstream, it isn't able to flush all of the toxins out of the body. Instead, the liver takes toxins from the bloodstream and stores some of them in the liver itself. This inhibits the liver's ability to detoxify the body. According to www.thelifetree.com, symptoms of liver dysfunction include headaches, bad breath, a heavily coated tongue, muscle pain, fatigue, excess sweating, and skin irritations. The Koyman center outlines how a full liver cleanse will help to clean the bloodstream, strengthen the immune system, improve digestion, clean the skin, improve metabolism, and protect the body from degenerative diseases such as cancer. When stones are flushed and a healthy diet is consumed, the liver and gallbladder can function properly, helping the overall health of the entire body.
Many liver cleanses are available online and most use the combination of olive oil and lemon juice to flush the liver. Olive oil causes the liver to contract, thus pushing stones out through the liver's ducts. Cleanses for the liver are one to 14 days in length and can be a safe way to pass stones through the stool rather than by means of surgery. As described on www.highvibe.com, stones can be "bright green, white, putty colored, black, or brown, and they are quite remarkable." This company furthermore recommends diet changes after a liver cleanse to help maintain the health of the liver. A diet high in fiber with few or no flesh foods is recommended. Cold pressed oils, avocados, and seeds are suggested as fats in one's diet, and fasting on juice one day per week is suggested as being helpful for overall health.
Master Cleanse
A cleanse called the Master Cleanse serves to detoxify the liver, as well as the kidneys, digestive system, glands, cells, joints, and muscles (www.bc1.com). It furthermore helps to build healthy blood and stimulate healthy tissue growth. The book The Master Cleanser by Stanley Burroughs outlines information that can be helpful in having the most effective cleansing experience with the Master Cleanse. This cleanse can be done for ten days or for one to two days once a month to rejuvenate the body. During the Master Cleanse, one takes a mixture of fresh lemon or limejuice, maple syrup, cayenne pepper, and water six to twelve times per day. Lemon helps to detoxify the body, while maple syrup gives one's body energy from an unrefined source of sugar. The body gets a break from heavy digestion, since the liquid mixture is easy for the body to assimilate. In addition to the mixture of lemon, maple syrup, cayenne, and water it can be helpful to take a herbal laxative while on this cleanse because the body isn't receiving any fiber, which helps with bowel movements.
Emotional And Mental Cleansing
The third type of cleanse that will be explored is emotional and mental cleansing. Our diets affect our emotional, mental, and spiritual states, and in order to cleanse these, we need to focus on what we are putting into our bodies. The connection between one's diet and mind has been understood by cultures for thousands of years. Herodotus, a Greek historian, noted that meat-eating cultures were more focused on war than vegetarian cultures. The Brahmin class in India follows a particular vegetarian diet that they feel enhances spiritual awareness. Gabriel Cousens states in his book Conscious Eating (2000), "Consciously or unconsciously, people tend to choose the diet that reinforces and reflects their own mental and spiritual state of awareness." (164) One can use food as medicine for the mind, emotions, and spirit. Cousens suggests increasing fruits, vegetables, and grains in order to feel relaxed, light, comfortable, calm, quick, smart, and intuitive. Furthermore, if someone feels dull, irritable, heavy or tense one can decrease the amount of dairy and flesh foods to help in feeling better. Gabriel Cousens uses the Ayurvedic system of health from India to help understand what types of foods benefit the mind. According to Cousens in his book Spiritual Nutrition And The Rainbow Diet (1986), "Diet influences the state of mind, and the state of mind influences the diet choice." (135-136)
Ayurveda classifies food into three groups, called gunas, which are sattvic, rajasic, and tamasic. Sattvic foods create a balanced, clear, and harmonious mind and body state. Cousens says that a sattvic diet for a Western person consists of "an abundance of different sprouts of legumes and grains, immature greens and grasses, fresh fruits and vegetables, and soaked nuts and seeds." (136) A person should eat 70% alkaline food and 30% acidic food to be in the sattvic state of mind. The other two types of foods and mind/body states are rajasic and tamasic. Rajasic foods tend to be highly energizing and make the body and mind push themselves beyond their limits, leading to a very unbalanced life. Tamasic foods include the fast foods of the United States. This type of food tends to create a mind/body state of lethargy and irritation.
Paul Pitchford suggests a certain type of dietary cleanse that can be helpful for emotional and mental states in his book Healing With Whole Foods (2002). Pitchford suggests a whole-grain fast for people who want to gain more mental focus, which can be used to hold positive thoughts throughout one's day. This type of wholegrain fast is most effective if done for at least three days. Millet is recommended to be used because of its alkaline nature; however, other whole-grains can be used as well. Pitchford suggests chewing each bite of food thirty to fifty times. Water, grain beverages, and teas can be taken. In addition, mental and emotional cleansing can certainly occur during cleanses that are focused on other parts of the person. Intestinal cleanses, for example, help the body to release mucoid plaque that holds old patterns of emotions and thoughts. The release of such energies can cause huge shifts in one's perception and a new sense of self to arise.
Another method of emotional cleansing involves focusing on the chakras, or energy centers, of the physical body. This can be done on oneself or by another person. The Ministry of Universal Energy Healers states that energy becomes trapped in the body when one experiences emotions such as anger, fear, resentment, jealousy, etc. This is the concept behind chakra energy healing. If such energy remains trapped in the body, a person will not be able to completely heal illnesses. The first time that energy usually becomes trapped is during childhood. This can affect us for our entire lives if it is not healed.
A very important part of energy healing is a person's willingness to be healed. The Ministry of Universal Energy Healers states, "You may not know HOW to forgive, but if you are WILLING to forgive, it is already a great step toward regaining health." (www.freehealing.com/illnes/emotion.html) The power of thought is often underestimated by people, but can have a profound affect on emotional and mental cleansing. With deep awareness, one can create thoughts that affect the body in a harmonious and healing way. One of the first documented healers in the Western world to use positive thoughts for self-help was Emile Coue. Emile Coue started a free clinic, where he taught people to repeat positive affirmations such as, "Every day and in every way I am becoming better and better." According to Michael van Straten in Super Detox (2003), positive affirmations can become rooted in the subconscious, where they can then push out any negative emotions stored there.
According to Blanca Greenberg at www.spiritualpath.org, emotional cleansing is a very necessary part of peoples' spiritual awakenings; "Emotional cleansing opens up the sacred space in our hearts to make room for spiritual emotions: love, harmony, peace, tranquility, unity, abundance, happiness, joy, spiritual ecstasy and oneness with the ultimate Source." Just like toxins in the body, emotions can build up if they are not cleansed. Blanca Greenberg says that healing modalities that use energy, such as Reiki and acupuncture, help to break up energy blocks within one's body.
However, the individual needs to be able to maintain emotional and mental well being in order for new blocks not to form. Greenberg states, "A close analogy would be in attempting to dislodge a clogged sink. Removal of the clog can be successful but in order to maintain it 'unclogged' we must assure ourselves not to allow particles 'that do not belong in the sink' to make their way through the drainage." Love and forgiveness are two powerful tools in helping each individual to cleanse emotional blocks, and prevent them as well. Another way of cleansing the body, mind, and emotions is to make changes in our diets. As a cleanse in itself, making dietary changes can help the body to begin or deepen its detoxification process. Dietary changes can also be effective to implement after a specific cleanse, as a way of maintaining a detoxified body. In The Detox Diet (1996), Hass recommends that we make changes in our diets towards ones that are less congesting. If we eat diets composed of mostly congesting foods, they will create toxicity in our bodies. Foods that are most congesting include sweets with refined sugar, dairy products, eggs, fried foods, meats, hydrogenated fats, and refined flour. Those foods that are least congesting and thus more detoxifying than others include fruits, greens, herbs, water, and other vegetables. By not consuming foods that contain chemicals or drugs, the amount of toxins that the body has to deal with is greatly decreased. Hass recommends drinking extra water and consuming plenty of fiber to help the body in its detoxification process.
Raw Food Diet: An Overall Cleanse
Eating a raw food diet is another way to help cleanse and detoxify. Raw foods are mainly alkaline, but just because it's raw does not always mean it is alkaline. There is some variance concerning alkalinity versus acidity, but raw foods are always a sure bet on the journey to ultimate health, regardless. Raw foods include fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, roots, sea vegetables, and sprouted grains. While some people may introduce raw food items to their diets in order to cleanse, others may eat all raw food to eventually release all the toxins in their bodies. David Wolfe advocates raw food for many reasons, and included in these is its ability to help people become connected with nature and feel rejuvenated and young again. The saying "you are what you eat" poses the question for people of, "what do you want to be?" Wolfe chooses to eat all healing foods, which he believes to be those that are raw, or uncooked. Raw foods are as nature created them, without any modifications by humankind. The Essene Gospel Of Peace (1981) quotes Jesus as saying, "With that fire of death you cook your foods in your homes and in your fields. I tell you truly, it is the same fire which destroys your foods and your bodies, even as the fires of malice, which ravages your thoughts, ravages your spirits. For your body is that which you eat, and your spirit is that which you think." (40)
A main difference between raw food and cooked food, according to Richard Anderson, is that raw food contains life force and enzymes. Richard Anderson says that life force is a key ingredient to health. In Cleanse & Purify Thyself (1998), he states that life force is "the source of energy and nerve power. It gives life to our cells and to the enzymes in our body." (192) The life force of each of our bodies decreases when we eat cooked food, take drugs, or experience negative thought patterns. Cooking food kills its enzymes because enzymes die at a temperature above 119 degrees Fahrenheit. Enzymes are essential to the body for health since they are necessary for keeping the body clean, utilizing proteins, vitamins, and minerals, digesting food properly, and for all metabolic processes to take place.
Anderson refers to research done by Dr. Edward Howell, an expert on enzymes, which shows that we all have a limited supply of enzymes. If we eat cooked food, which contains no live enzymes, our bodies have to take enzymes from their reserves in order to digest the food. Eating cooked food depletes the body's limited amount of enzymes, and when this enzyme reserve is depleted completely, none of the body's metabolic processes will be able to occur. Anderson states, "With a decrease of enzymes, a process of internal decay rapidly develops, creating mounting problems in the body, which can even be transmitted, through DNA, to one's future children." (194)
According to Anderson, raw foods also help the body by keeping it free of congestion. He uses the metaphor of a car. People know not to put sugar into the car's gas tank because this will clog the engine. Anderson claims that eating cooked foods has the same affect on our bodies as sugar does in a car. We become congested. The Essene Gospel Of Peace (1981) quotes Jesus as saying, "So eat always from the table of God: the fruits of the trees, the grain and grasses of the field, the milk of beasts, and the honey of bees. For everything beyond these is of Satan, and leads by the way of sins and of diseases unto death. But the foods which you eat from the abundant table of God give strength and youth to your body, and you will never see dis-ease." (41)
Types Of Fasts
Fasting is another type of cleanse for the body, mind and spirit. People have taken part in fasts for thousands of years with successful results. Philosophers such as Socrates and Plato used fasting to help themselves better understand the truth. Many religions use fasting for purification, spiritual awakenings, and initiations. The Christian period of Lent is a time during which people give up certain foods as a way to connect with Jesus Christ's sacrifice. During Ramadan, Moslems fast from food until sunset in order to focus more on prayer. Yom Kippur is a Jewish day of purification, during which people fast from food and water. Hinduism and Buddhism both contain practices of fasting before and during holy days, during certain phases of the moon, and before initiations.
Fasting has been defined in several ways. The term fasting can be used for a dry fast, which means being without food or water, or an abstinence from certain types of food, such as from meat. According to Dr. Gabriel Cousens in Spiritual Nutrition And The Rainbow Diet (1986), "Fasting in a larger context, means to abstain from that which is toxic to mind, body, and soul." For many people, fasting will include taking a break from worldly responsibilities in order to abstain from the daily stresses involved with working, driving, etc. Some people will take a break from speaking or from any type of social interaction. Gandhi, for example, practiced one day of silence each week. By not focusing one's attention so much on the outside world, one will have more energy to use for personal exploration, spiritual development, and cleansing. Gabriel Cousens says that one's appetite usually diminishes within the first few days of a fast, allowing for the individual's focus to move away from food. During spiritual fasting, one's body stops using biochemical energy as fuel and instead uses pranic, or life force, energy. One's level of pranic energy can increase with fasting, and if this energy reaches a certain point, one's Kundalini, or dormant spiritual energy, can be awakened. Cousens states that fasting "is not done to make the body suffer, because in practical reality the body is also becoming healthier with fasting. It is done because, until we achieve a certain level of spiritual communion, the desires of the body-mind complex are often stronger than the desire of God communion." (149)
There are many types of fasts, and Gabriel Cousens recommends a gradual process of initiating one's body into fasting. Cousens gives four stages of fasting in his book Spiritual Nutrition And The Rainbow Diet (1986). The first level of fasting is for people who eat a meat diet. These people are recommended to fast from meat for one week twice a year. The second level suggests that people who do not eat meat fast on fruits and juices for either three days once per month or one day per week and additionally fast for seven days twice a year. The third level is for people on a lactovegetarian diet; they are recommended to fast on juices for the same schedule as level two. These first three levels of fasting are geared towards cleansing the body at the physiological level and as support for spiritual practices. The fourth level of fasting is different from the first three in that it is an active spiritual practice within itself, done in conjunction with prayer and meditation. The final level consists of four ten-day fasts per year and either fasting three days once a month or one day per week. This level is for people who are on a vegetarian diet and desire to use fasting to enhance their spirituality. Fasts at the final level can start out consisting of fruit and vegetable juices, then progress to wheatgrass, and finally to distilled water.
In the book The Healing Path Of Yoga (2000), Nischala Joy Devi outlines another method of progressive fasting, which she recommends following instead of jumping into long fasts without previous experience. In the first stage of her process, Devi suggests fasting for several hours. This can be done by eating a normal breakfast, skipping lunch, and instead practicing yoga or breathing exercises. One can drink herbal teas, vegetable juice, or vegetable broth to appease hunger. For dinner, eating in moderation and with appreciation is best. The second phase of fasting is for people who have had a positive experience with the first stage. During the second stage, one can eat a regular breakfast and lunch, but then fast from after lunch until breakfast the next morning, following the same guidelines as the first phase. This is about an eighteen hour fast, and a great deal of the time is spent in sleep. The third step is to fast for twenty-four hours by fasting from after lunch one day until lunch the next day. Nischala Joy Devi says the third phase of fasting "is sufficient for a regular once-a-week or once-amonth healing fast. Longer ones can be added as the practice feels more comfortable." (201-202)
It is important, according to the Sivananda Yoga Center in The Sivananda Companion To Yoga (1983), to decide upon one type of fast a person wants to experience before starting the process. The best time to fast is when one isn't extremely busy and can be without any type of medication. During a water fast, the Sivananda Yoga Center recommends drinking five to seven glasses of water per day slowly to absorb the most energy from them. A juice fast can consist of the same amount of fluids, and the best way to take juice is to chew it. The Sivananda Yoga Center stresses the importance of having guidance if fasting for more than four days. During a fast, the first three days are the hardest. The body can undergo many reactions during these first days, including headaches, bad breath, difficulty breathing, and vomiting. When any such reactions occur, it is because the body is trying to rid itself of toxins. If one does experience vomiting or breathing problems, it is best to break the fast slowly. Other recommendations include only performing light exercise, wearing plenty of clothing to keep warm, and practicing yoga postures and breathing exercises (which will be explored further in a later part of this course).
There is additionally a forty-day spiritual fast that Jesus, Moses, and the Essenes practiced. Jesus and Moses both fasted for forty days with no food or water. There is also a progressive forty-day fast that brings people from their every-day diet to fasting on liquids within forty days. If someone is a meat eater, for example, they could eat 37 days of vegetarian food and then three days of juice. The purpose of a longer fast is not to cleanse the body, but rather to commune with the Divine. Gabriel Cousens, in his book Spiritual Nutrition And The Rainbow Diet (1986), states, "It is on this (forty day) fast that we directly confront death and the offering up of our body, mind, and ego to God." (155) Gabriel Cousens experienced very high energy and clearness with his own forty-day fast. He was able to meditate for increased amounts of time, and during the last phases of the fast, Cousens meditated for nine hours per day. Cousens states, "My mind became so devoid of thoughts that in meditation, it would simply dissolve into the light of God for hours at a time." (156)
The physiology of fasting shows the benefits it can have on the physical body. When the body doesn't receive nutrients through consuming food, it begins a process called autolysis. During this process, the body turns to poorly functioning cells and breaks them down to be metabolized. Autolysis usually begins after three days of fasting. According to Gabriel Cousens in Spiritual Nutrition And The Rainbow Diet, one should stop fasting when the body is done breaking down the unhealthy cells, which is indicated by a renewal of appetite. If one were to continue fasting at that point, the body would turn to its healthy cells and begin to break them down. The organs of the body that help to release toxins, which are the liver, kidneys, bowels, lungs, and skin, are able to become more active during a fast. One's body no longer has to use its energy to digest food and can instead focus more on cleansing itself. Evidence of toxic release during fasting is often foul breath, body odor and foul smelling feces, as well as an increased amount of mucous and dark urine. Elson Hass notes that fasting can be very beneficial for one's overall health. He refers to fasting as the "missing link" in the typical Western diet. Too much food is often consumed too often.
Fasting has been used in the past to heal people and is currently used in other countries as well. According to Gabriel Cousens, fasts lasting from 14 to 21 days are commonly used in European fasting clinics for health therapy. Cousens notes that fasting can be dangerous for people with certain health conditions or in certain stages of life, such as lactating mothers, pregnant women, people who are not physically mature, and people who loose weight easily and have trouble regaining it.
There are several guidelines that Gabriel Cousens recommends for people who are fasting. It can be helpful to do enemas every day of a fast to clear toxins from one's bowel. Using a skin brush to help the skin detoxify, being in the sun if possible, doing deep breathing exercises, performing exercises, taking saunas, abstaining from sexual activity, and using flower essences are all suggested during one's time of fasting. Cousens has found the following combination of flower essences to be helpful during fasting: self-heal, silver sword, papaya, lotus, star sapphire, and quartz. Self-heal helps the body absorb prana, or universal energy. Silver sword balances one's heart chakra and aids with the subtle bodies. Papaya essence helps to balance sexual and emotional energies, while lotus works on alignment of all levels of a person. Finally, star sapphire focuses on activating the chakras.
After completing the time designated for one's fast, it is essential to transition between fasting and eating one's regular diet. A person's digestive system will shut down during a liquid or dry fast for several days or more, and when food is re-introduced to the body, the digestive system will absorb nutrients very quickly. Cousens suggests breaking a fast with foods that the individual wishes to use for rebuilding one's body, such as healthy, healing foods. The completion of a fast can be an excellent time to change one's diet or lifestyle. Gabriel Cousens states, "I have found that a ratio of one day of breaking the fast for each two to three days of fasting is a good guideline, though everyone's body is different and this needs to be individualized." (153)
Many Levels Of Detoxification
After exploring the general types of cleanses and fasts, it may be beneficial to take another moment to think about your own life and how detoxification could be a part of it. Do you feel any of the symptoms of toxicity such as frequent headaches or sluggishness? Do you have the time, energy, and resources to focus on a specific cleanse or fast? There are times when we may not feel like taking on a whole new program, even if it does seem to have many benefits for our health. It is important to listen to yourself. If you do not feel drawn toward doing a long cleanse or abstaining from many foods that are regularly a part of your diet, it is possible to cleanse by letting go of a single food or activity in your life. This could mean letting go of a single addiction for a day or week. Addictions are a part of many of our lives, whether it is coffee, cigarettes, alcohol, or certain types of food. In The Detox Diet (1996), Hass recognizes that there can often be two voices within an individual. One voice may urge the person to smoke a pack of cigarettes because life is short and so why not enjoy it? Another voice, however, may be saying that it wants to be healthy and free from addictions. An approach that Hass recommends is to take a small break from one's addictions. This can mean a day, a week, or longer depending on how the individual feels. These breaks from toxic substances will give the body time to detoxify, renew itself, and rest. According to Hass in The Detox Diet (1996), "All addictions are ultimately self-destructive (some can hurt others as well, such as alcohol and smoking). When you change that dynamic to self care through both your internal healing process as well as with the lifestyle and nutritional guidelines...you will begin to serve your body and life toward its highest potential." (iv)
Making changes toward self care in one's life can happen at many levels: emotional self care through activities that let one's emotions be nurtured or expressed, mental self care through resting and relaxing, spiritual self care through personal ways of feeling connected to a larger force, and physical support through exercise, diet and rest. A large part of this can be to learn how to deal with stress in alternative ways to using addictive substances. Caring for one's well being can be important to focus on at all times, including during times of detoxification because of the possibility of experiencing cleansing reactions.
Cleansing Reactions
It is very beneficial to have knowledge of cleansing reactions that can occur while on a cleanse or fast. These do not always occur, but can be looked at as a possibility to help you make the decision of whether to heavily detoxify, cleanse lightly, or not to cleanse at all. Cleansing reactions include headaches, dizziness, nausea, low energy, weakness, an unclear mind, sneezing, coughing, skin eruptions, rashes, fevers, sweating and reexperiencing past symptoms of illness. Such reactions occur when too many toxins are released and flow through the bloodstream. In this case, the liver isn't able to handle the large amount of toxins. Toxins can be heavily released when a piece of mucoid plaque becomes loosened from the intestinal walls. Both the Ejuva and Arise And Shine intestinal cleanses offer herbal formulas to help reduce or eliminate cleansing reactions. In general, people with very healthy livers do not experience cleansing reactions because their livers are able to filter the toxins out of their blood.
Cleansing reactions can be seen as signs of one's previous unhealthy diet or lifestyle. Richard Anderson states in Cleanse And Purify Thyself (1988) that cleansing reactions "prove beyond doubt that one has been accumulating substances that cause disease to harmful levels." In addition, Richard Anderson outlines several important actions one can take when experiencing cleansing reactions. Anderson recommends cleansing the intestines first, for they are the largest source of toxins for the liver to filter. Cleansing the intestines will help to strengthen the liver, which will then be able to deal with larger amounts of toxins being released during further cleanses or fasts. Furthermore, when experiencing cleansing reactions, Richard Anderson urges people to not let themselves stay feeling poorly. There are actions that can be taken for such people to feel better. The first is to drink lots of water, which the body needs in order to remove toxins. If the person still doesn't feel better, a water or coffee enema can be beneficial. This will help remove any plaque or stool that may be stuck in the intestines and that will likely contain toxins. Taking extra electrolyte minerals will help to buffer the toxins, making them ready to be removed from the body. Anderson also outlines specific actions to be taken if one experiences constipation, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, exhaustion, or gas during a cleanse. A time when cleansing reactions often occur is when one stands up after sitting or lying down. When toxins are released into the bloodstream, one's blood can become thicker with the excess proteins and mucus. This can cause slow circulation, resulting in light-headedness when one tries to stand up. Richard Anderson recommends getting in the habit of standing up slowly, with one's head coming up last.
A healing crisis can also occur while cleansing or fasting. According to Bruce Fife in his book The Healing Crisis (1997), feelings of being sick while cleansing are called a healing crisis. The word "healing" is used because the body is healing itself and will be stronger and healthier as a result. "Crisis" is used because the symptoms can be unpleasant and sometimes intense. Re-experiencing feelings of previous illnesses or emotional distresses during a cleanse or fast are symptoms of a healing crisis; such feelings re-emerge while they are being released from the body for good. A healing crisis marks the end of a cycle of disease. In Cleanse & Purify Thyself (1988) Richard Anderson states, "The beginning of a dis-ease marks the beginning of a cycle in which a dis-ease inhabits and impairs the body to varying degrees, even after the acute phase of the illness has past; the healing crisis is the ending of that cycle, freeing the body entirely from all influence of that dis-ease." (159)
If people do not know about this cycle of healing, they can become very concerned when going through a healing crisis. They may stop the cleanse that they are doing because they believe it is harmful to their bodies. However, the opposite is true according to Anderson. Healing crises occur when people are doing helpful actions for their bodies that will rid them of diseases. Anderson quotes Dr. Bruce Fife, who says that experiencing a healing crisis can be a time of gratefulness and celebration. Fife states, "We should rejoice, knowing that we have eliminated more causes of dis-ease. It means that we have cleansed and purified our bodies from unwanted toxic waste which was poisoning the body, mind, and feelings." (23)
Anderson says that a healing crisis has the opposite affect as allopathic medicine in that the latter suppresses causes of disease, which makes the person temporarily feel better. However, suppressing the causes of illness does not heal them, where as cleansing and fasting do. A healing crisis will pass, leaving a person feeling better than before. There are signs of a healing crisis that distinguish it from a disease crisis. A disease crisis is when a disease begins to noticeably affect one's body. When one has a healing crisis, she/he will feel wonderful the day before the symptoms begin. It is caused by healthy habits such as a good diet and taking care of the body. Anderson states that a healing crisis usually lasts for three days and most people remember feeling similarly in the past.
Exercises For Detoxification Support
There are exercises that can be beneficial to perform in conjunction with specific cleanses and fasts or as detoxification methods by themselves. The path of yoga, which is the oldest system of physical, mental and spiritual development, offers several cleansing exercises that will be explored in this section of the course. Yogis, people who practice yoga, view the body as a vehicle in which people can move into higher states of consciousness. If the body is clear, the mind and senses will be sharper and the person's body will be more resistant toward illnesses. Yoga offers a method of cleansing the nasal passages, called Neti. There are two ways of performing Neti; the first is called Jala Neti, during which one uses a small pot with a spout (which can be purchased at many health food stores). A salt and water mixture is then made in the Neti pot and poured into one nostril with the head tilted toward the opposite side of the body. If the nostril is clear, the water will pass to the other nostril and flow out; if it is clogged, repeating the process on both nostrils several times will often clear it. After performing this on both nostrils, one can gently blow any leftover water out of the nasal passages. The second method is called Sutra Neti. In this practice, a catheter or a 12-inch piece of waxed cord is used. It is dipped in lukewarm salty water and then passed into the hole just inside one's nostril. Once the cord can be seen in the back of one's mouth, it can be slowly pulled out. According to the Sivananda Yoga Center in the book The Sivananda Companion To Yoga (1983), either Neti exercise should be practiced daily.
Another part of the yogic purification system, is a process for cleansing the lungs called Kapalabhati. Translated directly, Kapalabhati means "skull shining" and refers to the positive effect that this breathing exercise has on clearing the mind. Kapalabhati releases any stale air that is in the lungs, making room for them to be filled with oxygen-rich, cleansing air. This method consists of a series of inhalations, exhalations, and retentions of air. The Sivananda Yoga Center describes the process: "To exhale, you contract the abdominal muscles sharply, raising the diaphragm and forcing air out of the lungs; to inhale, you relax the muscles, allowing the lungs to fill with air. The exhalation should be brief, active and audible, the inhalation longer, passive and silent." (70) When beginning this practice, the Sivananda Yoga Center recommends doing three rounds of twenty exhales and then slowly working up to rounds of sixty exhales.
Along with cleansing through nasal purification and breathing, a yogic technique for dealing with the stresses that can arise in one's daily life is relaxation of the body, mind, and spirit. There are many ways to relax and each individual has ways to do so. The deeper one's relaxation is, the longer it will positively affect one's life. In The Healing Path Of Yoga (2000), Nischala Joy Devi says that many people in her yoga classes use television, reading, or competitive sports as their ways to relax. Devi notes, however, that people's brain waves and heart rates do not actually relax during these forms of unwinding from one's day. She states, "Usually what we call relaxation is shifting our ordinary thoughts to another set of thoughts-often mindless activity. It is sometimes appropriately termed 'killing time' or 'wasting time.' For most of us, that is neither conducive to productive activity, nor to relaxation." (64-65)
Deep relaxation is distinct from mindless activity in that it allows the physical body to soften and the mind to detach from activity and worry. Devi states, "Tension melts away and thoughts surface as air bubbles escaping from the bottom of a muddy pond. There is a pop and a release when they merge with our conscious mind." (65) Humankind's natural state is to be relaxed in the mind and body according to the Sivananda Yoga Center. It is when both mind and body are continually in their relaxed state that one experiences great health. There is an intimate relationship between one's mind and body, for when one's mind is agitated, the body becomes tense and if one's body is relaxed, one's mind is relaxed as well. The Sivananda Yoga Center reminds people in The Sivananda Companion To Yoga (1983) that the mind is the original source of all actions of the body. The mind receives information that alerts it for action and tells the muscles to be ready through the nerves. The muscles then contract so that one's body can move. This allows people to be ready for any dangers that may present themselves to them. For many people living today, however, their minds are constantly receiving such information and so their bodies are in a constant state of contracting for danger. The Sivananda Yoga Center emphasizes this point; "In the hustle and bustle of the modern world, the mind is continuously bombarded with stimuli which may cause us to freeze in the alerted 'fight or flight' pattern of response. As a result, many people spend much of their lives-even while asleep-in a state of physical and mental tension." (23)
Deep relaxation can be a very powerful tool for cleansing the body, mind, and emotions of stress both during specific cleanses and as a daily practice. There are three parts to deep relaxation that focus on the body, mind, and spirit. In order to relax the physical body, the Corpse Pose is used. In this yoga pose, one lies on the back with the feet about 18 inches apart and the hands, with the palms up, about 6 inches from the body. To deeply relax each part of the body, one tenses and then relaxes each part individually, starting with the feet and moving up to the head. There are many parts of the body that can be tense, including the jaw, eyes, and fingers, so in order to relax the full body, all parts need attention. The Sivananda Yoga Center says, "This alternate tensing then relaxing is necessary because it is only by knowing how tension feels that you can be sure you have achieved relaxation." (23)
The second part of deep relaxation is to relax the mind, which is done through conscious breathing. To practice conscious breathing, one can continue to lie in the Corpse Pose and then breathe steadily, focusing on each inhalation and exhalation. Whenever one's mind drifts away from the breath, it can be gently brought back. Spiritual relaxation is the final stage of deep relaxation, which is necessary to practice in order to relax the body and mind completely. In The Sivananda Companion To Yoga (1983), the Sivananda Yoga Center describes this process: "Spiritual relaxation means detaching yourself, becoming a witness of the body and mind, in order to identify with the Self or pure consciousness-the source of truth and peace that lies within us all." (23) Relaxation comes in layers and means surrendering and letting go instead of holding on to something and tensing. This idea is very powerful for the cleansing process because it can help the body release during the detoxification process.
Discussion
It can be helpful to know about specific experiences of cleansing and fasting to know what types of emotions and healings can arise, as well as what works for individuals and what does not. In looking at such experiences, I'd like to offer my first encounter with cleansing and fasting as an example. My cleansing and fasting experiences began while I was living on the big island of Hawaii with my partner. I had given very little thought to cleansing, but after hearing about people's experiences with letting out mucoid plaque during the Arise And Shine Cleanse, I strongly felt that I did not want my intestines to be lined with old emotions and food residues. My partner and I decided to invest in Richard Anderson's Arise And Shine Cleanse, with which he had previously experienced with good results. I had the unique experience of cleansing in a cottage that had been used for group cleansing retreats during the several years prior to when we moved there. The healing energy around cleansing was very strong.
I began reading Richard Anderson's book Cleanse & Purify Thyself (1998) and became highly motivated to cleanse. I started setting goals that I would release mucoid plaque and felt very excited about it. Around this time, however, I talked to a friend who had experienced several intestinal cleanses. She told me about her experience with setting intentions of letting out plaque and how she found that when she focused on this, she didn't release anything. It wasn't until she accepted the possibility of not releasing plaque that she actually began to let the plaque out of her body. Her overall advice was to set intentions of cleansing the body, but not to hold on to specific results. I took my friend's advice and set the goal of cleansing my body of any toxins, emotions and energies that I was ready to let go of and that would be of benefit to my highest level of Being. Before we could start the cleanse, we needed to do a series of pH tests to assess the level of electrolytes in our bodies and the health of our livers. For one of these tests, we needed to eat only raw greens for one day. This was a very intense experience of detoxification, during which I released many toxins through my urine. I remember sitting outside on a grassy lawn and feeling extremely connected to nature. The colors of the plants, flowers, and insects around me were extremely vivid and in this way appeared more beautiful to me than ever before. During the same day, however, I also had several periods of feeling weak and tired, which I feel were due to the amount of toxins that I was releasing. This showed me the power of raw food to cleanse the body. After starting the Arise And Shine Cleanse, my partner and I both passed mucoid plaque on the second day of cleansing, which often doesn't happen until the fourth week! We were extremely encouraged and continued to heavily detoxify the next few weeks. I found that my addictions to food were deeply tied to giving food the power to make me feel good. The food I had given this power to was acidic food that felt comforting to me, such as bread.
I began to tune in to the fact that during my entire life of eating large amounts of acidic foods, I never experienced the beautiful highs and healings that I felt during the cleansing process. I can clearly remember the first coffee enema that I decided to do on the Arise And Shine Cleanse. With the encouragement of Richard Anderson, I deeply listened to my body, and with muscle testing would find out whether I would benefit from more juice, an enema, or some other type of cleansing aide. The coffee enema is especially helpful for detoxifying one's liver. When I was through releasing the toxins from this process, I remember looking at myself in the mirror and being astonished by my own light and beauty, which I had never seen to that degree before! A lens from society of what is beautiful and what is not was suddenly lifted from my eyes, and I felt that I finally saw myself for who I really am. I had rushes of extreme joy flowing through my body and felt that absolutely everything in the world was perfect. Experiences such as these were bright lights throughout my time of cleansing. I had many inspirational insights for my path in the future that I feel came to me through my body being more purified of fears and other old energy patterns. I allowed myself to dream the highest visions that I could imagine for both the world and myself. I then set intentions for those to come about, and I can say that at the time of writing this course they indeed are still happening. Doing the Arise And Shine intestinal cleanse altered the course of my life in such a positive, clear, and focused way. My partner and I let out over fifty feet of mucoid plaque during the four weeks of intestinal cleansing! We strongly feel that this will help us to have healthier and more vibrant lives. In looking at what helped me to be able to cleanse for four weeks, I can see that other cleansing practices complimented the Arise And Shine Cleanse and created a more comfortable time of detoxification. Several of these practices are massage, enemas or colonics, skin brushing, and saunas. Massage helps the body to work out points of stagnation, while also helping the body to release toxins held in the muscles. I found the massage that I had during my cleansing process to be extremely relaxing, which was exactly what I needed during my week of heaviest detoxification.
Enemas and colonics both help the intestines to release mucoid plaque and other toxins that can become stuck. Although both of these practices can seem unpleasant to the mind before doing them, I found them to instead be a source of great relief during cleansing reactions. Colonics are even more effective than enemas in that they are able to cleanse a larger portion of the intestines. Colonics are given at hydrotherapy offices, while enemas can done alone at home. Richard Anderson talks about the different types of enemas and how to use them in his book Cleanse & Purify Thyself (1998).
Another practice that I did daily while cleansing, was skin brushing. This helps the skin to detoxify by removing toxins and dead skin cells. It cleanses the skin without clogging the pores. Saunas and steam baths can also help with detoxification through one's skin by helping the body to sweat more. I have continued to practice skin brushing and taking saunas since completing my cleanse and have found them both to be useful for continual detoxification and renewal.
In addition to these outward practices, I have found that intentions, affirmations, and meditations were all beneficial aides to my detoxification process. The intention of releasing toxins from my body helped me to make peace with feelings that arose when I experienced cleansing reactions. Meditating became easier at times than it had ever been for me, and I received guidance from parts of myself that I did not know existed prior to the cleanse. I found that visualizations were a powerful tool as well. One such visualization to aid with the transformation of our energies that I'd like to share involves calling on the presence of St. Germaine. I have used this visualization regularly ever since I learned it about a year ago and have found it to be very helpful. In this visualization, you can first close your eyes and begin to sense your aura, or energy field. This can be through visualizing it or sensing it in whatever way feels comfortable to you. Next, take several deep breaths and on an inhale, breathe your aura in to about two feet around your physical body. Ask St. Germaine to surround your aura with his violet flame, allowing it to penetrate through your entire aura and physical body. Ask St. Germaine to transform any energies of lower frequencies to higher frequencies. Feel the transmutation of your energy and stay with this violet flame around your aura for up to several minutes. When you feel ready, ask St. Germaine to lift the violet flame that surrounded you. Thank him for helping you. Feel any differences in how your emotions, mind, and energy are now. Visualize a beautiful, golden light beginning to surround your entire aura. Golden light is often used for healing. This visualization and invocation can particularly help in cleansing one's self of feelings taken on by certain situations or people.
The Arise And Shine Cleanse can be an intense cleanse because of the smaller amounts of food and types of food that are eaten during it. A family member of mine has started a milder level of the Arise And Shine Cleanse by taking the herbs and shakes from the cleanse kit, but not following the food recommendations for the heavier levels of cleansing. For her, this means a longer, but gentler cleansing process that is conducive to her body and lifestyle at this time. She has recently passed her first mucoid plaque, showing that her personalized cleanse is effective, as well.
Some people that do the Arise And Shine intestinal cleanse do it once, while others go through it several times during their first year of cleansing and then continue to cleanse once a year afterwards. The testimonials of the Arise And Shine Cleanse, offered in Richard Anderson's book Cleanse & Purify Thyself (1988), show other cleansing experiences and benefits of detoxification. Anderson quotes one woman who was told she could never become pregnant and did so after cleansing: "As far as benefits of the Cleanse, to name a few...I have more energy than I know what to do with. I wake up clearheaded, don't need coffee, I do skin brushing instead, I'm not sleepy after meals. I feel light and energized. I watch very little TV because I can't sit still that long." (227) Another woman is quoted by Anderson as saying, "A very large cyst, very painful, had been growing in one of my breasts for seven (7) years; it dissolved by the end of my first seven days on the Master Phase. Painful, swollen areas of my colon got unblocked. Four inches vanished from my waistline. Lower back doesn't hurt as much...My menstrual periods are now perfectly in time with the New Moon and not as painful." (232) Changes in many areas of one's life can occur after cleansing the body of toxins.
After completing the Arise And Shine Cleanse, I felt very motivated to alter my eating habits so as to not form more mucoid plaque in my intestines and stomach. I tried a vegan diet consisting of mostly cooked grains and vegetables and experienced very low energy with this diet. My partner and I have since started eating mostly vegan raw food and have the goal of eating all vegan raw food at some point in the future. It is amazing to me how nature has provided us with the perfect foods to keep our bodies from having built up toxins, but that we have changed the nature of these foods by cooking them and adding chemicals to them. The potential for raw food to change the world is huge, but addictions to cooked acidic foods seem to stand in the way. On the individual level, raw food offers extremely high levels of health to people, which mainstream medicine does not seem to document as being true for its system of healing.
People who are raw foodists are proof of the benefits of raw food. David Wolfe says that he never gets sick, which is, of course, so different from many people's realities. I feel very excited to see how raw food can affect people as they enter into the later years of their lives. Illnesses that our society seems to say are normal for old age, such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's, may be linked to people's cooked acidic diet and lifestyle. On a global level, vegan raw food could mean the end to world hunger and the rapid deforestation of the earth. David Wolfe talks about being very surprised to learn that a large portion of the deforestation of third world countries is due to the cutting down of trees to use as firewood for cooking. This was surprising to me, being a stove user, just like most others in the United States. If people worldwide embraced raw food, deforestation could be slowed down. Not raising animals for meat and dairy would mean there would be room to grow vegetable and grain crops to feed hungry people.
Although I would like to embrace raw food completely, I know that for others this may not be so appealing. Cleansing the body and mind can allow for more life force to flow through the body, creating changes necessary for optimal health for the individual and the planet, whatever they may be. One great benefit of cleansing is becoming more in tune with the effects of food on the body, mind and spirit. Becoming more conscious at any level can help to raise the consciousness of the entire world.
With all this being said, I would also like to share with you some of the challenges that I currently face with the changes in my eating and lifestyle habits that I am making. I have recently moved back to an area where I previously lived a life full of eating habits that I am trying to let go of, such as drinking coffee. Various parts of myself want different lifestyle choices. One part very much desires my old habits, while another part is extremely ready to make radical diet changes toward the raw food diet that it would like to fully step into. One aspect that many of the cleanse books leave out is how to deal with these different parts of ourselves in a way that doesn't mean complete denial for the part that isn't so willing to embrace a pure diet. Although for some people going "cold turkey" and completely giving up a habit is the only way it works, for me this does not. It instead sets rules up that lead me to feel a sense of scarcity and strictness in my life that do not feel good.
I was amazed when a friend of mine recently shared with me a tool for appeasing the two or more opposing voices of wanting healthy and less healthy activities or substances. His discovery of this tool came about from a dream in which he was in a castle trying to defend himself against an invading army. Upon analyzing the parts of this dream as symbols, he found that the army represented his ego self. His spirit self was the one trying to stay safe inside the castle walls. He very much felt that they were constantly opposing each other, one saying, "I want to meditate all day long," while the other said, "I just want to go out with friends and have fun!" Using his imagination, he asked each part of himself what it wanted, wrote these desires down on paper, and then found compromises between the two lists.
With myself, I've found that part of me wants to do long cleanses and the other desires to eat whatever food makes me feel good in the moment, regardless of how I feel later. I have decided to try this process myself and make compromises so that both selves are happy while I continue to grow in steps toward the healthier self that I'd like to become. I have found this to be an effective way to honor the many parts of ourselves, while slowly embracing the benefits of health that we all deserve. It seems that one of the great challenges of being alive in a human body is to find the harmony between the aspects of our selves. There are people on either extreme, some fully living a material, outward, sensory life, while others live fully in a spiritual, inwardly focused world. There is a great challenge to living both inwardly and outwardly, of the earth and beyond the earth. Many great spiritual teachers encourage those who seek this path that it is certainly possible. The Essene Gospel Of Peace, Book Two: The Unknown Book Of The Essenes (1981) offers us an eloquent symbol of this unity: "And just as the roots of the tree sink into the earth and are nourished, and the branches of the tree raise their arms to heaven, so is man (humankind) like the trunk of the tree, with his roots deep in the breast of his Earthly Mother, and his soul ascending to the bright stars of his Heavenly Father. And the roots of the tree are the Angels of the Earthly Mother, and the branches of the tree are the Angels of the Heavenly Father. And this is the sacred Tree of Life which stands in the Sea of Eternity."
Conclusion
There is sense of polarity between the United States' mainstream lifestyle and the way of life that is advocated by wellness systems from many traditions throughout the world, religious leaders throughout history, and many cleansing and fasting experts rooted in modern nutrition. Does there need to be such a large gap between these two groups of lifestyles? A middle ground does exist and can look many ways, depending on how one desires it to be. This middle ground can mean being an active part of today's society, while at the same time making choices to enhance one's wellness. A healthy physical body will in turn positively affect one's mind, emotions, and spirit. Cleansing and fasting offer a time for our bodies to detoxify the buildup of food, chemical residues, and stuck emotions that would otherwise unconsciously affect our day to day well-being. There are many types of cleanses and fasts that one can choose from depending on the level of detoxification that is harmonious with one's intentions and lifestyle. Detoxifying your body may or may not be right for you, but in being receptive to the information in this course, you have hopefully gained a deeper understanding of cleansing and fasting that will support both you and your clients, starting right now. To gain knowledge is to take a powerful step in embracing the ways of living that each of us most desire. May this only continue to open doors for you and those around you into newer, more beautiful, and ever-fulfilling lives.
Alkaline vs. Acidic Foods
(This chart is based on entries in Richard Anderson's book Cleanse & Purify Thyself pg. 236-237)
Alkaline Foods
Raw fruits, vegetables, and sprouts, including those listed here
| watercress | alfalfa sprouts | apple cider vinegar | barley |
| apples | apricots | avocados | bananas |
| beets and greens | berries | blackberries | broccoli |
| brussels sprouts | cabbage | cantaloupe | carrots |
| cauliflower | celery | cherries collard | greens |
| cucumbers | dates | dulse | figs |
| fresh corn | fresh raw juice | goat whey | grapefruits |
| grapes | green beans | green lima beans | green peas |
| green | soy beans | herbal teas | raw honey kale |
| kelp | leaf lettuce | leeche nuts | lemons |
| limes | mangoes | maple syrup | melons (all) |
| millet | molasses | mushrooms | mustard greens |
| okra | onions | oranges | parsley |
| parsnips | peaches | pears | peppers |
| pineapple | plums and prunes | potatoes | quinoa |
| radishes | raisins | yams raw | cold-pressed olive oil |
| raw cold-pressed flax oil | rhubard | rutabagas | sauerkraut |
| spinach | squash | turnip greens | ripe tomatoes |
Acidic Foods
all cooked grains (except millet and quinoa)
| Alcohol | all processed foods | baked bread | cake |
| canned fruits & vegetables | all cereals | chickpeas | cooked chocolate |
| cigarettes | coffee | wheat (all forms) | corn (dried) |
| cornstarch | dairy products | drugs | eggs |
| foods cooked with oils | fruits (glazed or sulfured) | ketchup | legumes |
| lentils | all meats | mustard (prepared) | nuts |
| seeds | beans | oatmeal | pasta |
| pepper (black) | popcorn | salt | soda crackers |
| soft drinks | soy products | sugar (white & processed) | sweeteners (artificial) |
| tea (black) | vegetables (overcooked) | vinegar (distilled) | Vitamin C |
Bibliography, Cleansing & Fasting
Anderson, Richard 1988 Cleanse & Purify Thyself. Medford, OR; Christobe Publishing
Carper, Jean 1988 The Food Pharmacy. Toronto; Bantam Books
Cousens, Gabriel 2000 Conscious Eating. Berkeley, CA; North Atlantic Books
Cousens, Gabriel 2003 Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine. Berkeley, CA; North Atlantic Books
Cousens, Gabriel 1986 Spiritual Nutrition and The Rainbow Diet. Boulder, CO; Cassandra Press
Devi, Nischala Joy 2000 The Healing Path of Yoga: Time-Honored Wisdom and Scientifically Proven Methods That Alleviate Stress, Open Your Heart, And Enrich Your Life. New York, NY; Three Rivers Press
Fife, Bruce 1997 The Healing Crisis. Colorado Springs, CO; HealthWise Publications
Hass, Elson M. 1996 The Detox Diet. Berkley, CA; Celestial Arts Publishing
Pitchford, Paul 2002 Healing With Whole Foods: Asian Traditions And Modern Nutrition. Third Edition. Berkeley, CA; North Atlantic Books.
Saifer, Phyllis, and Merla Zellerbach 1984 Detox. Los Angeles, CA; Jeremy P Tarcher, Inc.
Szekely, Edmond Bordeaux, Ed; as recorded by John, Disciple Of Jesus Christ 1981 The Essene Gospel Of Peace. Nelson, British Columbia; The International Biogenic Society
Szekely, Edmond Bordeaux, Ed 1981 The Essene Gospel Of Peace, Book Two: The Unknown Books Of The Essenes. Nelson, British Columbia; The International Biogenic Society
The Sivananda Yoga Center 1983 The Sivananda Companion to Yoga. New York, NY; Simon & Schuster
Van Straten, Michael 2003 Super Detox. London; Quadrille Publishing Limited
Internet Resources: http://www.bc1.com http://www.davidwolfe.com http://www.ejuva.com http://www.healthy.net http://www.highvibe.com http://www.koyfmancenter.com http://www.lungusa.org http://www.thelifetree.com/livercleanse.htm