Spring Community Cleanse 2016
Day 1-5
The first five days are to prepare the body for the ten days of cleansing that follows. Each day there will be something to eliminate from our diets: caffeine, alcohol, dairy and meat, foods from a can or out of a box, refined sugars and white flour. There are recipes and a Vata favoring food list provided to help offer new ideas to the menu planning for this first five day pre-cleanse.
We are using foods that favor the season of spring. These foods are specifically chosen to help nourish the body help clear the Kapha qualities of the winter season.
We are eating more foods that have the taste of Pungent/Spicy, Bitter and Astringent. Share the Guna qualities of Light, Dry and Warm.Such as Steamed Veggies, Soups with clear broth and brown rice.
We are avoiding foods that have the taste of Sweet, Sour, Salty and share the Guna qualities of Heavy, Cold and Oily.Such as fried foods, ice cream, heavy dairy and breads.
A check off list is provided for each day to help keep track of the daily routine. This daily routine called “dinacharya” will help us maintain our energy levels and certain practices will help the cravings that may come during the initial days of the cleanse.
On the daily check-list, there are several places where you will rate your energy level, bowel movements and the white coating on the tongue. The ayurvedic practice focuses on watching the body’s ability to eliminate “AMA.” Ama is a sanskrit word meaning body toxins. There are several ways we can identify toxin excess in the body; by watching the quality of stools, the white coating on the tongue, and the smell of our urine and sweat.
Tongue Coating:
In general, most of us may have ama indication on our tongue between a 1 and a 2. A level 3 is very white and thick. If you google “white tongue coating” and look at images you will see different examples and levels of the coating. From the first day of the cleanse to the last day, you will see a change in the AMA of the tongue. So it is good to rate the tongue as we go through the process.
Bowel Movements:
Looking at your stools might be a practice you already do and maybe not. In Ayurveda, stools can be the best insight on how the body digests the food we eat, the nourishment we receive and if there are any signs of ama building up. The daily check off list provides a space for you to keep track of the time of day, the number of times and the quality of your stools. The time of day is important because in Ayurveda, one should be evacuating in the morning between waking time and before lunch. It is considered constipation if the stools come in the afternoon. The number of times we evacuate is important and also the quality of the stools. For reference, google “stool chart” and you will see the difference between a 1 and 7. At 1, the stools look like hard small balls and a 7 is liquid diarrhea. A 4 is essentially a perfect bowel movement. It should look like a nicely shaped banana and the matter is consistent (no undigested food).
Triphala:
Triphala is an Ayurvedic herbal supplement that will help regulate the bodies elimination of stools. It has a number of benefits to the health functioning of the body and a lot of people who start using do not stop. It can be taken daily even after you have completed the cleanse.
Energy Level:
This one is to help you keep track of the bodies ability to regenerate over the night and how we can maintain our energy evenly throughout the day. 1 is considered low energy, want to lie down and take nap. A 5 is considered good energy, especially after eating a meal.
We are now entering the first five days of the digestive cleanse. This first five days we will be taking ghee first thing in the morning. The ghee is considered an internal oleation. Ghee will help loosen the stagnant impurities in our digestive tract. It acts as a solvent and will help mobilize the toxins so that the AMA can be moved out and eliminated from the body.
Morning Ghee Drink:
The ghee is best taken warm, you may add a little milk, cardamom and a touch of honey to the ghee if you are having a hard time getting it down. If you are adding honey, make sure to add it after the milk has cooled. In Ayurveda, heating honey can create toxins.
Drink a glass of warm water before ingesting the ghee, wait for 20 minutes.
Make sure to rest after taking the ghee drink to assure proper digestion. At least 20 minutes. It is recommended to not do the pranayama practice until 1 hour after taking ghee.
If you begin to feel nausea after drinking ghee, do not increase the ghee for the next day. You can drink ginger tea to help break up the ghee and for easier digestion.
Day 6-10
Rice and veggie diet:
During this five day period, the diet consists of rice and steamed veggies. There is a Breakfast Rice meal that can be added to the menu for a different flavor if you need it. If you are not hungry for breakfast, you may skip it during this time period and eat an earlier lunch.
Fruit Snacks:
It is recommended not to eat raw foods during this time except for fruit. It is important that we do not eat fruit during our meals. Our bodies digest fruit faster and if we combine the fruit with our meals, it will decrease the energy needed to completely digest the meal. Eating fresh fruit as a snack at least one hour before or after our meal is recommended.
Day 11-15
These five days we will be eating a “mono-diet” of kitchari. This is a diet that will give us all the nutrients we need, protein and carbs to help us continue on with our work days and continue the cleanse process. At this time our digestive tract has been cleaned out and now we are getting the gut back into a balanced state. You should begin to see a significant change in your bowel movements and other Ama indicators at this time.
There are several kitchari recipes we can use and many others out there you can find online. Many of you have bought the “kitchari kit” and feel free to play around with the different recipes. It is important to understand that these five days are ONLY kitchari and Breakfast Rice. No fruit or veggies.
Day 16-18
Reintegration and Rejuvenation
For the next three days of the cleanse, it is important to reintegrate certain foods back into the diet. The digestive tract has been cleaned and reset so this is the time to slowly introduce foods that may potentially aggravate the body such as dairy, wheat and soy. Again, eat whole foods using recipes from the packet and diversify your menu slowly. Caffeine, Alcohol and or any other type of stimulant could over stimulate the systems in the body.
This is also a good week to get a massage, facial or any other spa treatment you would enjoy. This is a time to celebrate you and your healthy body!