I’m juice fasting. Again. I’ve lost track of how many days I’ve fasted, how many different methods, techniques & flavours I’ve tried now. One thing is constant – I’m grumpy and resistant for the 1st day – no matter who is leading the fast. If there’s an authority figure & I’m following their program – god help them [Cue: massive apology to all previous fast leaders]. If it’s me, I’m just grumpy and resentful. What strikes me, again, is how much patience it takes to be ‘with’ the fast. We’re so used to quick fixes & instant gratification, that even though 7 days is a fraction of my life & the benefits will last years, being patience through the long moments of hunger, the roller coaster of emotions means you have to be very present. Which makes time feel longer. Because even if you distract yourself with movies, music, books, talk & laughter, you can’t get escape the very real physical sensations which you’re currently feeling. It makes me kinda narcissistic too – because once I get past the grump, & I start feeling good, I’m so dam smug! I go through the whole – I’ll never eat this again, I’ll never do that again [ie. judging dehydrated/gourmet raw foods & agave syrup], until this time I got to “Next time I’m depressed will someone PUHLEEASE frogmarch me to an aeroplane, send me somewhere hot & starve me till I’m happy”. Seriously.
This is the first time I’ve been without added salt, green tea, my amazing cacao/nut milk/tea elixirs or tahini in forever. I know I need to constantly reassess what I consume, notice when my own habits become less-than healthy patterns [easy to judge others, right?] and step back and see the bigger picture. I still consume ‘raw’ things because they’re raw, when other choices would be lighter or cleaner. Doh! And again, I’m reminded that my libido is magnified if I’m thin/hungry – so I usually eat more when I have no one to channel that energy with. Yes there are answers for this too, probably:
But on the whole, food is a no brainer for me. Yoga it would appear is my greatest teacher, challenge, stumbling block & saving grace. It’s genius. It works like nothing else [for me]. I have 3 mats. I have no excuses, but in the 10 years since I discovered Ashtanga, have I maintained a regular practice? When I’m on a yoga retreat, it feels like it’s the answer to everything & nothing in my life will fail. Then 2 weeks slip by & I haven’t so much as stretched, and it’s not for lack of thinking about it. I start each morning with the intention to get on the matt, and sometimes I manage a sun salutation or 3, but I bail at the resistant point. I’m not the gym-bunny, lets-schedule-time-to-sweat kinda girl. I’ve never had an endorphin rush – from any form of exercise [which I think is connected to my cacao capacity]. I’ve never been fit or toned, and my get-out-of-jail is thinking “I’m just not the kind of person, I don’t need to show my belly in public“. But I KNOW, every cell knows, what a profound effect yoga has on my life. It’s only when I’m light & clear on a fasting that my energy levels are so intense, my joints loose & supple, that I am driven to move my body. My recent Jivamukti class [prior to this fast] was a huge wake-up call for the creaking stiff shape I’m in & how ancient my body feels if I don’t take care of it. Watch this space..
My blood pressure is crazy low at the best of time, so I monitor it daily to make sure I don’t fall into the ‘coma’ zone. It has happened before – well not quite, but nearly – I hit the dizzy/fainting zone. What I love most, other than my sinews & hollows, great skin & shrinking belly is how my mind works. My thoughts are sweet & clear. Most of them seem interesting or important [to me] – NONE of them have been negative or pessimistic.
Tomorrow we liver flush. I LOVE this day. I adore my delicious oil & citrus blend – I’m salivating already. Taking time to lie & be. To rest & release. With the full moon to assist us, the time is right…
















