Enhance Your Life With A Juice Cleanse
Last week I completed a 3 day juice cleanse because I desired glowing skin for a photo shoot. In doing so I thought it would be helpful to share my experience for anyone thinking about going on a juice fast. I was excited about the many messages I received from people after watching my live news feed updates, sharing their own desires to give juicing a chance. I first discovered the power of fresh juice over 2 years ago and fell in love the wonderful experience it provides your body with. Through supplementing nutrients, live enzymes and minerals I was able to teach my body it was getting all of the nutrients it needed from juice and finally ditched the anxiety medication I had been on for 10 years. In additional to drinking juice as a supplement when I am not able to get the nutrients I need through food, I like to go on a juice cleanse four times a year for detoxification and mindfulness reasons. My wish is to share with everyone the power of juice and what it can do to your body, mind and soul.
Many people say "I could never go that long without eating." To that I say…. please rethink what you are saying. If your life depended on it or if it meant you had to sacrifice food for something worse, you could do it. The human mind is beyond our wildest dreams. This is also one of the enriching parts of the cleanse. Going without food you begin to recognize what hunger is. This is a good thing you are now awakening to other feelings you would have never had you continued eating and not tried this. Whether it be gratitude that you can eat every day all year or recognition that there are people in our world starving and what must it be like to feel this all of the time? Or how can I help those people? The thoughts come out of nowhere and are provoking beyond anything I have experienced in the most amazing way possible.
In order to prepare for the juice cleanse, I made up 5 different juice combinations and multiplied the ingredients by 3 to caculate three days of produce to juice. Unless you are a seasoned juicer it’s best to find recipes from someone that has tested out and then you can tweek to your liking. Not all juices taste are created equal, the combinations are key. You want it to taste delicious and feel excited about drinking your next one.
My first day of juicing I was really discombobulated in my brain. I was grateful looking back to have picked Sunday to begin. I noticed the brain fog was most intense on day 1. My hunger levels were noteworthy. Normally when I wake up in the morning my first instinct is not food but my desire changed when my brain knew I wasn’t having it today. Every time I would think about food or smell a wonderful food aroma in the air I would acknowledge and appreciate, followed by shutting the mind off and do something to distract myself. I was tired later in the evening and skipped my work out because it was important to listen to my body and go with what it was needing and it happened to be rest for me. Each day the symptoms lessened and by day three I was starting to feel the effects of detoxification. I felt like I could have kept going and I wanted to keep going because I felt like the work was just getting started.
Some notable changes I experienced were the small aches/pains that I sometimes notice, went away. I felt more fluid and flexible. I loved that I didn’t have to think about where I was going to eat I just grabbed my juice. My energy level by the last day was off the charts. I felt so alive and vibrant and happy! I was proud of myself and happy to be alive. It was a mini reset on my life. It gave me the will and want to go kick ass in this world and help people become happy! I lost 2 pounds even though I wasn't looking to drop any weight.
I proudly admit I did indulge with out guilt in an abundance of self-care regimes while on my three day cleanse because it’s a wonderful time give your body the attention it craves. The practices below all involve detoxifying an area of the body.
Hot baths with 1 cup Epsom Salt with essential oil (lavender for relaxing or citrus to boost your energy)
Dry Brushing (circular motions starting at your feet with large bath brush with fairly hard bristle)
Yoga I love to stream Yin and Hatha while cleansing on Gaia.com
Play beautiful calming music Check out all of the different stations when you type in “meditation music” on Spotify
Meditation I love my phone app called Insight Timer for silent bell meditation and also guided practices. This has changed my life and when cleansing your brain receptors on are high alert so everything is magnified when you are cleansing in a beautiful way
Infuse essential oils in your diffuser My favorite uplifting oil is Elevation but find your own favorite
Give yourself a facial I have my favorite mask I buy from Doterra and it smells amazing
Incense I love to burn 1 stick first thing in the morning with my music I am vibing at the time
Reading Pick up your favorite book or find a new one to start. My first cleanse I read the entire
book Little Big Lies (It’s over 600 pages!)
Perfect time for a massage or chiropractic adjustment or infarred sauna
Sage your house and get all of the old energy out to clear room for new positive energy
Journal each day It’s wonderful to reflect and then later look back at how far you have progressed in your positive thinking
Lastly going on a juice cleanse is mind over matter. You are strong and you can complete any intention you set. You will enhance your life through self reflection and possibly clarify your desires and needs.
Please look for my next blog post where I will post the juice recipes I used in my 3 day cleanse.
Love and Light,
Amber
