Monday, October 19, 2015

21 Day Detox - FIFTH TIME


I'm on day 15 of my fifth 21 day detox. The first one was in 2012, and I did one annually in 2013 and 2014. This is my second time for 2015; the first was in January. The detox:

Vegan
No sugar
No gluten
No caffeine
No alcohol

Each time I've embarked on this journey, I've gained a keener awareness of patterns of consumption in my life. How you do anything is literally how you do anything. So observing my complex (and sometimes neurotic) relationship with food becomes a penetrating insight into all aspects of my life. 

Each cleanse is a drastically different experience, where each 21 day detox builds upon the last. Here are my insights and lessons learned.

1. Sugar, caffeine and alcohol are literally DRUGS that artificially alter moods, energy levels and even physiological responses such as bodily functions and hormone levels. Well, no DUH, right? We all KNOW that - but this time I had an acute awareness within the first day of how significantly different my body feels without those substances. It is a recognition that pierced through the mental cognition and connected with my physical body. A yoking of mind and body became a true Oprah a-ha moment. 





2. I've become aware of the distinct difference between filling myself up and truly nourishing myself. In the emotionally turbulent year I've had trying to bridge my new role as a yoga teacher with my former (and still lingering) patterns of mindlessness, I found myself consuming things that "fill up" my mind, my tummy, my time with junk rather than truly moving toward wellness and nourishment.

It's easier to go through the drive-through or grab a latte than slowing down to mindfully select how to fuel your body. This is also true with who we spend time with, how we spend our time and how we fill our minds. How many squandered minutes, hours do we devote to mindlessly scrolling the newsfeed of IG or FB or Twitter? How often do we go on autopilot to fill our time with activities and even people that don't truly nourish us?

Awareness of stale patterns is the first step to living more purposefully.



3. Complacency and comfort are oftentimes the enemies. Sticking to the status quo or living out of habit rather than true mindfulness and awareness is so much easier, more comfortable and safe. But is that the way you want to live your life? If the answer is yes, then I am happy that you are happy. But there is something within me that has been resisting the notion of societally defined success as my definition of success. Sure, in my lower moments, I realize that I could easily take the blue Matrix pill and try to return to a life where I am comfy, financially stable; or I could find a man to rescue me and take care of me (this old horse still has a few races left in her!); but I'm much more fulfilled when I can comprehend the true nature of self-reliance: that IS my stability, that is my ease and comfort and security. I can rely on myself to excel and to survive. This knowledge allows me to cease the endless cycle of worry, doubt and fear.

4. I've begun to pierce through my own layers of self-perception and realize that some of my own assumptions of myself are no longer valid! We like to label others and categorize them so they can neatly fit into our little mental world that we've constructed. We do this for safety reasons; we want to have control over our lives and those people and situations that enter our orbit must be controlled and safely and neatly dealt with and put away. We do this with ourselves too! Based on our past experiences, usually experiences that have hurt us or made us feel vulnerable, humiliated, sad, we construct mental parameters that define who we are. Based on this mental image, our minds work extremely hard to alter our perception of reality in order to protect our mental world.

I've come to realize that my own self-image is so dramatically tied to my interactions with others and their perceptions of me! This cleanse has provided so much clarity to me in the arena - how so much of my behavior and my reactions and interactions are tied to "expectations" and learned behavior. I've been slowly peeling away layer after layer to discover that I am so much more grounded and stable than I once thought or was told. 

5. Food and alcohol tends to be an agent of complacency and conformity. After all, we just want to be liked! And to fit in. To be accepted by friends, family, peers and colleagues. Much of ourconditioned socializing  surrounds eating and drinking! 

My previous forays  into cleansing included a lot of self-seclusion to stay strong and avoid temptation. This go-round I've found myself sharing many meals with friends where I'm truly not tempted at all by the crap they shovel into their bodies. 😂😂😂 

I've also responded to invitations to meet for coffee or tea with a yes, let's get together, but how about we walk instead? Or take a yoga class together? 

Each moment, each breath, each experience provides the opportunity to break the old patterns of habit before they become chains of dependency and slavery. 

Annica! Annica! Annica! Be happy! Be happy! Be happy!