Cleaning, Re-organizing, Yoga, Meditation, and Cleansing = Radiant Happy Me!

No thats not me in the picture above, but I decided to use this image because it perfectly captures how I feel! Let me tell you why…

April was a month of major cleansing for me. I have done some serious detoxifying on many levels of my being. Out with the old and in with the new! My conclusion from the experience is this: 

Through yoga, meditation, and a healthy, environmentally friendly lifestyle, we can operate and feel more vibrant and alive while making the world a better place!!!

We are living in an exciting time! We are in the middle of a battle over whether we shall continue to force the majority of the planet to pay for the unsustainable lifestyle and diet of the privileged few. It is also not far fetched to say mankind is reaching a boiling point in human history. Will we continue the way we are going and destroy ourselves? Or will we graduate into planetary adulthood & awakened consciousness? Which side are you on?

When we stand back from privileging our personalized perspectives, and localized world views, narratives, ideologies or cultural lens, the horizon of the global perspective, the global lens opens. This is a key stage in becoming a critical thinker.  We all depend on a healthy planet. Without it, we can’t survive, let alone be healthy ourselves.

Interestingly, living and eating in healthy ways (on a plant-based whole-foods diet) is also one of the key ways we can contribute to environmental health. In the end, our healthy planet will depend on developing intelligent cooperation among the nations and people of the world. And it all begins with YOU. The individual. This is where the idea of cleansing comes in, not only for personal benefit but for the benefit of all.

For me it all began one day in March when me, my boy friend, and a few peeps were sitting in a cafe after yoga. We were joking about the guilty pleasures of eating fluffy sticky sweet pastries after yoga when my lovely friend Kyla mentioned doing a month long cleanse starting in April. She even had cute flyers! My curiosity was piqued.

Kyla Dawn Crouthamel (pictured here at the Illinois Yoga Asana Championships where she won 2nd place for women) is a rock star Bikram Yoga Teacher who also practices Anusara Yoga with me in Kk Ledford’s class at the Yoga Tree in Hayes Valley. Apparently Kyla was recruiting folks to participate in a Spring Cleanse through Life Force International which would involve taking supplements and increasing food consciousness. I was on board! The most exciting thing to me about this was the opportunity to finally make those much needed changes in my diet. I had been trying on my own for ages, but often lost sight of my intention. The support of Kyla and her team would prove to be crucial to my success in this cleanse. In addition to regular supportive emails containing great cleansing food recipes, we were also offered group support/coaching calls every Sunday. My boyfriend and best friend decided to do the cleanse as well, so I felt quite a lot of camaraderie.

This cleanse was different than anything I had done before because I was in no way required to stop eating. I still ate three meals a day, I just took the colon cleanse supplements twice a day, and gave up the following poisons…

* No dairy, no gluten, no chicken, no red meat, and no processed sugar (only from honey and fruit sugar ok)

* I also majorly reduced my coffee intake from daily to just once or twice a week, and even then I only had a small black cup of coffee (no sugar and milk). 

* I drank virtually no alcohol all month. Just an occasional glass of wine, but certainly no liquor or beer (which is wheat based).

I thought it would be really hard to stick to my diet, but the group support I felt was deeply encouraging. With the energy of spring time, I also felt a natural call in my body toward detoxification.

Old cravings for unhealthy food quickly fell away. I was no longer tempted by the siren’s call of cream filled chocolate pastries. Instead, I began to crave good clean simple foods. Like quinoa, legumes, apples, bananas and Kale in particular. Very quickly I started to feel clean, clear, light, energetic, and happy! My regular yoga and meditation practice deepened and opened profoundly. I have also lost about 8 pounds with out really doing anything but changing what I eat. But most noticeably, and to my great relief, all my chronic physical ailments went away!

Now let me explain to you HOW amazing that really is… As long as I can remember, and particularly over the past couple years I have suffered from stomach aches and chronic allergies, sinusitis, frequent colds, and other flu-like feelings. Frustrated and tired, I thought it was just symptomatic of living in a city and being sensitive. ALL of that has gone away with this cleanse!!!

While I knew milk and meat were bad for me, and tried to keep in-take of those foods to a minimum, I had never considered cutting out gluten… and boy am I glad I did! I know there is a lot of controversy about gluten, and whether it is really good or bad, etc. I also don’t want to tell anybody what to do or how to eat. But I do encourage everyone to LISTEN TO THEIR BODY! My body is much happier, healthier, and works better than I ever knew it could now. Do I miss bagels? Sure. But if I have to choose between bread and optimal health for me and the planet, I’ll take the latter thank you very much.

The clarity that this cleanse brought to my mind, body, and spirit allowed me to see my life more clearly, and so external shifts naturally began to happen as well. I have known for a while now that I needed my own space and should move into my own apartment (as nice as my room mates are, living with a group of people is no longer working for me). I was worried because the housing market in San Francisco is extremely competitive! But I set my intention on the Eve of the New Moon (which also happened to be Beltane) and literally the next day I found the perfect place, in the perfect location, for the perfect price. I zoomed to prepare my application, and somehow out of the 50 some people who applied for the apartment at that open house, the land lord picked me! I mean WOW. Its amazing how when you are clear and aligned with nature, the universe naturally rises up to support you.

Moving to a new apartment is a great opportunity to do some more traditional spring cleaning and get rid of a lot my old material possessions. As I have started to sort through my things, I have realized that I am going to be throwing out over %90 of it! And boy does that feel good 🙂

I know who I am, and I know what I want to do with my life on this planet. I feel passionate and enthusiastic about my work as a teacher and student of Yoga. I am entirely dedicated to the upliftment of consciousness and joyful living in all beings! In honor of my own fantastic Spring Cleanse experience, I am doing a Spring Into Summer Yoga Workshop at Yoga Garden SF. Maybe some of you Bay Area folks can join me!

I am so infinitely grateful for my experience with this cleanse. I feel incredibly powerful and clear. I feel more energized, inspired, compassionate, and patient then ever before as well. I highly encourage everyone to do the same and take responsibility for yourself and for your role as a member of the human race.

Here are some other good ideas to put into practice:

* Support organic local farming. Eat a vegetarian/vegan diet of real, unprocessed foods. Spend your food dollar on locally-grown foods, rather than imports from distant lands. Best strategy: grow as much of your own food as you can.

* Be a healthy animal. Use your body as much as you can to get around. Walk or bike to work and to do errands. Take the stairs, not the elevator. Look for ways to use and strengthen your body. Lose the fat. Don’t support the medical/insurance industries with your money: Get healthy so you rarely need their help.

* Educate yourself. Prepare yourself for a more challenging future — We are beginning to transition away from our reliance on fossil fuels. Learn to see clearly who is your friend and who is your oppressor. Don’t take this distressing world situation out on yourself by self-indulgence, depression, or surrender.

* Break your addiction to the unhealthy foods that wreck our health and harm our planet.

*** One Life. One Love. One Earth.