(originally posted 5/6/2013)
For the past several years, I have been on a mission to de-clutter my life. I’ve blogged about this before, and it’s clearly a never-ending process. For me, spring always seems to be a great time to clean up my life and purge my house. Judging by the number of yard sales out there this time of year, I’m not alone.
This year, however, I’ve added a new dimension to my spring cleaning regime. After a wonderful presentation at my yoga studio on “Detox and Weight Loss” given by a friend of mine, I realized just how clogged up and cluttered my body was. This friend inspired me to do a 10-day dietary cleanse/detox. In partnership with her and one other friend, I went for 10 days eating primarily fresh fruits and vegetables: no wheat, dairy, soy, meat, rice, eggs or any processed foods. I am currently on Day 14 of this 10 day adventure, and while I have been slowly re-introducing other foods into my diet, I am not in any hurry to go back to my previous ways of eating.
The process was quite an eye-opener for me. In preparation for it, I started reading food labels more carefully and was amazed at how much bad stuff is in all our food. It’s really quite incredible. One of Yoga’s precepts for living involves the practice of “purity” and last year, as part of my homework for a teacher training, I was supposed to practice that for a month. While I did clean up my diet a little at that time, I really focused more on my physical space. What I realized during this cleanse is how easily the practice of “purity” relates to the food we eat. I was totally amazed as early as day 5 how much more energy I had. It is now crystal clear to me that the foods I take in have a very direct effect on my energy level, mood, and general clarity of mind.
The statistics on diseases in our society are staggering, and lately, more and more information is coming about how our food supply is not serving us properly. If you’re feeling sluggish, achy and generally not as good as you know you could, do some research into some of our major staple foods, like corn, wheat and dairy. You may be surprised at what you discover. And consider some major dietary changes. If you’re like me, you may never want to go back to your old ways again…
