According to Ayurveda, seasonal changes are times of both vulnerability and opportunity, when we can release the past season’s accumulated buildup. Cleansing can jump-start our health: body, mind and spirit.
I’ve wanted to do a cleanse for years, and considered joining some friends for the mutual camaraderie of a group master cleanse (lemon juice, cayenne and maple syrup). I practice the Ayurvedic art of weekly fasting, forgoing a regular diet from dinner one day to dinner the next but obstacles for a longer reboot included timing (the demands of daily life) or the daunting necessity of preparing a day’s worth of juice. So when the opportunity came up to try a ready-made juice feast, I was primed. Spring seemed perfect, particularly since I’d been feeling sluggish, after engaging such dietary prajnaparada (crimes against Ayurvedic wisdom) as drinking cold milk, mixing strawberries with other foods or overindulging in kapha-genic (mucus-forming) ice cream.
The first daily iZO Cleanze (izocleanze.com) program arrived with 10 jars in a cooler (the reusable containers satisfied my green-tinged packaging preferences). I exhaled a sigh of relief: this cleanse didn’t involve hours of dicing and juicing. And since the juice-making takes place at the Krishna temple in Venice, the jars are even filled with prasad (blessed offerings). While a day of juice-only may seem limiting to some, I felt a sense of freedom at the thought that I knew exactly what I was going to eat…well, drink…for the entire day, and beyond.
The jars’ colors gave a clue to their flavors and their living, alkaline effects on my body. With the first few sips of the green juice, I could already feel the pitta dosha (fire element) that’s usually at a fast burn in my physiology decrease to the steady flame it is meant to be. And the red juice was definitely the most delicious concoction of its kind; it’s no wonder that this recipe was Timothy Martin’s inspiration for launching iZO. The iZO Pro’s rice protein, ground black sesame seeds and hemp milk provided a satisfying midday boost. Even by day’s end, I never felt hungry, and my usual daily chocolate craving was dormant. Perhaps the alkaline, nourishing, vitamin and mineral-rich array of juices and herbal teas satisfied something at a core level in my body.
Throughout the cleanse, I did feel more sensitive, and more apt to want to be alone, or be quiet so I made extra efforts to nourish myself with dry-brushing, walking by the ocean, massage, regular meditation and wrapping myself in the recovery silver thread bag I use to reconnect to the grounding influence of the Earth in my sleep (getearthed.com).
Even now, I notice the residual effects. My skin cleared up, and I still feel its radiance. My energy level is more consistent. And, I’m more thoughtful about my choices. My first few days post-juice were filled with light vegetable broth, then vibrant salads (see Martin’s reentry tips). I’ve fallen in love again with my daily cup of cleansing hot water with lemon or lime and I make sure green is the predominant color in my diet. After purging excess pitta in this cleanse, I’m looking forward to a cooler summer.
Post-Cleanse Re-Entry
By Timothy Martin
As with all things in this realm of duality, your new purity is a two-edged sword. For every day of juice feasting, it’s said that you roll your body’s clock back 120 days. But be careful. This means you’ve lost the tolerance for crap that you’ve built up over a lifetime so you’ll feel the negative effects of toxins more intensely than ever.
The strategy for the war on toxins is no different than any other war: Do not enter without an exit strategy. If you do, you may very well end up worse than when you when you started. Speaking from personal experience, I have derailed off cleanses into junk food, intentionally as a guinea pig while I developed a cleanse regimen and unintentionally, and l have experienced the yo-yo effect of intense highs and lows that confuse the body, at best resulting in the positive gains from the cleanse being wiped away with a sense of failure, and at worst resulting in the seeds of an eating disorder I have dubbed macro-bulimia (binging and purging on a large scale).
A successful exit strategy involves thoughtfully planning your post-cleanse meals. Transition first with light soups such as: vegetable broth, cucumber watercress or mild gazpacho. Then move onto leafy green salads with a light dressing. Avoid processed, sugary or fried foods. Beyond that, I usually recommend people try maintaining veganic (organic vegan) lifestyle, and if your body is into it, even go raw. The iZO Cleanze offers a re-entry program in partnership with Rawvolution.
Timothy Martin developed the iZO Cleanze program after extended study and experimentation. Check out his video blog, cleanse details and the solid re-entry program athttp://www.izocleanze.com.
By Felicia Marie Tomasko, RN
Felicia Tomasko has spent more of her life practicing Yoga and Ayurveda than not. She first became introduced to the teachings through the writings of the Transcendentalists, through meditation, and using asana to cross-train for her practice of cross-country running. Between beginning her commitment to Yoga and Ayurveda and today, she earned degrees in environmental biology and anthropology and nursing, and certifications in the practice and teaching of yoga, yoga therapy, and Ayurveda while working in fields including cognitive neuroscience and plant biochemistry. Her commitment to writing is at least as long as her commitment to yoga. Working on everything related to the written word from newspapers to magazines to websites to books, Felicia has been writing and editing professionally since college. In order to feel like a teenager again, Felicia has pulled out her running shoes for regular interval sessions throughout Southern California. Since the very first issue of LA YOGA, Felicia has been part of the team and the growth and development of the Bliss Network.