For those of you who consider cleansing, but look at the Master Cleanser as a crazy person's fast, I have an excellent alternative for you. It's called the 28-day cleanse, and it's a comprehensive, clear-headed approach to eating and lifestyle guaranteed to set straight your imbalances, and give your insides a scrub. It was devised by Scott Ohlgren, of http://www.howhealthworks.com - a self-taught but straight talking health guru who is a breath of fresh air: Scott doesn't subscribe to any food "cults" and is not extreme in his beliefs, in fact he's all about a realistic, common-sense approach.
The diet consists of - you guessed it - 28 days of eating a "cleansing" diet. What is that, you say? A diet comprised mostly of fresh (organic when possible) fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains - and devoid of processed foods, and most animal products (which can have a congesting effect and tax organ systems while working hard to clean themselves). Practices such as daily juicing (that's vegetable juice), sauna rounds, skin brushing, cardio, and meditation are prescribed as regimens to support the body's elimination process.
I did this cleanse myself earlier this summer - and it changed the way I eat. Even though I'm a seasoned and devoted whole-foods eater, concentrating on just these foods alone opened to me a world of both increased personal vitality and curiosity about vegetables, grains, and legumes I hadn't really incorporated into my diet. Furthermore, it began what will probably be a lifetime juicing regimen: I now make - and look forward to - fresh vegetable juice every morning when I wake up. I've noticed my skin change, my body lighten, and my finicky sinus congestion issues come to a stop. (The cleanse is purported to clear up most digestion and skin issues, as well as the usual suspects of fatigue, congestion, aches, pains, etc...)
Scott's book - of the same name: The 28-Day Cleansing Program - is a fantastic roadmap. In it, he succinctly and clearly covers the regimen, how it works and how it's different than what you're probably eating now, the supportive modalities you can and should undertake, recipes for healthful eating, and then, what I think is the most brilliant part: an example day-by-day schedule for the full 28 day cleanse. Even for the seasoned cleanser, this day-by-day schedule provided an excellent jump start for getting the hang of the regimen.
We've just entered Autumn - seeing that Winter is, in most climates, a building season when our bodies create what they need for warmth and regeneration, Winter is the only season that we should NOT be cleansing. But in Autumn, we have abundant fruit, vegetables, grains, legumes to work from - and this is the last great chance to cleanse our systems and prepare for the hard work of Winter. Furthermore, the 28-day cleanse will give you tools for a lifetime of healthful eating and care-taking of this great machine we all operate: our bodies.
