Dear Yogi,
When I was in my early 20’s I tried a juice cleanse. I heard about how amazing you feel once you get past the first couple of days. Supposedly, you feel energized, light, clear and vibrant. Cravings diminish, your skin glows and you even lose the feeling of hunger or desire for solid food. So I decided to give it a try. Well, it’s fair to say my juice cleanse didn’t go like that…
- First of all, I started the cleanse late in the fall season which I now know for someone with my constitution (vata/pitta) isn’t the optimal time to start a cleanse. The weather was starting to turn cold out and I can distinctly remember feeling cold throughout the cleanse!
- Secondly, I did the cleanse “cold turkey”. I didn’t slowly eliminate things from my diet in preparation. Instead, I went from eating and drinking anything and everything one day, to pure juice the next. There really wasn’t any mindfulness to the period before the cleanse, nor was there any ease in the transition. Honestly, it was kind of harsh!
- The third mistake was consuming cold fruit juices high in sugar. I am not a fan of vegetable juice and actually don’t usually drink fruit juices either. But since I couldn’t stand the idea of tomato or celery juice plain, I gravitated to the sweet juices. While some sweetness is very good for my constitution, this was simply too much sugar and wasn’t ultimately balancing or healthful for me.
- I also didn’t include any serious downtime, nor herbs to support digestion or elimination. It was essentially a shock to my system. In the end, I felt drained, spacey, irritable, cold, constipated and more out of balance and less vibrant than when I began. What???
Thank goodness Ayurveda offers a gentle and holistic approach to cleansing! Have you heard of kitchari? It’s Ayurveda’s super food! For the last several years I have done a springtime kitchari cleanse and it leaves me feeling all those amazing qualities I thought the juice cleanse would produce. Kitchari is a cooked dish combining mung beans, rice, digestive spices (ginger & turmeric for example), ghee and vegetables. It’s a complete protein, very rich in vitamins and minerals, and also incredibly easy to digest. When doing the cleanse, you eat kitchari for three meals a day and can vary the spices and vegetables you include to keep it interesting. Check out this great article from one of my favorite Ayurvedic doctors, Dr. John Douillard. It includes more information on all the benefits of kitchari.
I felt so good by day three last year that I extended the cleanse into a fourth day! Because you are eating solid food on this cleanse, you don’t feel starving or depleted. In fact, you will feel very light and vibrant. I also include herbs and herbal teas that are good for all constitutions (tri-doshic) that support the cleansing process.
Do you want to join me? The details of the cleanse are all in my monthly membership:
- An overview video on how to prepare and things to consider
- A PDF of the recipe plus a shopping list, including things you may want to order in advance
- A video on how to prepare your own kitchari – from my kitchen to yours ♥️
You can do this transformative cleanse anytime from my membership at your own pace, or join me in real time! It’s a good idea to choose a time when you have some ease in your schedule and time to cook each day, and no events that might require you to eat other foods. I will be cleansing from Friday, April 12th through Sunday, April 14th and possibly longer. Will you be joining me?
I am actually looking forward to this cleanse because I can feel how much my body and my mind need a reset. Last year I felt the results for quite a while afterward and was more mindful of my food choices as a result. Let me know if you have any questions.
Here’s to digestive spring 2019 cleaning!
Love & Kitchari,
