Fasting, Day One
So I officially started my fast today! I have been pre-fasting for a few days, and hard core since we arrived at the Sanctuary – which means that I went to bed last night starving! I woke up a few times throughout the night having dreamt about food…It was really quite strange, and I am sure it is only just the beginning. When I did wake for good it was to the alarm on the phone telling me it was 6:30am and I needed to get up and drink my psyllium/clay shake – yummy (NOT AT ALL)…It wasn’t most unbearable thing in the world, but came in a close second. It was disgusting ;( But hey – it took that relentless hunger of mine away completely.
I laid back down for a bit but couldn’t fall asleep – meanwhile Kwang was laying on the other side of the bed drooling on himself (he was knocked out cold and seemed to be in heaven). Regardless, I got up for good just before 8am and took my first set of herbs that have an amazingly pungent aftertaste. Then I tried to wake Kwang up so we could go practice, but it was to no avail…He wouldn’t budge, said he was tired! “Whatever,” I thought as I threw on my yoga garb, grabbed my mat bag and headed out the door. The walk up to the shala isn’t an easy one that is for sure. It only takes about oh ten minutes uphill to get there but it’s the steepness of the steps that kills ya, especially if your cardio vascular endurance has gone to pot. Needless to say I was pooped by the time I reached the shala. No worries though – I got on my mat and began my practice, albeit rather gingerly. I heeded the advice of most I’ve spoken to and I modified my practice today – I think I would have anyway b/c I felt really weak this morning – but I gotta get used to this feeling b/c I have my entire fast ahead of me.
After a great Shavasana, I came back down the hill and took a nice long, hot shower in our room. I then went to the wellness center to take my second of four psyllium/clay shakes of the day…It wasn’t so bad at the wellness center b/c they mix the clay and psyllium with watermelon juice so it really masks the horrible flavor pretty well. I have been told they will always do that, but the first morning shake is your responsibility so you don’t get to mix it with anything…Oh well, at least three of four don’t taste too bad!
It’s almost 9pm now and I’ve just about finished my first day of fasting. I must say it is no fun whatsoever, and I have had a hellofa headache all day, but I know if I can make it through this I can make it though just about anything! If you opt to do a full seven day fast you will also do two colonics per day, and every 1 ½ hours you take a clay/psyllium shake, every other 1 ½ you take herbs. So a typical day goes like this:
| 7am | Psyllium/Clay Shake |
| 8:30am | Herbs |
| 9-11am | Colonic |
| 10:00am | Psyllium/Clay Shake |
| 11:30am | Herbs |
| 1:00pm | Psyllium/Clay Shake |
| 2:30pm | Herbs |
| 2:50pm | Lymph Flush |
| 4:00pm | Psyllium/Clay Shake |
| 4-6pm | Colonic |
| 5:30pm | Herbs |
| 7:00pm | Veggie Broth |
| 8:30pm | Herbs |
| 9:30pm | Probiotic |
Around 4pm Moon, the Wellness Center Manager, showed me and another fellow faster how to administer our own colonic…I can’t lie, I was a bit scared to do this b/c it looks quite odd. You lay on a wooden board – the open end rests on the toilet and the other end is held up on another piece of wood. There is a tube connected to an enormous bucket of water that hangs from the ceiling. You insert the opposite end of the tube and you are on your way (I’ll spare you the rest of the details here). It takes about forty-five minutes to complete the colonic irrigation and afterwards you clean everything up and take a shower. Honestly wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be – Thank goodness!
After that experience I felt the need for a little pampering, so I took advantage of the free sauna I get once per day, a perk of being a ‘faster’. After that I walked up to the spa and checked out the treatments they offer and opted to do an hour long detox body scrub. It was fantastic! They rub you down with a grainy substance for a bit, then cover you up and let that set in for about 15 minutes while you get a face massage. Then you get doused with yogurt and go take a warm shower – it totally rocked and was just what I needed!
When it came time for diner I met with all the other fasters at the Wellness Center to have our warm veggie broth that tasted like veggie flavored water totally lacking in sodium. It was not tasty, but left a slight flavor in your mouth that made you think you had just eaten something. Then, still quite hungry, I walked back to our room. Kwang is very much into watching all the bootleg videos they have here – so we will watch our umpteenth bootleg video before I head off to bed.
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