How I Fell in Love with My Cleanse

I can’t remember exactly when I finished my 21-day cleanse. I felt so good I didn’t want to stop. So I didn’t. Oh, I’m adding some foods I had omitted but not all. The first couple of days were tricky. It’s hard for me to get up real early. I hang out doing delicious movements to keep my psoas and core loose and moving (cause I can assure you they would have been welded together by now if I didn’t.) By the time I come down for breakfast it’s late. So I had to learn to navigate the clock:  they recommend 2 – 3 shakes a day; I had 1.5 shakes twice a day. Worked for me.

Getting the shake down was an interesting process. I remember one morning looking at sewage sludge. It tasted like tart sludge. I guess when you mix dark-colored blackberries, raspberries and blueberries with deep green powder, off-white rice protein powder and purified water, you’re not going to make light and lovely celestial shades.

It began to look better when I added either a small organic banana or small apple to fewer frozen berries. The color and taste improved immensely:  less dark, more sweet (berries can be quite tart.)

My next logistic hassle was what foods to actually eat. There was a limited list of veggies, chosen for their high nutrient content, as well as organic brown rice and lentils. I needed to have at least twice as many veggies as fruits per day, which wasn’t a problem, I only had fruit with the shakes. Raw veggies were advised over cooked, but cooking was okay if only for a very short time.

When I got tired of grumbling to myself I figured it out. We (hubbs and I) made great salads with all kinds of greens and accoutrements. I shredded raw beets, cabbage, zucchini and carrots into the salads. Microplaned garlic or chopped in fresh onion. Raw mushrooms and finely sliced celery were added to radishes, jicama, cukes, tomatoes, parsley, chives, cooked asparagus (and sometimes a few raw tips) and, of course, mixed salad greens, spinach and avocado. After some days I began adding a little brown rice to it. Of course, a little organic olive oil (the chaste kind, you know, extra virgin) with a little fresh lime or lemon juice squeezed on top and tossed with a couple of shakes of Real brand salt (it is real salt, not baked at 3,000 degrees, not bleached, without sugar, dextrose or any number of chemicals often found in box salts. Celtic Grey is another terrific salt.)

What a thrill! I’ve never been on a cleanse that allowed olive oil, citrus, tomatoes or salt. Yippee! This was a luxury cleanse! I added plain, baked sweet potato twice (I know, you’re thinking I’m a real daredevil. Guess I just can’t help it!)

Mustn’t forget the cleanse supplements. I used the Standard Process formulations – actually, this is their cleanse except for the shake. I had to substitute because their shake is whey-based and I’m dairy intolerant. Most shakes either have a whey base, or there is some amount of sugar in them (often in the fruit flavor that’s added,) and some have synthetic nutrients, a thing I can’t abide.

One of the really wonderful things about a cleanse is getting a clear baseline again. In other words, as I go through the year I gradually add a little too much olive oil to dishes, and get very heavy-handed on the spices. And doesn’t winter just bring on a need for lots of good, homemade bread? And cupcakes? And . . . and . . . and. But no matter what, even if I ate a perfectly perfect diet all year round, the brain habituates: it stops noticing what we do habitually. I start to lose my ability to discern what I need and don’t need; I start to lose balance and am drawn to foods that are wrong for me.

When I feel clean inside, I’m back to neutral, zero, my intestines and colon are not mucked up. My liver and gall bladder have had their workloads reduced. I feel lighter and able to discern what I need vs. what I want out of whim, desire to be entertained, or an emotion (emotions created the comfort food industry.) I am in a much better position not only to choose healthy foods, but to feel and appreciate their affects.

Detoxification:  It is said that toxins adhere to fat and cleansing helps to break up and release those toxins. The intestinal lining gets a rest and the intestines and colon get rejuvenated. It is also said that personal growth work (working on editing our behavioral and/or emotional patterns) is aided by this process.

Bottom line:  I feel great, my energy and mood are upbeat, and my energy is more even than it normally is (I’m a peaks and valleys person, as opposed to some close family members who have even energy from morning to night.)

An Aging Gracefully Bonus:  My early-boomer joints function more smoothly and energetically without swelling.

So I’m going to continue my shakes and lots of salads while I add other cooked veggies, lentil dishes and occasional poultry – till my body says it needs a change.

Question for You:  What do you do to clean out toxins and help your body feel rejuvenated?

Thanks for dropping by. Do share your comments.  Next time:  Part III:  the conclusion of my interview with Dr. Ananda Kramer on Digestive Harmony and the Ancestral Diet.

Ever Noticed How Much We Don’t Notice?

Have you ever noticed how much we don’t notice? We don’t notice when we hoist a shoulder to an earlobe when reaching for an object. We don’t notice when we clamp our arms to our sides when we walk, or that we lead with our heads (maybe the mind can’t wait for the rest of the body to get to its destination.) How can we care about, let alone change, something we don’t notice?

We move on automatic pilot, relying on unconscious habit patterns that are programmed and maintained through neural signals. To make a difference in these unconscious patterns of movement, or lack of movement, we go back to our first three steps described in earlier blogs. We make a conscious decision to do so (Step 1) and then set an intention (Step 2). To change these patterns we need to begin to discern how we move or where we don’t move. To create such awareness (Step 3) we use movement.

Step 4:  Movement

Movement – subtle, mindful and rhythmical – can begin to ‘speak’ to, or access, the central nervous system, a non-intellectual part of the brain that affects neural signals – like those that help keep self-limiting patterns in place. We want to create new neural signals that support our intention to, say, loosen tight muscles and ease joint mobility.

We perform mindful (you could say meditative) movements, in a particular manner, on one side of the body. We notice how that side feels in contrast to how the other side feels. This allows the non-intellectual brain to begin to notice the difference between the two sides. The effect is similar to inputting data into a computer. Once the data ‘registers’, it becomes the basis for the brain, nervous system etc. to begin to help us create new neural signals that help reprogram old patterns.

Simultaneously, we kinesthetically begin to feel how we actually (vs what we assumed) use our bodies and the effect of that usage. That kinesthetic awareness informs subsequent movement, which increases awareness, which guides further movement, which expands awareness . . . a spiral of symbiotic relationships emerge, working from within and without.

The nature of the movement is important, but not conveniently described here. Among the essential tools are attitudes of healing as well as visualization, breathing, self-massage and a lot of repetition. In my opinion and experience these mindbody methods, combined with Intention, Awareness, Movement (I AM) create a powerful process that supports transformation of self-limiting patterns, whether physical, emotional or behavioral.

The resources are inside us. We just need a road map to find and use what we already have; once we do, it’s ours for life. For we boomers, it makes for graceful aging with ease. This doesn’t mean we won’t ever need to seek help from other professionals. I receive therapeutic massage and chiropractic in addition to my personal movement practice.

Share your comments; they are appreciated. This is a huge topic and I am only glancing the surface. To learn more about the fascinating internal communication network click on Articles (on the right). I also recommend the book Molecules of Emotion by the brilliant researcher Candace Pert, PhD.  See you next week.

Question for You:  How do you address unwanted patterns?

Feeling like the Rope in Tug o’ War

My big sister has been visiting for almost two weeks. We only get to visit every few years, so I’ve  chosen to spend as much quality time with her as possible. I wish I’d made that decision last week when my heart said to do so. Unfortunately, my mind said:  Complete the blog post and publish it on Monday; be responsible.

I didn’t get the blog post completed in spite of spending days on it. And it really wasn’t about being responsible. It was a family-of-origin, self-limiting pattern of emotions and behaviors.

One of my intentions is to honor my gut instincts, my heart’s direction. Last week, when I didn’t go out with my sister and others but stayed back writing (poorly) and editing (badly) the post, I was aware that something was very off:  I wasn’t in synch with myself, I felt at odds. I felt like the rope in a game of tug of war. But I didn’t heed what my instincts were telling me – which always leads to some form of unhappiness or regret.

The good news is it’s never too late to move forward, and to let go of attachment to self-blame (a common reaction.) I accept that my choice last week came from an old habit. Without judgment I can move on, feeling the rightness of this choice in my body and my being – my proving rods. It leaves me with a feeling of lightness, joy and harmony. The tug o’ war is over.

So today I’m not writing the more complex post I’d intended for last week. Today, I’m honoring my self – not self in the selfish sense, self in a deeper sense, not elevated enough to use an upper case S, but higher than the self of wants and self-centeredness. And I’m honoring my sister and the ties we have:  love, cellular connection, history.  Our time together gives my life richness.

In making this decision I used the same principles I’ve been writing about. I was aware of being off, out of synch with my intention. I moved internally:  changed my angle of perception to realize there is a simple and loving solution that goes beyond black and white considerations of responsible or not responsible. I chose that solution and am acting on it.

This is a small example of adding movement to intention and awareness for transformational purposes, the subject of my un-post last week. Here it’s been used to change a self-limiting behavioral and emotional pattern.  The same principles help transform self-limiting physical patterns to increase mobility and relieve pain.  There’s much more to it, of course, but this is the scent of the essence.

Have a great week and please share your comments.

Coming soon: Part III of an interview with Naturopathic Physician and Homeopath, Dr. Ananda Kramer, on Digestive Harmony and Transformational Healing.

Question for you:  What happens when you change your angle of perception?

Part II: Your Ancestral Diet and How to Find It

A food not properly broken down to components the body can use decomposes into toxic compounds. In a word, undigested food rots . . . Nutritional work is foundational to all holistic or natural healing. Dr. Ananda Kramer

Welcome to Part II of our interview with Naturopathic Physician and Homeopath, Dr. Ananda Kramer. We left off with the differences in eating styles of cultures around the world. People of Asia, Africa and Europe, for example, all have a different basis to the diets which they have been eating for centuries.

MMS: Are you saying that over the centuries the bodies of our ancestors developed the ability, passed down through their DNA coding, to digest the foods of their areas? But because they didn’t have a need to digest other types of foods they didn’t produce the enzymes necessary to do so, making adaptation to moving afar very difficult?

AK:  Yes. Changes in genetics take more than a few centuries.

MMS:  All of my grandparents came from Italy, a country that uses a lot of cheese, butter and milk. Yet, I have a dairy intolerance (I am only the second generation to be born here.) I should be able to digest dairy then, shouldn’t I?

AK:  Dairy intolerance is more complex than you might think. You’d have to look back to your ancestors in about 1000 A.D. There have been significant migrations of peoples and foods since recorded history.

So, for example, lets look at pasta, a food very much identified with Italy. Noodles have been discovered in China made from millet as long ago as 2000 BC. The notion that Marco Polo introduced pasta to Italy from China may not be true. There is evidence that pasta made from Durum wheat (as it is today) was introduced by Arabs during their conquest of Sicily in the late 7th century.

My point being, in reference to your question about dairy, that the foods associated with a culture may or may not be original with that culture.

MMS:  I didn’t realize how complex this is. It makes me better appreciate the foods I can digest. People have been asking how they can achieve digestive harmony and find their ancestral diets. What can you tell them?

AK: We need to find out if there is a food our bodies will not tolerate. I do a test – it is a simple test that can be done at home – I call it the Food Intolerance Test or FIT.  It has been around since the 1920’s and is also know as the Carroll Test.  By having this test done one can find out the food, usually only one food, that an individual cannot digest. I would direct your readers to my website, Article section, for more detailed information:   www.doctorananda.com.

MMS:  Do patients ever say to you their digestion is fine, they don’t have problems, when you think otherwise?

AK:  Yes. Sometimes people will tell me they don’t have any digestive problems, and I look at them and see they look pasty, no color in their faces. They may be overweight or bloated (can’t always tell which is which by looking) and they look tired. They complain about joint pain and muscle aches, problems with sleep and skin conditions. The bell goes off in my head:  how will they get better if they eat a diet that’s creating inflammation in their body? How will they get better if they don’t identify this food? Nutritional work is foundational to all holistic or natural healing.

MMS:  As a maturing boomer I specially appreciate this information. Your last sentence is very powerful to me. Thank you, Dr. Ananda.

Next time, we’ll continue with Part III of our interview with Dr. Ananda Kramer on Digestive Harmony and Transformational Healing. Love your comments; please keep sharing them.

Question for You:  Are you aware of how the foods you eat affect you?

Awareness, the Mother Lode

My profession is always to be alert, to find God in nature, to know God’s lurking places, to attend to all the oratorios and the operas in nature.

This quote of Thoreau conjures images of a forest with hidden nooks and crannies that require alertness to know which might be scary and which might open to reveal hidden treasures. Not unlike checking out how my body feels when I awaken in the morning. For that reason it seems a good lead-in to Step 3 of the basic elements of activating our inner resources and living life from within.

Step 3:  Awareness, the mother lode. From dictionary.com:  “AWARENESS:  having knowledge; conscious; cognizant: aware of danger, informed; alert; knowledgeable . . . “

In my experience, the hardest bit of awareness to develop is the awareness that we really aren’t very aware, especially about how we use our bodies. And no matter how much awareness we gain, there will always be room for more.

The reward, of course, for becoming aware of what’s ‘lurking’ in my body (or my temperament) is that I can make a conscious choice to do something about it instead of unknowingly allowing it to compound into something worse.

Upon awakening this morning, I lightly stretched before getting up. I softly coaxed what wasn’t quite ready to move with soft, rhythmical movements, kind of  slithering. These mindful movements are specially effective because they speak to both the physical level (joints, for example) and to the mindbody.

I scanned my body’s response, noting where there was stiffness and an ache in my low back. I drew on my intention, which, fortunately, was deeper than the desire to go downstairs for breakfast. A few moments later, I switched to my upper body and used the same type of soft, rhythmical movements, noticing where I felt reduced mobility.

After a bit I returned to the low back and found it had changed while I worked on my shoulder girdle – the only kind of girdle I allow in my home. My low back had softened, released, become open and more flexible while I worked on my shoulder girdle. Interesting, isn’t it? With delight, I moved effortlessly. (This is truly graceful aging with ease.)

By the time I was done, those delicious movements had orchestrated my separate body parts into an organized, harmonious and comfortable whole.  Their oratorios were sung with joy and enthusiasm that echoed throughout the day.

Question for you:  How do you use awareness to enhance your life?

Next Monday:  turning Intention, Awareness, Movement (I A M) into a transformational process.

Coming soon:  an interview with Dr. Ananda Kramer on digestive harmony through each person’s unique Ancestral Diet.