Water fasting

[idiot_stimpy]

Has anyone had any experience with fasting in relation to their spiritual endeavors?

 

The longest I have gone is around 32 hours. I am thinking about doing a 3 day water fast very soon.

[Flolfolil]

i did 4 days and felt too crappy the entire time to do anything spiritual other than lay there and think about how it would eventually be over so....lesson in impermanence?

[DiamonD]

I think intermittent fasting is awesome, have a daily eating window of 4 to 8 hours and fast the rest

 

http://www.leangains.com/

www.fast-5.com/

[de_paradise]

There's a water fasting thread recently if you search. Generally speaking, its not for visions or great events, but an awesome rapid detox. I am planning a water 30 day fast for spring. 3 days is needed basic for ketosis, for the digestion system to shut down, so you should be looking at a longer period to gain more benefit (7 days)

[idiot_stimpy]

Thank you I will search for the thread. At around the 18hr mark I got very bad headaches.

 

7 days seems ok, but I don't want it to impact on my work. Maybe good for when I take leave and don't have any commitments.

[Flolfolil]

yeah it was totally random for me, i wouldn't do it if you had commitments at all

[idiot_stimpy]

Can anyone point me to the other thread. I did a search and couldn't find it.

[Jetsun]

I have done about five days. Do a lot of research and get a medical check before hand. It is not a good idea to jump straight into a water fast and could be overly stressful to your body, so it is recommended to begin fasting on juice for a few days so your body is still getting some nutrients and adjusting before going onto pure water, then go back to juice again for a day or two before eating solids again.

[.broken.]

I've found this website very useful as a fasting resource.

 

http://www.allaboutfasting.com/

[Spotless]

I have fasted many times over a span of 40+ years.

 

My first fast was for 5 days and it was a water fast.

If you are going to fast you should also plan to do enemas - otherwise I would not recommend fasting.

 

I have always fasted for the spiritual benifits but the health benifits are incredible as well.

 

All of the negative experiences I have ever heard of regarding fasting were related to a lack of prior research, poor advice and ending the fast improperly.

 

Your 3rd day will be the roughest day of a fast - from the 4th or 5th day onward it will be very energizing and exciting.

Schedule your week with the understanding that you will not want to be doing anything on the third day other than staying at home. I suggest you have all the supplies you need for that day - all the books, music or video you may want - food etc.

 

I have juice fasted more than water fasting and I like both - recently I returned to water fasting.

I water fast from 8-10 days.

I juice fast from 18-23 days.

 

Their are quite a number of jobs you can have and excell at while fasting - and by the way - you have more and more energy as the days pass during a fast - not less and less.

Jobs requiring lots of transitions, lots of actual mental intensity, heavy physical jobs, construction jobs - these will require that you set aside time to fast outside of working. If you do a short fast - I highly suggest you do one for at least 5 days because you want to get to the fun stuff and you will definitely start to feel the benifits of a fast on the 4th and even more on the 5th day of a fast.

 

Now - a story about my first fast - a water fast.

I was 19 or 20 yrs old and in very good physical condition.

I was fully mentally prepared and expected no problems and no stress - and I had no problems or stress.

I did have to learn to give myself an enema - and by the way - I did not buy into any formulas for clearing my bowels ahead of time - I was a vegetarian anyway and young so impaction was not on my radar (I was also not concerned about toxicity levels).

 

On the third day i woke up and upon going to the bathroom i looked in the miror - and my nose had grown a beard!!!!!!

It was very strange to look at myself with what appeared to be a 3 day beard on my nose.

Upon closer inspection what looked like a beard was actually the result of my nose pores expulsing the oils and other things that normally abide in them - It was a "beard" made of pore goop all uniformily pushed out and staring at me in the mirror.

The cleaning aspect of fasting could not be more vividly displayed!

 

On the third day my tongue was like a fuzzy dirty rug, my breath could kill a cat, and my main objective in life was to take showers, brush my teeth, exfoliate (brush) my skin and lay in bed - read - whatever.

 

On the 4th day I had what felt like a brand new tongue with fresh running water in it - the motley mouth of the day before was gone. My energy was way up and I went out and about with - allot of time on my hands. It is surprising how much time we normally spend on eating, drinking and preparing to eat and drink.

 

 

My perception of everything - particularly of air and light increase in intensity.

My typical inertia was replaced by a calmness in the present.

A whole lightness of being unfolds in a very supernatural way.

[idiot_stimpy]

I'm worried about the bad breath. I think when I have time off in a month or so for 2 weeks I will do the fasting, as its too difficult with my current job.

[Spotless]

If you start your fast on a Thursday you willl be past the bad breath by Sunday - by Monday your breath will be better than it has been for most of your life.

 

In any case - enjoy your fasting!

Edited February 13, 2013 by Spotless

[madMUHHH]

*awesome stuff*

 

 

So, what would you personally recommend for someone like me, who wants to get into fasting, but hasn't had any real experience with it yet. (Okay, actually I already did fast for 36 hours or so once, and for 21 hours or so a few times, but I dunno how much that counts). Still plunge right into a five-day-fast or start out with less?

[Jetsun]

When I did my fast the smell was like nothing else I have ever smelt before or since. It is good to find a way to help remove toxins because many toxic substances get released once all the food is gone which causes the smell. So its good to find a way to sweat without stressing your body too much to open the pores then use a hard brush all over your body to clean them then shower, that way you help remove the strain from your internal organs like the kidneys and remove a lot of toxic substances which could otherwise be reabsorbed.

 

I think I might do a bit of fasting over Lent, I didn't receive any particular spiritual benefits last time but my body appreciated it and I remember telling myself that I would do it every year, which was a few years ago.

[mYTHmAKER]

I have water fasted 2x - 10 days and 14 days.

I was weak and had very little energy.

I did lose hunger after the 3rd day

So I think it is different for everyone

[Spotless]

A Spring cleaning and vacation for our bodies!

 

i would like to suggest we rethink the use of the word Fasting and talk about giving our bodies a vacation and a thorough rest and cleanout.

 

First - Plan the vacation so that you have everything you need in order to really take advantage of all the new situations you will discover. (in other words - really read up on this process - it is a major way of healing in India and other areas of the world)

 

Second - understand that on your vacation your digestive system does not have to answer any call - does not have to care for any body and does not need to lift a finger.

 

Third - your entire alimentary canal for perhaps the first time in your life, gets to actually clean itself out without the constant traffic that it usually recieves for a good portion of each day. Finally it gets to sit back and bask in an un-pressured life and work out the kinks and buildup of everyday elimination - goodbye toxins and a whole hord of un-nameables - finally some time to concentrate on the little stuff!

If it could talk here is what it would say: "And to think - the master of my body will be sticking a hose up my lower canal and clearing the big stuff out right from day one! So glad I will not be stuck with that festering for 10 days."

 

And now from the diary of a vacationer:

• "time - so much time to do so many things like - nothing! All that eating, preparing to eat, driving to eat, thinking of eating - gone from my concern! I am so glad I researched this vacation because instead of being concerned about schedules and where I will go and what will happen, I know in advance and my mind is at ease. And I'm so glad I did not listen to the people that said this exotic destination was full of all sorts of scarry things and that I should not vacation here.

 

• "The lack of food has been wonderful here - all the restraunts are free - all of my friends -particularly my digestive tract and my skin and my alimentary canal are having the best vacation of their lives! Everyone here is enjoying the trip - !"

 

• "The flight over was not bad at all - I anticipated some discomfort on such a long flight with a big time-zone change because I did my homework - but now - after the third day i feel great - lighter, calmer and energized - ! I may extend this vacation - it is way better than I thought possible and my skin looks amazing - I think i've also lost some weight!"

 

• Its the seventh day now on this vacation and I have got to tell my friends about this space. Initially when i first got here i was figiting allot - so much time on my hands - way more than normal - way more than on any vacation I have ever taken - its like time is longer here!

 

• I did not realize just how much buzz in my life was not a natural part of me - I am in a very different space now than when I arrived. Its wierd - so many people said such concerning things about this trip and many said to make it short, but now I think just the opposite. Once you take all the time to arrive here - it is not something you really want to stop unless you have to or if your body says "time to go". I love it here - and my body absolutely loves it!

 

 

 

 

(well that was different)

[eye_of_the_storm]

More on fasting

http://thetaobums.com/topic/24867-fasting/

[Spotless]

Water or Juice?

 

The older you are the more i would suggest a juice fast at least for the first few fasts.

 

The toxins are washed out more quickly in a juice fast and you are more likely to have toxicity as you age and particularly if you carry extra weight which you are also more likely to do as you grow older.

 

The book I like for my juice fasting is

How to Keep Slim, Healthy and Young With Juice Fasting by Paavo Airola (Jun 1971)

used from amazon for around $6.00

 

I can't remember the water fasting book I started with, but I like the old books better than the new ones - the older ones are simple and inspired often by India and whole healing centers there which use fasting. The newer books tend to sell something like pre-fasting formulas for clearing you out in advance of clearing you out - the less cluttered fasting books clearly spell out

the few simple dietary steps required prior to the start of the vacation, during the vacation and when ending the vacation.

 

Don't take the Navy Seal approach to this vacation - this is not some tough Outward Bound thing.

This is like going to a spa.

(unless you don't do an enema daily - if you don't intend to do this, I would just pass on the whole thing)

[Spotless]

I personally favor salt water to accomplish the same function of clearing the digestive tract. This may not be for everyone, but it is another way to prevent the bowels becoming impacted or stagnant.

How is it that you use salt water?

[skydog]

Ive fasted maybe five times for 2-3 days, never got past 3 days I just cant sleep, go into extreme peace, all answers to life problems go away, very calm, I guess theres no rush to go past 3 days?

[eye_of_the_storm]

Epsom salts?

[Mokona]

Drinking it. It will cause your entire digestive system to purge all of the solids from your stomach straight through the intestines. By the second or third day of the fast you are purging material that was previously lining/caked on the intestinal wall. The only trick to it is finding the right balance of salt, which I think varies a bit by person.

Lets talk about this salt water thing. I've heard of it before. Does it have an official name?

[Spotless]

Regular fasting will do the same thing as far as removing impaction - I know - one of the grosser things that happened in my life was when my mother at age 70 or so went on a fast while I was visiting her in Hawaii.

 

I was also on a fast at the time and she decided to do her first fast as well - it was a juice fast.

 

About 3 days into it she wanted to show me something - I then followed her into the bathroom where she showed me the toilet bowl - it looked like the entire bowl was filled up with brown apple seeds. They were the impactions of a 70+ year old!

This picture is unfortunately etched in my mind

 

By the way - she is 95yrs old, lives by herself and takes no medication and has taken no medication for about 95yrs - wih few exceptions.

[Spotless]

Drinking it. It will cause your entire digestive system to purge all of the solids from your stomach straight through the intestines. By the second or third day of the fast you are purging material that was previously lining/caked on the intestinal wall. The only trick to it is finding the right balance of salt, which I think varies a bit by person.

Is this a water fast? with some salt water drinks? If its a water fast - can you tell us the basic reutine?

Like - 8 oz of salt water in the morning when you wake up and one at 3 hours before you intend to sleep.

Do you still do an enema or are these salt drinks creating strong evacuations and etc.

Do you have a web address of this fast that you recommend?

 

Thanks in advance!

[Spotless]

Thank you Viator - I had never heard of the salt fast - i am not sure if I will try it but just the same - thank you!

 

By the way - I do have a quick question - do you see this as better than a staight water fast with enema or ?

 

I have never had any worry about blood pressure fluxuations - obviously if there is a concern with that then this would be a consideration in choosing this way to fast.

 

And I agree I have always looked upon Juice fasting as cheating in a way - but it deals with toxic levels well and the fact does remain - your digestive tract is still basically on vacation (not needing to break down proteins and other complex foods).

On the other hand - you do tend to spend a pile of time juicing and making broths.