Healing Cleanse (January)

The Holidays have been pretty crazy and with ups and downs and stress and too much indulgence. So I am going to go on a cleanse to get me back on track and help myself to heal and recharge during the cold winter months. I will be doing this with a group who will all be doing their own goal attainment for January. If we support each other and have some social events that are health based we will be ore successful.  Freinds should design their own cleanse based on their own ideas about health and well being. It is important for us to share our ideas while being true to our individual perceptions. To start January 6th.

This cleanse is to facilitate the healing necessary after the long, various, and stressful festivities of the End of the Roman year. It is important to make choices which allow me to take advantage of the grounding and enriching parts of the winter, the season of element Earth.

My next cleanse will be in April ( and probably quarterly). The next cleanse will be more strict as I will be creating intentions for the new year in Spring. This winter cleanse is a very mild cleanse but I find it is hard to do anything more strict this time of year. It will last two weeks to a months. I am trying to stay very flexible so I do not give up on it.

My personal take on the entire cleansing trend is that it, like everything else people tend to go extreme with it and then hurt themselves and blame the whole idea as bad. I think only very experienced cleanser should do an extreme cleanse or fast like chili powder and apple cider vinegar or anything like that. It’s not really any type of cleanse I would do but like I said above everyone should follow their own interests.

I will be doing a progressively more intense cleanse and progressive fast and then coming out of it slowly. This way I am actually cleansing and staying healthy for a long period and I am only fasting a short period. The benefits for me are always better when I am gentle. I feel gentleness is one of the most important parts of healing.

I plan to start the cleanse by just going to my productive daily routine at first and refraining from unhealthy activities. I will limit going to social events mostly and will become sort of a hermit. Keeping contact and interacting with friends regularly is important just do it in healthy settings. Like watch a documentary with them. Go have dinner and talk about plans and books. Refrain from drug and alcohol use. One or two drinks maximum is ok in a night but hopefully throughout the cleanse you won’t have to do this too often. Do not drink when fasting. If you smoke, try to quit or cut back as much as possible.

As the cleanse progresses I will be cutting elements out of my diet, first meat, then breads, then cooked food, then veggies, fruits until I am only drinking juice for one day. I may try to not eat anything for one or two days maximum. This middle “fasting” period will be on days I do not have to work and can lay around be non-physical and read and meditate.

When I am done fasting I will start eating again but slowly. I will drink juice for a day, then next day add fruit, next a salad. After a day of raw food I will make a vegan hot meal. Eat like that for as long as I wish to continue the cleanse.

During this cleanse I will be practicing a very disciplined routine each day. I will do a morning routine each day which focuses my intentions and helps me contemplate how they will be acted upon. I will do yoga and excercise at least every other day. I will also have an evening routine at each night. During the day I will try to do as many growth activities as possible during the day. Below is a break down of the whole cleansing process. Let me know if you wanna join in. I wanna start the first week of January and go two weeks to a month. We could all help each other stay on track with our own individual goals. Maybe instead of cleansing you have a fitness goal or a study goal, this could easily be adopted for you. We have so many different paths but that doesn’t mean we can’t get back on track together!

The First Step

I feel that the first step in being successful at anything is to make a plan. Please remember that you are gonna break the rules sometime along the way. Probably more than once. This is not a reason to stop. Adjust your expectations or go back to the plan, you have not failed. This is about practice, just like any art, personal health must be practiced.

So make a plan, be reasonable with yourself and use your imagination and all of your understanding. I personally make short term and long term goals at each quarter of the year. The short term goals are for the next month or two and the long term goals are for the next year. I think about what I really want, be reasonable but anything can happen in a year, believe me.

Think about what your main goals are, what are a few words that describe all over your main goals? Keep it to four words or less. The simpler you are the better your outcome will be. Use these simple ideas when you are visualizing in your meditations and ceremonies.

During the meditations below and ceremonies please think about and visualize your goals happening, how they will happen, and visualize holding them in your hands. I will write about the more another time. Let me know if you need help with visualization and focus exercises and ceremonies.

Also think about the details of your plan and plan ahead to have everything you will need ready. Do not forget anything or have any excuses ready why you cannot fulfill your goals for the next two or three weeks.

Pre-Cleanse Meditation

Sit in a relaxed position in a silent, calm environment close your eyes and think about the cleansing period. Think about the plan that you have made. Breath in through your nose while holding your tongue to the roof or your mouth and breathe out slowly through your mouth. Relax your whole body, feel your body and visualize your body.

As your visualize your body, imagine that you are a magnet for your goals and intentions. The more specific and simple you are the better. If you choose to you can chant 10-12 times “I am a magnet for love, abundance, success, and good fortune.” (replace my italics intentions with yours ie. “I am a magnet for a new job“) Think about the cleanse you are going to do. Visualize yourself completing it and feeling healthy, alive, and happy. Set a music timer for 10-15 minutes so that at the end of your silent meditation you will hear your favorite beautiful meditative music. I like to make Tea after I meditate, before and after is good too.

Each Phase of the cleanse can go any number of days. I usually go a few days for each phase. I just make sure that when I go start cutting a lot out of the diet it needs to be a time when I can limit my physical activity. Do not over exert yourself when you are fasting.

Phase One – Healing Routine – Three Days to a Week 

The first phase is just to cut out the impulsiveness and start being healthy. Do as much as you can each day to get to a regular sleep pattern and a healthy diet and exercise routine. Below I’ll describe my routine I have been using.

Sleep

I need 6-8 hours of sleep every 24 hours. I try to sleep starting at 11-2am and be up by 7:00 or 8:00. It is better if I don’t eat for two hours before I sleep. If I sleep more than 9 hours 8 often am groggy. The closer I sleep to the pattern above. the less I get tired. I good nap is ok every few days too.

Water

I will be doing an extensive Writeup on water a some point. I DO NOT believe you necessarily need to drink 8 glasses of water a day. It all depends on how much cooked food you eat, the wether, and how much you are exerting yourself. I feel it’s good to drink 2 glasses of good water in the morning as soon as you wake up and to drink two glasses of good water every night before bed. Besides this is prefer tea and non sweetened drinks instead of water. Too much pure water will strip nutrients and minerals and everything else from your body. We must stay hydrated, if you eat lots of raw food you will stay more hydrated. It is better for digestion to dink tea with meals. You can drink pure water 30 mins before a meal but avoid drinking it right after a meal.

“Good Water” is too me water which has no chemicals in it. Chlorine causes cancer and fluoride is suspected of many health issues and recently a scientific study that it can be a major cause of heart disease, its most likely calcifies our bodily organs. Bottled Water is usually just tap water put through a filter and is almost without regulation. I would drink tap water before bottled water and most food has chemicals from the water used as well. So until your grow your own food it is gonna be hard to eliminate these chemicals totally. Until then we reduce everywhere we can.

I start by buying water that has been filtered with reverse osmosis. It is good to add a dash of seal salt to every gallon and add trace minerals and other nutrients to water. It is beneficial to drink a glass or two of alkaline water every day as well to help keep the bodies ph down. I also try to bless all of the water I drink, make tea with and water my plants with.

Morning Routine

After a good nights rest wake up in the morning and breathe in deep. To better remember my dreams, especially during a cleanse I keep my iPad or a dream journal next to where I am sleeping and the first thing to do upon waking, even if your gonna snooze after is to write your dreams down in your journal while you still remember them. Reread and contemplate your dreams all day. If your do not remember your dreams, write “This morning I chose not to remember my dreams.” This will tell your subconscious to help you remember your dreams better.

This next section of exercises I put on a timer. I do this so that I am reminded to keep on task and just go through the whole process. You might only want to alternate a few of these exercises. I often omit an exercise if I feel like I have been doing it often and don’t need it if I am short on time.

I first cleanse and prepare my space and self. Brush Teeth, wash face and pits, make a clean meditation area, bring in sunshine, aromatherapy, candle. While doing this I am waking up my body by actively breathing deeply. I stretch for 10-15 minutes and then go into exercises, I have an extensive routine I’ll write about another day. Basically I do breathing exercises followed by meditation, Emotional Freedom Technique, Chanting, Daily Communion, and pulling a Tarot card. Usually I then Make Tea and start cleaning the house or whatever home I am in.

Diet

My ideal diet I will do a write-up on later. I think of “diet” as how I eat normally in day to day life. It is ok to break out of diet especially for holidays and celebrations. I try to make my daily eating habits better and I think it’s better than just dieting whenever I feel like I have gotten out of control or gained too much weight. I have read several diet and nutrition books. The ones I recommend most are “Fit for Life” and “Gyspy Feet and Good Things to Eat.”

I eat as much raw nutritious food in the morning hours before I start anything cooked. I try to avoid breads and potatoes as such for breakfast. I prefer to eat traditional breakfast food for dinner or lunch. I feel that if I eat nutritious, easy to digest food first/early in the day. I will be lees hungry and more active all day. It works. I start with juice and fruit. Eat as much as I can. You cannot eat too much fruit when your stomach is empty. Mixing fruits with other foods however can make digestion difficult. Next I eat Salads and raw veggies. Then wait and our before eating cooked food. It is best to keep meat potions small and try to eat as many vegetables as possible at all times!

Eat heavier, less nutritious foods at night if you eat them at all. Try not to eat anything for a few hours before bed. Drink water and do night routine.

Exercise

Every other day it is good to exercise. If you chose do more. Just don’t overdo it, especially when fasting. I try to split it up into sections. I give a certain amount of time to each section and make a timer. This way my routine is efficient and I don’t waste too much time between sections. Don’t rest more than 5-10 minutes.

Usually I Stretch, do Tai Chi, then Five Rites of Rejuvenation, then Yoga, then any Body Building and Cardio, then cool Down Stretching and Relaxation Meditation, followed by shower.

Your work out can be as short as fifteen minutes and as long as two or three hours. It all depends on how much time you have.

Evening Routine

The evening routine prepares me for night and sleep and makes certain that I will wake in the morning with more focus. I make sure to drink water and think about my plans for the next day. What I want to accomplish and what obstacles I might need to be prepared for. I will usually do stretching, breathing, meditation followed by a evening communion and time spent giving thanks. I also try to do Reiki on myself or partner. If I have trouble sleeping I use herbal teas. I prepare the morning water and make sure thing are tidy so I can get right onto my routine in the morning.

Art

It is very important for your growth and perception to stimulate your imagination. Be sure to have some books to read, some art project or something to do with yourself when you are on your cleanse. This will help you to be more active, to use your entire intelligence, and not get bored and fall off of it. Make sure to have activities you do alone. You don’t have to have someone around helping you all the time. Art can be anything from doing yoga to watching the ocean to painting a picture. When in meditation you might have inspirational thoughts! Start working on them right away. This is really the main benefit of the cleanse. You clear out your negative energy and replace it with imagination! You can create whatever experience you really desire when you follow your imagination!

Spirit

 

Phase Two -Vegetarian – Three Days to a Week

During phase two I phase out meats and cut out more unhealthy foods. At this point I should be preparing all my own meals.

Phase Three – Vegan– Three Days to a Week

During this phase I start by restricting my foods to vegan only and slowly cut out all cooked foods.

Phase Four – Raw Food – Three Days to a Week

This phase I am only eating raw foods. No breads.

Phase Five – Juice Fast  – Three Days

This phase I slowly cut out all food until I am only drinking water and tea. First I cut out veggies, then fruits, then juice.

Phase Six – Fast – One or Two Days

This phase is the fast. I will try to do two days but it make only last half a day. Not gonna try to be to hard on myself.

Phase Seven – Raw Foods – Three Days to a Week

I will start eating again by drinking juice first and slowly add foods like fruit and salad. I will eat only raw food for a period.

Phase Eight – Vegan – Three Days to a Week

I will try to stick to a Vegan Diet for the rest of the cleanse and End the cleanse with a Sushi party!

The goal here with this cleanse is to try to create a well rounded healing period for my five bodies physical, mental, emotional, astral and divine. No one thing is too important and it important that your cleanse reflects your own beliefs, experiences and understandings. Please comment or message me if you wanna join in or have any questions.