You may be wondering why you needed a whole explanation on the gut, the microbiota and the diseases that came from it to do a detox. As a health practitioner, I feel most people take detoxes very lightly. Detox or cleanse is not about being so frivolous; it’s a more serious approach to health and wellness.
I could make it all very la-di-da and pretend these things could indeed happen overnight, but then I am setting you up for something worse on the immune system front later. That’s why you should never go on a juice detox or a cooked detox that is not monitored by a health practitioner who is qualified to deal with you.
You detox because you need to balance your inner ecosystem and repair your gut. Even if you feel you are healthy and not suffering from any problem in your gut, you can still go through a detox.
From a macrobiotic perspective, eating sticky foods leads to sticky blood. Such foods include dairy, sugar, white flour, additives, processed foods and refined oils. By sticky, I mean blood that does not flow easily, but is sludgy and thick, even more acidic.
Detoxes cleanse this blood and therefore become essential at least once a year. Let’s not forget the importance of maintaining your health after this as well. Detox — the very word means to cleanse oneself of toxins. Detoxes are highly personal and uplifting.
If you are on a journey to clean up your gut and help the good microorganisms in your body, thereby impacting your blood condition and digestive health, it will also impact your inner energy, i.e., your qi, prana or life force. By this I mean that when toxins start to go out of your system, a lot of ‘emotional’ issues may come up as well. So make sure you are sensitive to yourself and those around you. Detoxes also take some time, so make sure you have the time for it in your life. Each phase will demand a certain way of eating, so either you or whoever cooks for you needs to be briefed. You must also keep aside time to pick up ingredients or get them organized.
Belly Breaths
Consider this detox as a journey to healing yourself. Take out five to ten minutes every day to meditate and visualize what you are expecting from this detox.
● Sit quietly, cross-legged or on a chair, whatever works for you.
● Take deep belly breaths. Breathe in and expand your belly, and when you breathe out, push your belly back in. Some of you can bring your focus to the area under your nose, above the upper lip, just to narrow your attention; this is good for people who are anxious.
● Start going inward, from the top of your head down to your face, neck, shoulders, arms, torso, followed by your back, legs and feet. Now reverse the direction. Do this slowly, part by part, piece by piece.
● Ask yourself: do you feel stuck in any one area? If you do, don’t linger there; just move on.
● Visualize yourself after the detox: how you are looking, feeling, glowing and smiling.
● Keep breathing deeply.
● Open your eyes and smile
Activity: Write down what you are hoping to achieve through this detox journey on a piece of paper and stick it in a place where you can see it at least twice daily. Just remember, it connects you to the next phase. While you are doing this activity, you are putting a strong ‘intention’ out into the universe to see a positive change in your life and health.
A detox is a great time to keep a journal and note down your feelings, as you will also start clearing up some negative emotions, personality traits and unwanted feelings. Being addicted to sugar is as bad as, if not worse than, a smoking habit. This is a good time to question your ‘relationship’ with food. So this is the time when you will write down each food that you consume daily, and why you stick to them. The Detox Diet, Penguin Random House India