Love Yourself — Cleanse Yourself!

Cleansing is one of the best ways to love yourself. It gives your body a rest from the food and drink you normally put into it and takes out the stored toxins from your internal organs and fat. It keeps your digestion in balance and boosts your immune system.

During this time of Coronavirus is an important time to focus inward and take the time to get to know yourself and learn to take good care of yourself. To create internal strength within and boost your immune system to prevent and overcome illness.

The cleanse I like to do is from the foundation of Ayurveda Medicine. I studied with Dr. Vasant Lad from the Ayurvedic Institute to learn the basics of this cleanse. I then added and deleted cleansing practices from studying with Dr. Kevin Gregg, an Ayurvedic practitioner who taught out of my Yoga Therapy Studio in Dallas, Texas. My years of cleansing and listening to my own body helped shape the cleanse I do as well.

There are four phases to the cleanse. 

Phase #1 – 

Everyday Wellness — The everyday practices to keep your system healthy.

1. Wake up when the sun comes up  — usually between 5 and 5:15 a.m. here in Hawaii. 
   
2. Thank the Universe for another day before putting your feet on the ground. I make a vow to live from love, not fear.
   
3. Go to the bathroom.
   
4. Brush your teeth, drink a glass of warm water. 
   
5. Get on your mat and do your movement practices. If you don’t have a set routine of practices — I provide them for you in my online  Ageless Movement Practices.
   
6. Go for a walking meditation in nature.
   
7. Take one Triphala tablet. Triphala is a combination of three cleansing herbs.
   
8. Drink warm lemon water. Quarter a lemon with the rind on, place it in the blender with ¾ of a cup of warm water and organic honey.
   
9. Drink hot mint tea during your day.
   
10. Drink room temperature water during your day.
    
11. Take a break every hour during your day to stand up and move.
    
12. Do whatever form of exercise you like to do once a day. For me, it’s hiking, biking, or swimming.
    
13. Drink a Green Smoothie. This is how I make mine:
    

• 2 large handfuls of spinach or Kale 
  
• 1 frozen banana
  
• ½ cup of frozen blueberries
  
• ½ cup of carrots
  
• 1 stalk of celery
  
• 5 stems with leaves of cilantro
  
• 2 tsp of turmeric 
  
• 2 Tbsp of flax seeds
  
• 1 cup of organic apple juice or non-dairy milk
  

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend it up and ENJOY!

Phase #2 –

Elimination – begin to take away food and drink working your way to day #7 when you will begin to mono-diet. You will also begin to take 2 triphala in the am and 2 in the pm. This is the order I suggest for elimination —

Day #1 – Stop drinking alcohol, smoking, drugs (except prescription), and caffeine. Take 2 triphala tablets morning and night. Keep the Everyday Wellness routine.

Day #2 – Stop eating sweets. Take 2 triphala tablets morning and night. Keep the Everyday Wellness routine.

Day #3 – Stop consuming dairy. Take 2 triphala tablets morning and night. Keep the Everyday Wellness routine.

Day #4 – Stop eating meat. Take 2 triphala tablets morning and night. Keep the Everyday Wellness routine.

Day #5 – Stop eating bread. Take 2 triphala tablets morning and night. Keep the Everyday Wellness routine.

Day #6 – Stop eating all cold fruits and vegetables. Take 2 triphala tablets morning and night. Keep the Everyday Wellness routine.

Day #7 – Eliminate everything except your Everyday Wellness routine and warm vegetables. Take 2 triphala tablets morning and night. 

Phase #3 – 

Mono-Diet – For the next 7 days eat Kitchari (mung beans and rice). Keep the Everyday Wellness routine and up the triphala to 4 tablets in the morning and evening.

Here is a recipe for Kitchari – One of my Favorite (Serves 12):

• 18 cups water (Less if you like it stewy)
  
• 2 cups red lentils (boil for 20 minutes to cook) or mung beans (soaked overnight, cook 60 minutes)
  
• 2 cups brown basmati rice (40 minutes to cook; white basmati takes 20 minutes to cook)
  
• 4 Tbsp coconut oil
  
• 2 large onions chopped
  
• ½ cup minced/grated ginger
  
• 16 cloves garlic minced
  
• 16 cups chopped veggies (broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, etc.)
  
• 2 Tbsp brown mustard seeds (heat until the seeds pop)
  
• 4 tsp turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder & cardamom.
  
• 2 Tbsp sweet basil
  
• 1 or 2 tsp crushed red chilies
  
• 1 piece Kombu seaweed (to enrich the food with minerals and make it more easily digestible).
  

Comments: (If using mung beans, soak overnight.  Lentils do not need to be soaked.)

• Wash beans/lentils.  Wash rice.  Bring water to boil, add beans/lentils and let boil over medium high flame.  When done, add rice and let cook.
  
• Prepare and chop vegetables.  Add vegetables to cooking beans and rice.
  
• Heat coconut oil in a large frying pan. Add onions, ginger and garlic and sauté over medium high flame until brown.  When nicely done, combine with cooking beans and rice. 4) Heat more coconut oil in a large frying pan. Add herbs — beginning with brown mustard seeds, heat mustard seeds until they pop (cover the pan!); then add the remaining herbs and saute for a few minutes.
  

You will need to stir the pot often at this point to avoid scorching. You may have to add extra boiling water or vegetable stock until it is completely cooked. The consistency should be rich, thick and soup-like with ingredients barely discernible. Chopped fresh cilantro (pitta) or basil (vata) is also nice.   Cayenne may be added (warming, kapha); fennel (cooling, pitta); or aesofoetida (“hing”).  This recipe is fairly spicy. Reduce heat for children/elderly/those ill.

Phase #4 – 

Add foods back into your diet. After 7-days begin to add foods back in. I go backward from the way I eliminated them —  meaning add back in cold fruits and vegetables first and slowly add in other foods until you are back to eating a more regular diet. I also reduce the triphala by 1 tablet every am and pm until I’m taking 1 triphala in the am only!

Be aware and notice how you feel as you add foods and drinks back in. If a food or drink doesn’t agree with you — pay attention, listen to your body, keep that food out of your diet. Go back to the Everyday Wellness phase.

Once you’ve tried this cleanse you will feel the benefits of more energy, less inflammation, vitality, health, and a sense of wellbeing. You may lose weight and reset your metabolism too.

I recommend doing this cleanse at least once a year to release toxins out of your body.

Here’s to being clean and healthy

Check out this week’s Ageless Movement Ground Down into What You Love Practice to cleanse your root and clearly reconnect to what you love.

What do you want to eliminate from your life? Share in the comments section below.

Hugs,