Life is a fantastic journey.
The past few weeks have been interesting to say the least. I feel more connected to my own journey and experience but feel that it is time to pull out one of my favorite techniques for going a bit deeper. We imprint, and we are imprinted constantly by living the human condition. What we eat, what we think, what we choose to let in, and what we let out imprints on us on many levels. When we fast we are taking time to let go of distractions, and detoxing is polishing up the pieces that need a bit of attention.
I’ve done a few posts in the past on this topic, and this one is going to be a bit different. I typically share the details of my fast and detoxing plan, but I am going to hold that part sacred and just for me. Fasting on many levels is a very sacred action. We are communing with the soul, and allowing space for growth…. as a teacher, it is also my purpose to help show others that they too have access to these tools and they are there when you need them.
When many people hear the words “fast” or “detox” they immediately jump to food. This is one aspect of fasting, but in a time and age where distractions are a plenty you can really choose to start anywhere. You can fast and detox from facebook, from your cell phone, from speaking, from food, from sugar, from candy, from smoking, and the list can really go on and on.
Things change when you begin the process of letting go of distractions, emotions come up, resistance starts barking at you…. have a plan.
Going into a fast or detox without a plan is a good way to set yourself up to not complete your goals.. on, and have some goals or milestones you want to move toward.
Write your plans in a journal and keep that journal with you. The fast should challenge you, it should not be something that is too easy, but something that is not going to harm you. Fasting allows us to see what power we have given away to the distractions in our life… are we mindlessly eating? are we addicted to being online? how much power does texting have over you? can you go without tv for a few days?
When we create space by removing distractions we often begin to see we have more time… we might have more energy… we might find we have more awareness of our surroundings, etc… awareness begins to shift a bit… and this is powerful.
What holds you, and what are you holding onto?
If you are doing a dietary cleanse/detox or fast… Do your research. Do not jump into it without knowing what you are doing to the body, what you are feeding yourself and the effects of what you are removing can have on your body. Ex… removing caffeine can often cause headaches, etc. Allowing your body to detox slowing, doing 1/2 caf, reducing, shifting to teas, etc. can assist with helping you make the transition away.
When you detox you are resetting the body. Not just the physical body, but we also notice our patterns and habits that might be bound to the food/action. “I must have that morning cigarette/cup of coffee”… we hold affirmations that can at times bind us to the actions, not always are those affirmations positive as you can see above… Keeping a journal of the emotions that come up in the absence of the cup of morning java, can show you a lot about yourself and your patterns.
Fasts can be as short or as long as you want. Some people can go up to 40 days, others do a 3-7 day experience… One thing that I always like to point out is that there is no such thing as a failed fast. You start, then you stop. If you stop before your goal is reached, what caused you to terminate the fast… journaling this will help you to do the internal dialogue necessary to help you the next time you decided to fast/detox.
This is a bit of a ramble post…. and in the future fasting check in, I’ll be posting more of a journal style entry to give you a bit of insight into my process (internal and external) when taking on this sacred practice.
You are Loved.
You are Beautiful.
You are Divine!
Michael A. Brazell CFT CSN MAT PAT
www.michaelbrazell.com
www.yogawitch.com
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