Eating with Awareness -Leanne Hall, True Yoga founderHealing comes:
- In those moments when you look into your mind, observe your cravings, your excuses about eating in that moment, and are willing to let the real cause surface.
There are two ways to heal any pain or anxiety:
- You can go the route of ego denial, indulging in food, drink, or cigarettes as a means of escape, which reduces you to a state of utter dependency.
Or:
- You can face the TRUTH, admit your error, take your licks, feel, be sad, cry…let whatever is there come up and then let it go, which leads to genuine healing.
THE CHOICE IS ALWAYS YOURS!
Just as when you hit your edge on the yoga mat, by not running away in the moment of anxiety or escaping into the arms of pseudo-comfort, you will probably feel old pains, anxieties, and guilt coming up to the surface to be resolved and released. THESE MOMENTS OPEN A DOOR IN YOUR MIND TO LEARNING ABOUT YOURSELF.
Staying with the discomfort allows you to receive insights into how you have used food as a drug to soothe negative feelings. By feeling what is there in that moment, you heal not only your relationship to food, you also open the door to healing the underlying cause of the symptom.
Our relationship to food heals when we heal our emotional wounds, destructive lifestyle patterns, and our overreactions to everyday stress-all things that are illuminated as we commit to a truthful path.
Why Detox?
Body toxicity is the root cause of many ailments we humans suffer. No matter how healthy you profess to be, no matter what measures you take to remain healthy, an ever-increasing level of toxicity will in time take its toll. Symptoms will accumulate and years of poor eating and other bad habits will gradually chip away at your immunity, vitality, and energy.
Expected Results of the Cleansing Diet:
- The toxic debris that blocks your natural flow of energy will dissolve.
- You’ll shed unwanted fat, cellulite, weight, and inches if that’s what needs to happen.
- You’ll put on healthy weight if that’s what you need.
- Your body will return to its authentic stature.
- Your skin will radiate.
- Stomachaches and intestinal problems will disappear.
- Your breath will be clean and sweet.
- Problems like constipation and fatigue disappear.
- You will have renewed energy and vitality.
- Your emotions and moods will stabilize.
- You will no longer have the mid-afternoon crash, when you look to a cup of coffee or a sugary snack as a pick-me-up.
- You will feel psychologically empowered, because you will have gained control over your eating habits.
Discover Water-Rich Foods
Water is nature’s cleanser. Drinking pure water is great, but, water alone doesn’t nourish the body or undo the effects of a gooey and gluey diet. The goal here is to maximize our energy, flush the gastrointestinal tract so that things keep moving, and help keep us as clean on the inside as possible.
A water-rich diet is easier on your digestive system, as water-based food require much less energy to digest than those based on fat. So, what are high-water-content foods? Fresh fruits and vegetables and their freshly squeezed juices contain the most water and carry with them the most valuable nutrients for our systems.
The water found in fresh fruits and vegetables has a special quality. Unlike plain drinking water, the water from living foods contains enzymes and nutrients that are all transported into the intestinal environment where they are absorbed and used by the body. The two-part benefit here is that nutrient-rich waters are maximizing the vitality of the cellular environment to flush residue or metabolic leftovers and at the same time replenishing and enriching each cell.
Of all foods, fruit is the closest to nature: It is mostly water and takes the least amount of energy to digest. Eating fruit alone allows the body to cleanse. What you will realize from this water-rich fast is: boundless energy, fewer unhealthy cravings, and an overall elevation of vitality.
If you’d like to ease into the benefits of fruit cleansing, try eating fresh fruit by itself in the morning. You will find it to be a solvent that acts as an internal flush. It also starts up your metabolic fires without clogging up your system. Remember, each night is a rest for your digestive tract. So you want to break your fast (break-fast) with food that will begin your day in the cleanest way possible. Start weaning yourself from eggs, starches, processed cereals, bacon, sugary muffins, and other stuff with which you load your body at the beginning of your day, and I guarantee you will feel renewed energy and vitality.
From today forward, commit yourself to replacing the foods that create lethargy, fatigue, and sluggishness with those that nourish, cleanse, and remove the waste that blocks your energy. Before you put anything in your mouth, ask yourself: Will this food leave me feeling lighter or heavier? Will it cleanse me or clog me?
Seven Days That Will Last a Lifetime
The following seven-day plan progresses gradually. It begins with two full days of a modified macrobiotic diet, then moves into three days of fruit only, then comes back to a more regular eating plan for the last two. Throughout, we eliminate caffeine, alcohol, refined sugar, dairy, and artificial foods altogether. There are no strict guidelines as to how much or when to eat...just listen to your body.
Days One and Two:
Your diet for these two days should consist of organic fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and tofu, chicken, or fish.
Upon Awakening
: One large glass of hot purified water with one half of a fresh lemon squeezed into it. You may add honey to sweeten if you wish. This tonic helps flush waste matter from your digestive tract and keeps your breath sweet.
Breakfast
: Fresh fruit and freshly squeezed fruit juice, organic yogurt (if you eat dairy), chopped almonds to sprinkle in the yogurt or over sliced fruit, and as much herbal tea as you want. You can use a little organic honey for sweetener.
Lunch:
One serving of protein (tofu, fish, or skinless chicken breast), steamed, poached, or baked with no oil, and one serving of a whole grain (like brown rice).
One serving=one fist-sized portion of food.
You may also have as much fresh vegetables and salad as you would like. You can use vinegar and lemon with one teaspoon of olive oil for dressing and natural seasonings as you wish. Make lunch your largest meal. But remember, less is more.
Snack:
Any form of fresh fruit or vegetable.
Dinner:
One serving of protein as at lunch and one serving of a whole grain and one serving of a vegetable or a salad. For dessert, you can either have fresh baked fruit, or you can get creative and make naturally low-fat, whole-grain, dairy-free desserts that you can get from any good vegan cookbook.
Days Three, Four, and Five:
Here is when you enter your three-day fruit fast. It sounds hard, but after two days of already eating light, it won’t be as difficult as you think. You can have as much fresh, whole fruit or freshly squeezed juice as you want. Be creative! Instead of just eating an apple, or a pear, take the time to prepare a beautiful fruit salad that combines several kinds of fruit. Here are a few creative suggestions:
-Mash up a few bananas and freeze to make banana "ice cream."
-Bake apples, using honey or cinnamon for flavoring.
-Poach pears and use a little honey or cider for sweetening if you wish.
Remember, avocados and tomatoes are fruits, so you can use them to make soups, salads, guacamole, and so on. You can add a little tomato salsa or apple cider vinegar for flavoring.
Days Six and Seven:
For the last two days of your cleanse, you will go back to what you ate on Days One, Two and Three. However, it is very important that you remain conscious of what you are doing. Your system is cleaner and lighter than it was three days ago, so you will probably need less food than you think you do. Do not break the fast foolishly.
Also:
- Practice Yoga daily to help the cleansing process along.
- Sweat every day (sauna, hot bath, hot yoga, aerobic exercise)
- Sleep 7 to 9 hours each night- your body is going through an energetic process and needs to rejuvenate.
- Do not deprive yourself of a meal or snack if you are hungry. Eating is necessary, natural, and good for you. Your metabolism needs fuel. Don’t eat if you are not hungry, as this will defeat the purpose of becoming aware of your hunger patterns.
- Refer to the Guiding Principles.
- Enjoy yourself daily!
Guiding Principles for the Cleansing Diet
1. Before you eat anything, always ask: Am I eating to escape, or to excel?
2. Observe a few moments of silence and give thanks for your food.
3. Listen to your body’s signals. Can you detect when your body says "enough"?
4. Become aware of unhealthy cravings. Ask yourself, Where is this coming from?
5. Try preparing food consciously. Be totally present and mindful while peeling, chopping, mixing, and cooking.
6. Become aware of the atmosphere in which you eat. Do you eat on the run, while working or watching television?
7. Bring awareness to what you add to your food (dressing on your salad, sugar in your coffee, butter on your bread.)
8. If you have stomach problems i.e. indigestion, gas and gastrointestinal strain after you eat, Can you attribute these problems to what, when and how much you eat so you can begin to regulate your eating more consciously?
9. Pay attention to how your body feels in the minutes and hours after you eat.
Namaste (the light in me honors the light in you)
A
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