Yoga In My Backyard

The whole purpose of a cleanse is to get the sludge out of your body and bring your system back into balance. Therefore, it kind of goes without saying, that one will be running back and forth to the bathroom. However, with the detox we just did at the ashram, I had no idea it would be more like bee-lining to the can over and over and over again, all night long…We started by drinking about a litre of warm salt water with lime, then we did 4 yoga poses to help get things moving. We drank and did our poses until it was anywhere from 8 – 10 litres or more. Once the flood gates opened there was no turning back! But I have to say that the whole process was kind of fun because we were all doing it together, everyone cheered when someone had “success” and ran to their room, and for those who seemed to be pretty plugged up there was personal attention by our wonderful resident nurse and an enema tube!

Our bodies felt physically exhausted afterwards so rest and quiet followed the big “party”. Now it was time to deal with the detoxing of the mind, emotions, feelings…Interesting to observe what came up. In myself I seemed to run through the gamut – apprehension to motivation to pride to giving up to judgement to acceptance. But what I most noticed were the cravings, the desires, the aversions. Our diet dramatically changed to support this cleanse so kitchari (a soupy combo of rice, beans, some crunchy things and spices) and ghee (SO much ghee…) became our staple. While excellent for nourishment and re-balancing of our systems after cleansing, it doesn’t offer much in the way of pleasing our taste buds. And this is where all the cravings set in…

It made me analyze my relationship to the food I eat. My body requires nutrition to function optimally but so often what I choose is based more on what appeals to my senses. The smell of coffee is enough to hook me (even though coffee is so acidic and totally wrong for my Pitta dosha); the look of perfectly melted cheese on an all-dressed pizza; the colourful sprinkles on a Tim Horton’s donut…my senses seem to choose my diet, not my sensibility. But what I’m learning here through Ayurveda and from experiencing how I feel after a sattvic diet, is making me realize more and more that WE ARE WHAT WE EAT. To infuse our bodies with the best energy (prana) possible, it has to start with what we take in. And that is from all aspects – not just our food but what we breathe, what we watch, what we are exposed to, who we hang out with. And if we think we don’t have a choice, we actually do. We can say no…

Before we eat every meal, we join in to chant a mantra that acknowledges a Higher Power that pervades all things, including our food. The offering (organic food lovingly grown and brought forth from the earth), the receiving (of the meal that has been mindfully prepared), the energy that we consume (and is transformed in our bodies). Like a Vedic saying of “grace”, we tune in to this Higher Power and feel gratitude and connection. So thinking of this changed my cravings and helped me get down that last mouthful of ghee instead of complaining, criticizing, or wanting something else. I know that when I get home I will likely give in to my cravings on occasion, but this journey (and detox) is giving me the tools to make better choices.

Here’s a pic of post-detox. Still a little unsettled in the bowel department but feeling lighter, clearer, and more grateful.