fasting

[innerspace_cadet]

I am looking to go on a three day fast sometime soon. I'm wondering if anyone on this forum has much experience with fasting who can give me some advice. My reason for fasting is not spiritual; I simply want to flush out some of the extra toxins I've built up over the years.

[Ryan T.]

I am looking to go on a three day fast sometime soon. I'm wondering if anyone on this forum has much experience with fasting who can give me some advice. My reason for fasting is not spiritual; I simply want to flush out some of the extra toxins I've built up over the years.

 

If you want to flush out toxins you may want to look at doing a cleanse vs. fasting. It is basically fasting with the adding detoxifying nature of certain herbs and such. You can find any number of different cleanses in your local natural food store/coop. You can also just go on certain types of fasts, such as a steamed vegetable fast. Only eat steamed veggies for 1-2 weeks. You would be surprised at what a difference just that can make. Vegetables alone can be quite cleansing.

[innerspace_cadet]

If you want to flush out toxins you may want to look at doing a cleanse vs. fasting. It is basically fasting with the adding detoxifying nature of certain herbs and such. You can find any number of different cleanses in your local natural food store/coop. You can also just go on certain types of fasts, such as a steamed vegetable fast. Only eat steamed veggies for 1-2 weeks. You would be surprised at what a difference just that can make. Vegetables alone can be quite cleansing.

 

Okay, cool, thanks for the tip!

[Pax]

I've done a couple of one-two day fasts (nothing consumed but water) and found them refreshing, the sensation of hunger is intriguing.

[Encephalon]

Definitely go with the organic steamed veggie route. They are very cleansing and you avoid the hunger issue, which can be rough the first time out.

 

Where are you going to be? Aquieter, less complicated environment always made it easier for me than slugging it out in the middle of Los Angeles.

[Kameel]

IMO fasting styles link up according to body types (mesomorph, endomorph, ectomorph or kapha, pita, vata if you prefer ayurveda). So if you really are an inner"space cadet" = vata/ecto; fasting; is usually not necessary, or at the very least, supplement with lots of root vegetables, ginger teas and don't execrise very much during yr fast. If that is just a fun name and yr digestion is much slower, the rules are different. For instance, I am very kapha and can go 5 days without food easy and do ashtanga yoga or muay thai, etc- no problem at all. My wife is very pitta and can barely get through her 5-6 hour nightime slumber without eating. (hmm...this makes her sound rather large , she is actually small, but eats like a house which is the point of her having firey digestion.) Check into bigu fasting if yr so inclined (energized fasting). Or see a naturopath, or Ayurvedic specialist.

Having said all this, you can always just experiment, and see what happens; it really isn't as scary as some people make it out to be. Real simple version= think pure thoughts + drink pure water -stop when intuition speaks.

Edited September 5, 2009 by Kameel

[Adj]

I once did a 10 day fast.

 

Only veggie broths and juices. Nothing with protein. I also added Spirulina tablets to balance out what I was loosing through fasting.

 

It was an amazing experience. The first few days are tough because you miss food. After that you stop feeling hunger and are just at ease. It is very very cleansing and empowering.

 

My skin cleared up, I had -more- energy, (but would get winded fast), I was in a vibrant mood, everything was brighter and alive.

 

At the end of the fast no one told me that I had to ween back into food and I ate a big sausage sandwich and threw it up and then later on some pasta and threw that up too. 11 day fast!

[Sunya]

I agree with Kameel about looking into Ayurveda and seeing your 'constitution' to better understand how you would react... but I think fasting is great for everyone. i myself am a Vata/Pitta

 

anyway. i've done research on this and have some experience. I would recommend this book

http://www.amazon.com/Juice-Fasting-Detoxi...t/dp/1878736655

 

juice fasting is excellent, get a juicer. i prefer green apples + carrots + celery but you can experiment. that book gives great combinations. Brown rice is the best way to break a fast. Drink many liquids.. I like green tea. you also gotta ease into the fast, you can't eat an applebees steak the night before a fast... the day prior should be nice and easy. fruits, soups, nothing heavy. no meat/dairy/wheat.

 

if you wanna do a proper detox/cleanse. then I would recommend a combo of psyllium + bentonite clay. I did a 4 day fast with just that, 3x a day (1 tablespoon each) along with some juices, and felt great. the psyllium is a fiber that cleans gunk out of your intestines, and the clay helps out attracting toxins. I use Organic India psyllium husks (their fiber harmony blend is great) and Sonne's detoxicant clay. Don't use metal spoons with the clay, use wooden. I don't know why... that's just what they recommend.

 

doing the clay/fiber detox isn't necessary all the time. maybe a couple times a year. you can do 5x a day of the blend during a fast to get a really good clean. 7 days should do it. drink lots of warm liquids. or you can do 2x a day for 2 weeks. as you can see, you don't have to be on the blend for that long.

 

but as for juice fasting, i'd say at least once a month it would be great to do atleast a 3 day fast.

 

hope this helps.

[Ryan T.]

but as for juice fasting, i'd say at least once a month it would be great to do atleast a 3 day fast.

 

 

Be careful with juice fasting. There is a lot of sugar in those juice drinks. A glass of carrot juice has a similar amount of sugar to a can of Coke. Juice fasting is generally recommended for those suffering more serious illnesses as it is quite strong medicine. Juice fasting has its place but most people should avoid it if they can help it. A more subtle, methodical approach is going to be much healthier for the body. Better to avoid all those sugar spikes in the blood if one can.

 

These days there are too many good proven systems that incorporate the clay/psyllum husks AND really good detoxifying herbs all with terrific instructions to allow for the best process for a body with the least negative impact.

[hyok]

The last time I attempted a fast was in preparation for Ayahuasca (which didn't happen), but one thing that did happen was when I was walking into K-Mart to purchase a big steel pot, the sun was scorching down on me, and for a brief moment i stopped cuz I felt as if the sunlight was being absorbed into my skin, like i was EATING sunlight.

 

It was a strange feeling because the sense of nourishment was real. I haven't fasted since then, but i'd be curious to see if other practitioners have felt this sensation.

Edited September 6, 2009 by hyok

[Vajrahridaya]

 

It was a strange feeling because the sense of nourishment was real. I haven't fasted since then, but i'd be curious to see if other practitioners have felt this sensation.

 

Yes.

[voidisyinyang]

I actually just did a 3 night fast -- 3 days but I ended it at 5:30 on the third day so.... I was amazed at how much shit was in me! haha. But I had been gorging on meat and anything -- dumpster-diving, trying to gain weight, to no avail.

 

So a 3 day fast really does clean out much on its own -- it depends on your regular diet. I did an 8 day fast on just half a glass of water -- but that was an energy feast, based on electromagnetic fields and intensive meditation. This past 3 day fast I was still biking 10 miles a day!

[Pax]

I actually just did a 3 night fast -- 3 days but I ended it at 5:30 on the third day so.... I was amazed at how much shit was in me! haha. But I had been gorging on meat and anything -- dumpster-diving, trying to gain weight, to no avail.

 

So a 3 day fast really does clean out much on its own -- it depends on your regular diet. I did an 8 day fast on just half a glass of water -- but that was an energy feast, based on electromagnetic fields and intensive meditation. This past 3 day fast I was still biking 10 miles a day!

Wow, impressive! I usually feel my energy tank by the start of day two...but I'm old and out of shape so I expect that.

 

I'll be doing a new four day fast after I get back from vacation in a couple of weeks, this time I'll be doing MUCH more meditation...I hope that helps a bit with the energy levels!

[voidisyinyang]

Yeah on the third night I had this extremely vivid dream of this huge feast of Chinese food. My parents were serving it to me and my friends and I was completely lavishing the vast array of delicacies. But amazingly I refused to eat any of the food and just kept giving it to my friends.

 

In my dream state I could resist the food but after work on my 3rd day -- the 3rd night, when I needed to bike 5 miles home after work -- I had not been able to do full-lotus very long to charge up. I could have done it but there was no discreet place to sit and it went so much against the grain. I was getting dizzy so I feasted for free -- dumpster-dived. Then I ate a ton of garlic. haha.

 

I'm a total wild man right now about food.

[JustARandomPanda]

What fast is recommended for someone who is an Endomorph?

[voidisyinyang]

Fasting is actually a natural process based on relaxation. Humans, instinctively and genetically, are adapted to eat food to counteract famine since hunter-gatherers typically went through famines. Food is not just nutrition but also produces endorphins to counteract stress. Emotion is the top energy blockage and after emotional blockage of energy is the blockage of nutrition. So the two are closely related -- if you are stressed then you will need to eat food if you have food because it's the most direct form of endorphin energy (serotonin).

 

Qigong takes the serotonin in the stomach from food and brings the bliss up to the brain via the vagus nerve -- the RELAXATION nervous system. So if you want to fast the most important factor is to have mental relaxation -- this means a quiet environment, where you have your own space emotionally, with people who are also relaxed and not emotionally dependent on you, etc. Most people don't have this basic requirement since civilization is based on the flight-fight stress nervous system so people are constantly emotionally burnt out -- their kidney energy from cortisol production.

 

Unfortunately dopamine intake feeds this kidney stress system -- refined sugar, salt, white bread, refined pasta, white rice, coffee, alcohol -- all these create dopamine spikes. A vegetarian diet that is low in salt is the best start a "relaxation diet" -- the best is what I call the "chlorophyll buzz" -- just start eating huge salads of mixed greens (argula, endive, spinach, etc.) You can buy these salads prepared already. You have to eat a lot of the greens -- make it your main intake. Then you will really activate your jing energy -- a electrochemical buzz that transmits outside your body. Avoid high cholesterol foods because they stress the liver and heart, like eggs, cheese and fried food. Tofu is a good fat alternative -- but not processed soy products -- just tofu or maybe soy milk without sugar. It's very very tricky to avoid foods without hidden ingredients since if there's a sugar crash then the immediate need is any type of glucose intake and the stores are set up for impulse buying to push the dopamine spike products: salt, sugar, coffee, alcohol, nicotine, refined wheat, refined potato, cheese.

 

My diet is completely messed up -- I can't even talk to people hardly at all because if I eat any impure food it just goes to my head -- the vagus nerve transduces serotonin and also anaerobic bacteria (the shit smell). So in the advanced practice "Modified bigu" is necessary -- fasting one day a week and eating a little veggie meal once a day. No one pays me to practice qigong but I sit in full-lotus anyway because it feels awesome and it transmits energy, etc. Food is a ritual process so people want to push food on you like a drug! What you don't eat sugar -- here have some sugar! You get the "holier than thou" guilt trip -- why are you vegetarian? Harrassment, etc. So I just eat whatever but my body is my body so I can sit in full-lotus posture and that's the only real freedom I have. Instead I've been eating at least a bulb of garlic a day -- sometimes 3 bulbs a day. It's crazy but my metabolism is really wild. I got a Vitamix blender for greens but I moved to a working class neighborhood and there's no decent grocery store with greens within ten blocks from my house! Crack dealers yes -- greens no! haha. Ananda Ma, the teacher of Dhyan yoga, states that diet is the most difficult factor in yoga.

 

People obsess about food but the real reason is because food provides them emotional "comfort" -- hence "comfort" food or being a food "grazer." That's kind of fascinating -- and I do this all the time. Eat too fast, over eat. Cows have two sets of stomachs precisely so they can overeat since a predator could show up at any time forcing the cow to have to run away from the food. But humans don't have two stomachs! Actually the brain is the second stomach just as the stomach is the second brain. In qigong you can only eat till you are 70% full. Otherwise it "goes to your head" -- this is what Chunyi Lin said! Now for me if I don't feel full -- if I'm still hungry -- then I keep eating. But no! Gurdjieff states the same -- meditation only starts when hunger is felt and Gurdjieff ate very little (He did smoke and drink a lot though). Qigong comes from the Bushmen males who trained to survive famines and regularly go without food for a week while hunting. It's really a starvation lifestyle aka "Taoist Ascestism" -- Chunyi Lin even did an academic Taoist presentation under that topic.

 

Good luck.

Edited September 7, 2009 by drewhempel

[hyok]

Yes.

 

 

LOL! who are you?

 

Thanks, Vajrahidaya.

[innerspace_cadet]

Is fasting contraindicated with antidepressants?

[voidisyinyang]

Sorry it took so long -- it appears that Syrian Rue is now used as a traditional antidepressent and a new studie shows it also treats diabetics -- creating hypoglycemic conditions. Obesity causes diabetes -- and so I think Syrian Rue is probably a good way to fast plus have an antidepressant... Let's see:

 

http://www.erowid.org/plants/syrian_rue/sy...rue_info4.shtml

 

http://www.springerlink.com/content/qx3080h53944307v/

 

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseact...logId=288162200

Edited September 8, 2009 by drewhempel

[DalTheJigsaw123]

I have fasted for 1 1/2 days with nothing, but water. It was amazing. It was difficult because I got tired quite quickly. So I stayed home and slept most of the time. If you going to do 3 days, I suggest you do something minimal. As you will get tired and won't have enough energy to do anything.

[voidisyinyang]

Yeah my work hours got switched to day so I have to do a water fast -- I might have to go total bigu since any food I eat gets transduced into anaerobic bacteria in my brain via the vagus nerve-pineal gland connection. People around me suck up the electromagnetic energy out of my pineal gland so I'll use reverse-breathing to suck up their unharmonized electrochemical energy for my food. For the past 5 years or so I've literally been eating trash -- dumpster-diving -- and then eating tons of garlic and other antiseptics (tea tree oil) to kill off the shit-head effect from the alchemy. My coworkers called it turning shit to gold. haha. But that's actually for real -- the latest biofuel technology is bacteria that ionizes shit to create electromagnetic energy!

 

http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/el...rom-wastewater/

 

http://sites.google.com/site/delawareteaso...demons-and-bigu

 

Excellent new article on bigu -- fasting -- can be done while watching T.V.! haha.

Edited September 9, 2009 by drewhempel

[wudangspirit]

I do fasts once in a while to cleanse and to clean the spirit as well. It's all connected.

I just got back from my temple in Wudang where I met a lady who practiced bigu (long fast on nothing but water), for many, many years.

 

The first days are rough but you get through it. I don't recommend it however if you need to fully function in a work setting or do a lot of exercise. I think that kind of fast is best done while in seclusion. Trust me I've put it to the test.

 

However, the juice fast is good for cleansing and add some good herbs that will build your qi,

 

Tao Bless,

 

Wudangspirit

 

I am looking to go on a three day fast sometime soon. I'm wondering if anyone on this forum has much experience with fasting who can give me some advice. My reason for fasting is not spiritual; I simply want to flush out some of the extra toxins I've built up over the years.