Twelve Days Of Fasting

My purpose for fasting for 12 days is to be kind and loving towards myself, grateful, patient and gentle so that I can listen to, observe and meditate on my body, mind and spirit, towards harmony, clarity of mind, a healthy physical body, magical days and infinite possibilities.

...

Here we go, twelve days. In the grand scheme of things, 12 days is nothing. Of course, time has a tendency to warp itself depending on what is happening in the mind; at least it does for me. Twelve days is nothing, until I take away some things that usually make living a little more comfortable :)

The longest fast with no food I ever did was 10 days, back in 2010 - back then I had experimented with fasting for about one or two years I think - and I thought I would never contemplate doing another one again. I also did a 21 days juice fast in January 2013 which left me feeling absolutely amazing. So, here I am, planning a 12 days fast. Why? Because it is calling. Since January 2021, I went back to fasting one day a week (every Friday); I find it to be a great practice. Lately, however, I have been feeling a little off, physically and mentally, and I just feel like I need a reset, from everything. The last eight months have been strenuous, mentally and physically; this fast is part of a process of being attentive to my body and my mind and figuring out my wants and needs in this period of transition. I thought it would be helpful to record the experience and write down my thoughts while I spend 12 intense and magical days with myself. It's not the first time I write about fasting, but I have never written about it while I am going through the process.

Day 1 / Friday 11.06.2021 9am

I woke up at 7am to breathe and meditate on the twelve days ahead. While in meditation, it came that I should write down and eight keys process for this adventure and clearly write the intention behind it (see above). I feel good about this purpose, I think it sums up very well what I want to create.

The first two days I will be doing a juice fast; I have broken up the twelve days into two-days fasts of different kinds. I am juicing first to ease up into this long fasting period, and give my body some nutrients before I move on to more restrictive fasts.

I started the day with what I usually drink every day in the morning: lemon water with a few drops of oregano oil. I prepared carrot/cucumber/ginger juice to drink throughout the day.

1.40pm:

So far, so good. Friday is my weekly fasting day, so my body is used to the fact that this is what usually happens at this point in time. Also, I am juicing, so it is actually getting more than what it usually does.

8.47pm:

End of day one. Technically it has already been 24 hours, but I always count my fasting days from the morning rather than the evening before. Either way, it is the end of day one, and I feel tired; more tired than I usually do on my regular fasting day. I did have a busy day, I was quite physically active, and I definitely feel it now. I am going to sleep well. Now that I think of it, I am also tired because I didn't sleep very much last night - a mere four hours. I am going to meditate and go to bed. I can barely write this :).

Day 2 / Saturday 12.06.2021 9.37am

I slept like a log. I went to bed at 10pm, and I woke up at 6.30am. I very rarely get 8 hours of sleep, clearly I needed to rest. I don't intend to be physically active for the duration of the fast, but I also have things to do; I'm not doing this in a retreat centre where I am shut off from the rest of the world, so I will be somewhat active. Having said that, part of being gentle with myself during this process is to minimize my physical activity as much as I can. I won't practise any dynamic types of yoga, I will keep to yin yoga if it calls.

This morning I feel rested and calm. I did some pranayama and meditated after waking up, I also meditated last night before going to sleep. One of my goals for this fast is to practise pranayama and meditation morning and evening (and maybe in the afternoon); I am still finding it challenging to set aside some time for meditation in the evening. I have no problem in the morning, it's almost a necessity at this point, but in the evening I just want to chill out and do nothing - that includes meditation, even though I sleep and feel better when I meditate before bed. Maybe these 12 days will help create a new habit, or I'll just stick to morning meditation and call it a day :D.

Today's juice is apple/grapefruit/cucumber/carrot/ginger. I'm not feeling hungry just yet; no doubt that this will change :). However, now the first day is behind me, and it is usually the hardest day. After the 24 hours mark, there is a sense of physical commitment already because I can feel my body going through some changes from the inside out. The article below talks about what happens in the body during different stages of fasting.

https://explore.globalhealing.com/stages-of-fasting-what-happens-when-you-fast/

9.11pm:

I feel tired once again, but it was to be expected; the first couple of days of fasting are often quite taxing energetically. I thought I would feel hungry today, I didn't. End of the juice fast, tomorrow I move on to teas and infusions (just as well because I don't feel like drinking any more juice :D).

I had a lovely afternoon; I went to Les Journées Découvertes of a wellness centre in a town not far from where I am currently staying. They are offering some talks in the course of three Saturdays, and I decided to attend