Week Two of a 3 week Ayurvedic Detox
21 Day Ayurvedic Detox - Week Two Musings
Week 2 complete! Thanks to my reflections coming out of last week, I'm on my game, complete with a game plan.
WEEK 2 SUMMARY
Day 8
Today felt a lot like a great day on the habits. Woke from a restful sleep, included movement and water and dry brushing in my morning routine.
Meal prep is coming easier, my body is telling me what would feel good to eat and I'm listening.
On the menu
Skipped the matcha, went with hot water
10am breakfast of a smoothie and a date ball
marinated salad for lunch (kale, carrot, beet, celery, sunflower seeds tossed in Apple cider vinegar and honey first thing this morn)
water, water, water
5pm dinner roasted sweet potatoes and sprouts.
Loving this vibe today, of clear-headed-ness. Walked in the rain to pick up the kids, and took my time, letting the cool water hit my face, and taking in the intense colours of the fall leaves against the overcast sky. My senses feel heightened.
Day 9
Had a check in call with the program lead today. Came away with some valuable thoughts. I was fascinated to hear that when we feel lack of hunger during a detox, it can be because our bodies are working on digesting our AMA (built up gunky residue in the body, our phlegm and our fat and all the stuff in the nooks and crannies).
She urged us to take some time to reflect on what it is we want out of this process.
Continuing to subsist on a liquid diet would help me lose weight, but I don't need to lose weight. Doing more flushes and enemas may strengthen my digestion and improve my bowel regularity, but I'm already a pooping champ.
I'm realizing that so far I've put my diet in the forefront, and let go of the items that were actually on my plan for all other aspects of my life.
Moving forward, if I don't need to eat I won't eat. I will continue with the same level of mindfulness toward this as the past week; properly spacing my meals, sipping hot water, taking in a very light diet. But this is no longer my focus. Because this isn't what's not working in my life.
Being silent
Going inward/reflecting
Filling the space that food held with other external stimuli
Letting go of excessive thoughts and planning and dialogue
These things are my struggle.
I have an addiction to stimulation.
So here's my new daily plan:
Wake up early
Move my body early
Drink green juice
Larger lunch with good fats
Meditate midday
Soup or salad for dinner by 5
Take a walk in the evening
Massage myself
Go to bed early
I'm going to make a fancy checklist to put up on my bedroom wall as a reminder to love myself. Possibly with an additional gentle reminder: disconnect.
Day 10
OK, checklist made, bulk juices made, resolve held anew! Checklists excite me. with every little check, I feel accomplished.
Today was incredible:
Thanks to my new, super clear and agile brain, I powered through an assignment in school that left me a week ahead of my class. I arrived home, and took some time to meditate in the early afternoon, a well needed energy reset form the fast-paced morning. During my meditation, I had an aha moment; A moment of complete clarity, that had me shifting the trajectory of my business entirely, and looking forward to close connections with others in my community. A whole new plan emerged from this moment of looking inward, and it was so clear I could almost touch it. No sooner did I finish my meditation, than the Fedex truck arrived, delivering a beautiful surprise gift form one of the very community members I was dreaming of, reinforcing this new path! I turned back to my desk, and opening the computer I stumbled upon an ad looking for kids yoga teachers in my city. I had thought of picking up my certification a few months back, but dismissed it. Yet, today, the idea lit a fire under me. I looked online to check the dates of the upcoming certification program, which is this weekend, but goes into Monday and Tuesday. At first I thought this just wouldn't work; I've got to be in school those days. But since the universe was delivering gift upon gift, I decided to email my administrator and ask for an adjusted schedule next week. No more than 20 minutes passed before I received an email saying yes!
So that's that. Boxes checked. Time taken to reflect and be silent. Resulting in a major shift, that brought a new adventure along with it.
Now I sit with the excitement, and don't let it overflow, lest I self sabotage to get away from this unfamiliar terrain of feeling amazing!
Day 11
How? How is it that every Friday I wake with some kind of chest cold?
Choosing to take this as another opportunity to find silence for much of the day; I had a less than restful night thanks to the kids and dog and cat. Early to bed helped but on 5 hours sleep I'm not at my best, and my immunity tanks.
Did my work, thankfully still clear headed through the fatigue, and was able to finish early and step away for some deep breaths and sunshine in the afternoon.
Home to a simple soup, and no tech for the night. Took a walk after the kids went down to ground myself further. Warmed up in a bath, book and bed. Hate to say it but I'm glad yet again that feeling a cold coming on is reinforcing my need for silence. So I'm taking it.
Day 12
Day two of all the boxes on my deep self care checklist checked. Keeping strong the last few days with green juice for breakfast, and soup, salad, or sauteed veggies for dinner. Really just eating whatever I want for lunch, which is on the healthy side but not detox level healthy. I had some bread today.... and this evening am feeling anxiety that definitely hasn't been there for the last 11 days. It's strange because I had such a lovely day with the kids, took time for me this morning and mid afternoon. Took my walk after dinner. Stayed off my phone for most of the day. It was a very quiet, centered, and happy day. Yet here I sit at 7:27pm with anxiety. I feel only the bread can be to blame.
With anxiety comes seeking a way out. For me that usually comes in the form of snacks. How very close I was to popping out to the store for some cool ranch Doritos a few minutes ago!
Thankfully, just last night I dove in to the book 'the 5 second rule' by Mel Robbins. She gave me the magic tool to switch my path. I was literally heading for my keys and I stopped, counted down from 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. And blast off, I turned around, poured a cup of water, and headed for bed.
As I write this my husband is popping popcorn. I don't even want it you guys. Seriously. Google Mel Robbins.
Day 13
WOOOAAAHHHH co-creation at its finest. Today I began my journey to becoming a kids yoga teacher.
Now, many Yoga Health Coaches (most, actually), are also yoga teachers. And so I've found myself wondering if I should do the same. I love yoga, I do. But in western cultures it sometimes has a snootiness to it. Like its for elites. Or like its a silent competition in a silent space for who can silently be the best. I don't like that feeling; Like I have to check myself in the mirror with every pose, or like I'm aiming for perfection. And so I found kids yoga. But more specifically, family yoga. Family yoga jams. Partner yoga. PLAY yoga. THAT feels like my jam.
And you know what? Gut feels don't lie you guys. Today was right up there in the top ten most awesome days.
In kids yoga, you make up stories, and partner up, and do poses in teams or groups. You make incredible, beautiful human mandalas. There's a ton of physical touch and eye contact and connecting in ways that make us feel good about ourselves and secure instead of insecure. In a word, it's fun. F. U. N. So much.
What does this have to do with detoxing? Well, first of all, had it not been for detoxing myself of junk food, junk light, junk sounds, in the name of finding my center and getting clear on my path, I would not have attended this program. It has only been through letting go of that which does not serve me that I've made space for the things that do.
Secondly, there is a solid vibe of ease and fun and all-good-ness that can only come in a kids yoga class. Teaching deep strength, mindfulness, self care and body understanding, in a way that's creative and freeing and fun.... it's TRULY a wholistic practice.
Day 14
The days at Yoga teacher training are FULL ON you guys. It is my deep feeling that no level of deep detoxing on the food front could happen when you're playing yoga games for 10 hours a day. My body has instead been calling for intermittent fasting, broken by MASSIVE MEALS. Basically I'm not taking in any food until around 10:30, and then I don't really stop eating until 2, but by then I've eaten so much that I'm not hungry for dinner.
Keeping strong with the self care checklist, my head hits the pillow hard by 9pm. Super deep, restful sleep ensues.
It feels like a wild form of balance. Days are spent jam packed with Light and colour and movement, energy and fun and food and conversation and noise. But 7pm hits and its quiet, empty, deeply silent and inward.