I decided to go 5 days with my juice cleanse. 5 days felt right and sufficient enough to purge my body of the last month of debauchery, well not quite debauchery, but definitely more than normal of everything for me.
Today, first day after the cleanse I feel great. I don't feel bogged down or lethargic. I feel light and clearheaded. My skin is clear and body feels good from the inside. My bowel movements are a little irregular, but that is to be expected with a cleanse. I can already feel them normalizing again. On my cleanse the schedule was not that erratic, just less volume. I still had my usual morning and mid-day movements.
The last 2 days of the cleanse I added 1 small meal to the day. It was either a bowl of fruit or a salad. Although I wasn't feeling poorly, I was more or less sick of juice. By day 5 morning juice I found myself gritting my teeth and sipping my juice slightly gagging each time, like enough already.
I did yoga each day of my cleanse and some paddle boarding yesterday. My practice was less intense than normal and I really let my body lead each practice. Some days my balance was horribly off, other days inversions made me lightheaded, so I just moved slowly and paid attention to what my body could handle. What I found amazing was my centering and focus. For my 1 hour or so of practice each day, my head was silent and all I could focus on was the position I was holding or transitioning into. While my body did not feel weak, I was mesmerized by the stillness of my mind. Part of the reason I love yoga is because it, and any form of exercise with intent really, calms my mind. My mind is always busy, always planning or making to do lists. I love the forced silence of yoga, but doing yoga while on my cleanse was a whole new level of stillness. I usually find my mind wandering during my normal practice and I have to consciously refocus. These past 5 days however, I had no wandering, just complete and utter focus on calm breathing, balance and transitions. So cool! If fasting gets me to that level of silence, I may do them more often than every few months, maybe even once a month.....
I always do juice cleanse when I feel the need to. My body just doesn't feel "right" and no matter how clean I eat or consciously I consume, there is a focus that a cleanse always reestablishes. I also like the time after a cleanse, hunger is not as obvious and I can consciously identify real hunger verses boredom. Also I consume much less, portions are smaller and less food fills me up. I like this sense of body/mind control around food. We forget how much of our day and thoughts are focused around food. It is neat to remove that energy around food. It is a test of will and self control, but also a priority shift away from our food driven lives.
As with any cleanse do not want to immediately jump into eating everything. You should ease back into your normal diet. Restrict portions (which your stomach will naturally do for you) and eat mostly veggies, fruits and whole grains. You will notice that you get fuller faster, but also I would highly recommend staying away from simple carbs, sugar, excessive amounts of dairy, meat and definitely alcohol. You don't want to shock your system after it has been so nicely purged. Use your body as your guidance, as always listen to what your body tells you, often you will feel "off" if you jump into eating something to quickly. Always start with a small amount of something from the list above, don't go eat a whole steak dinner, you will not be a happy camper.
I would highly recommend a juice cleanse, with guidance, to anyone. Always start with only 3 days and as you get used to the way your body responds you can ad more time with each new cleanse. Many cultures fast and I think there is an interesting mind-body-soul connection that comes with a fast. In a world where we over consume daily and are guided by advertising, agribusiness and food conglomerates in our eating choices, a forced separation is quite liberating.
