Lets Talk about Detoxification.
It is my opinion that a lot of people, many who are ill, think they know all about and have actually done, detoxification. And yet I am firmly convinced that many of these people are wrong. I know, it’s contentious right?
But I just see it all the time with people who are not recovering from illness.
Detoxification, when performed with diligence, knowledge and commitment, should become the ground out of which balanced and grounded health grows. It provides an almost new base on which to build. If that building is also performed with care, love and intelligence, and full attention has been paid to the emotional and mental states, then harmony and wellbeing is almost assured. It cannot fail to happen unless something has gone wrong in the process (or in the unlikely happenstance of genetic malfunction).
And almost always the ‘something gone wrong’ is inadequate detoxification.
Let us just clear one thing up. If you, or someone you know, suffers from a chronic systemic illness, a short juice fast, a few days without carbohydrates, a smoothie feast, or a simple change of diet, even if it is to raw food, will not achieve the results I am pointing to.
IT WILL NOT BE ENOUGH.
It will not reach the areas of the body where the deepest toxicity lies. It will not reach into the liver and invite it to release some of the toxins and viruses, heavy metals and residues it is holding onto. It may not even totally cleanse the bowel or small intestines, or blood, or lymphatic system, and it certainly won’t penetrate the cells.
It may do a small something and bring some mild relief, and convince you that you have achieved the mythical ‘detoxification.’
But in a few short weeks or months you will be left wondering why you are not recovering and pretty much feel the same as you did. You might even try some new supplements in the hope that they will help. Or change the diet.
(Please not that all the above are valid and I am not taking away from them or judging them harshly, I am simply saying that if disease has penetrated to the core of the body, then detox has to reach the same core, and some detox programs just will not be able to get that deep. It is logical).
But you may also lose faith in this idea of the benefits of detoxification. Not everyone believes in detox. The mainstream do not, at all. And I know some health people who do not either.
Personally, I am a firm believer, and for this reason.
I have experienced a few times the power and results of detoxification when done properly, and fully believe I would not have the health I do now without it. I have no signs of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Hashimoto’s (under active thyroid), Raynaud’s syndrome (circulatory problems), fungus and mould in my hands, Rosacea (eczema on the face), and terrible heat that riddled my body. My IBD, which came in the form of ulcerative colitis, should be, according to mainstream medical knowledge, in full swing, and I should be on medication of steroids, or of course I should have lost some or all of my colon in necessary surgery. None of these things has happened.
It has taken a long time to heal. But I have done it, and the only thing that makes me stand out from most people who struggle with diet, supplements, emotions, exercise etc is that I have DETOXIFIED LIKE NO ONE ELSE I KNOW.
1. When I had my first Ayurvedic Pulse reading in 2003 I was told I had arthritis and a huge toxic problem in the body. I was only 44 years old.
2. In 2004 I went to India for my first ‘Panchakarma.’ Most people do not know about this Ayurvedic treatment. It is one of the most powerful detoxification protocols there is. It takes 6 weeks to perform properly and works on the deepest levels of the body. It is also a ‘karmic’ cleanse so it addresses emotional, mental and spiritual levels of consciousness as well.
3. When I got ill with IBD in 2005 I went for TWO more Panchakarmas in India. It was extremely hard work, I lost weight, looked terrible, felt so weak, and still carried the IBD symptoms.
4. But I used those three experiences to build and nutrify on, I used them as the foundations of the new ‘Kavi Building.’ And slowly, slowly I began to rebuild.
5. Since then I have done the juice fasts, liver cleanses, colonics, and recently have even done a 21 Day Water Fast. I have also done the Robert Young ph Miracle cleansing, and the Karen Calabrese cleanse. I was 90-100% Raw for at least 4 years.
But nothing was as powerful as the Panchakarma. You see the detox has to get deep, real deep. If you have toxins, they don’t just hang around on the surface waiting to say hi. The liver may well take them and store them in fat deposits, or they may bury themselves in joints, or hidden and dark areas where no juice can get to. I had 20 years of drug taking, alcohol abuse and toxic emotions.
So detoxification has to get very, very deep. That means it has to have some wisdom and intelligence and wisdom behind it. The Panchakarma method has over 4,000 years of development behind it. It is designed, at its best, to penetrate the 7 levels of the body, through external and internal treatments, to soften the body up so that, over a period of time, the body becomes willing to release some, or all, of its toxins.
A soft body will willingly release more than a hard and rigid body. The toxins are then moved to the gastrointestinal tract for subsequent elimination and cleansing. It is quite some process and hard going.
When I walked out of the clinic after the first Panchakarma in 2004 I was like a baby. I could feel everything, I was so sensitive it was almost painful. Everything was stripped bare and I felt naked. I knew I would never be the same again. It took quite a lot of adapting to and I had to change and grow a lot.
THAT IS DETOXIFICATION.
The only other system I know of that has the same level of power and depth is Water Fasting.
Water Fasting is extremely powerful, and so simple it defies the mind. It is the process of doing NOTHING AT ALL.
You surrender everything to the natural intelligence of the body and allow it to do what it needs to, through non-doing and non-intervention. That might mean a 5, 10, 21, 40, or even a 50 day fast. The body turns its full attention to living on fat stores and removing everything useless and toxic. It is Nature’s Secret Weapon, and we miss this most simple of actions by taking loads of supplements, medicines and using endless meaningless ineffective diets (Sorry dieticians!)
It can be an amazingly transformational experience on all levels of being. Do not doubt the simplicity of fasting as a means to resolve long standing and chronic physical issues, mental issues or feelings of spiritual disconnection. It is no mistake that all religions carry some vestige of fasting as a means of connecting with God. Fasting is what animals do in nature when they are sick. It is the most natural thing to do in the world. And yet there is such fear around not eating!
So for me, the two most effective detoxification protocols, and both very different from each other, are Panchakarma and Water Fasting.
The former you will probably have to go to India, and in India you will have to research and investigate the best, most recommended and thorough PK centre to go to.
Panchakarma is a word thrown around in India, and some even use it to describe a spa. Do not be fooled. If the process is not performed with wisdom, good herbs and attention to detail, it could be worse than not doing it at all. The toxins get stirred up but the removal from the body is incomplete = toxicity that was dormant is now active in the body. That can cause trouble to major organs. So do research. I have included a link to the centre I attended in Mumbai, which could be the start of your investigations. You can, of course contact me for more information.
The second protocol, Water Fasting, if you decide to do over 10 days, I would suggest finding a centre and putting yourself in the care of an experienced professional. Again, they are hard to find, and in UK and USA they are few and far between.
Up to 10 days, if you are not really sick, is possible at home, but support is necessary, and having the space and time to totally let go, unplug from work, internet, family etc is vital to allow the body to do its healing. And of course attention needs to be given to the re-feeding program. You cannot just launch back into your old diet when you finish. It can be dangerous. The centre I attended is in Costa Rica. I have included a link to it at the end of this article.
Of course you can talk to me about it.
I may also be offering one to one support for those who wish to dive into a 5-10 day fast. Even the short fasts bring stuff up physically, emotionally and spiritually. Please get in touch if you are interested.
Which ever protocol you choose is a powerful vehicle for transformation. One reason I value both of these very different methods so highly is that both of them will challenge you on every level of being.
They are both deeply holistic. You will meet unresolved emotions, beliefs and thoughts. You will come face to face with that part of you that feels unloved and even unlovable. They will lay bare your feelings of isolation and separation. And they will open the door to self love, gratitude and compassion. They offer you the opportunity of a lifetime to resolve karmic issues and allow the healing to flood through the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual bodies. What an opportunity!
The other trick regarding detoxification is not to get too hooked up on it. There was someone I met a couple of years back who wondered, rightly, why there are so many people in the raw food movement who are obsessed with cleansing and detox. It almost appears as though they feel dirty and are trying to erase themselves. Detox is necessary, but the desire needs to be tempered. The body is not something to be punished.
It is not a bad thing to have a body, and we don’t have to get too religious about it. It is not our ‘hair shirt.’
Do it efficiently and move on. Return every so often and then leave it. Don’t pick at it as though it is something neurotic, it may become an obsession. That is not what you want, or what it is for.We are, surely, looking for harmony and balance within. Of course we do consume toxic chemicals and pollutants all the time, and with the arrival of the modern industrial machine, this has only increased.
But cleansing has to be balanced by high quality and focused nutrition. When these two work together, then the body really starts working. One without the other creates imbalance. Detoxification allows the body to absorb nutrients and become strong and powerful. Focused and high quality nutrition help the body to naturally detox what it does not want.
Focused nutrition brings power to the immune system and blood supply, supporting the whole organism, the liver and all the vital organs, to work efficiently and expel unwanted toxins and poisons, viruses and bacteria from within.
Detoxification Specialists:
Ayurvedic Panchakarma: Try Ayushakti in Mumbai.
http://ayushakti.com/services.php
Water Fasting Center: Tanglewood Wellness Center. Costa Rica.
http://tanglewoodwellnesscenter.com
Robert Morse N.D. Detox Specialist. USA.
https://www.youtube.com/user/robertmorsend
Transformational Power of Fasting: Stephen Buehner.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Transformational-Power-Fasting-Spiritual-Rejuvenation-ebook/dp/B00770DLJS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1424786813&sr=8-3&keywords=fasting
Andreas Moritz: The Amazing Liver and Gallbladder Flush.
http://www.ener-chi.com/books/the-amazing-liver-gallbladder-flush/
Live a Holistic Life Now 