Why Do I Cleanse? What is a Cleanse?

Why do I cleanse?

Personally, I love the RESET of a cleanse. I love the simplicity of the food. I love simplifying my schedule to focus on my health “radically” for one week. I love the challenge of it all. I love focusing on self care, meal times, eating habits, and bedtime. For me all of these things are challenging in my regular life, so I when I announce to myself and my family that I’m cleansing, I give myself permission to really take care of ME as a priority. And this time, I’m specifically hoping to reduce inflammation and get rid of some bad habits.

When I was introduced to Kitchari Cleansing by my first Ayurvedic Practitioner (Siva Mohan) years ago, I had no idea what to expect. I believe my first one was 3 days long. And I honestly can’t remember how it went. But apparently good enough to keep doing it all these years later. I’ve tried a variety of cleanses over the years, and I’ve done them solo as well as along with a group. My experience continues to evolve over the years, and it of course depends on where my life is at the time of the cleanse. (This year, for instance, I’m coming off of my week of Irish Cooking ~ full of meat and potatoes and beer. Perhaps not the best lead up, oh well.) But each time, I know I will come out on the other side knowing more about myself, feeling more spiritually and emotionally connected, feeling lighter and more energized in my body and mind, and just having more clarity about my life.

Why do you cleanse? Or why might you want to cleanse?

What is a cleanse?

A cleanse or fast is simply a process of detoxifying the body. There are many types of cleanses, such as: water fasts, using specific supplements, juice cleanses, anyone remember the Master Cleanse?, bone broth cleanses, smoothie cleanses, and many more I’ve heard of.

In Ayurveda we typically do a Kitchari Cleanse at the change of seasons, primarily coming into Spring and Fall. Kitchari is basically a stew of Mung Beans, Rice and Veggies cooked with digestive spices. Kitchari is eaten as a mono-diet - the same for every meal. (You can change up the veggies and seasoning.) The mung beans in Kitchari are special because they are easy to digest, while containing plenty of fiber and protein. From Banyan Botanicals: “Mung Dal has an astringent (dry) quality. This astringency has a natural pulling action that helps to remove toxic buildup (ama) from the intestinal lining. This pulling action is much gentler than a harsh or abrasive scraping action that happens with raw or cold foods, especially raw vegetables.”

Read more about Kitchari Cleansing here