21 day Detox

21 Day Detox Program. Week one with Chia seed juices, Week 2 with Smoothies, and Week 3 with soups. One Mudra healing class per week included.

Our lifespan depends on Agni or digestive fire. When the fire is weak, nothing digests, and we have no energy. When we have good digestion, our bodies digest food, and we get stronger and live longer.  Food either fully digests and gets absorbed in the body or digests and does not get absorbed; however, it is thrown out of the body as waste, which is eliminated. For this digestion to occur, our fire of digestion is the most critical component that needs to be active. This fire is not ordinary. It is called “vaishvanara” Agni. This is a circle of fire of digestion in the stomach region.

The perils of Weak Agni

The Pancreas, liver and gall bladder are the primary organs involved in the digestion process. The liver secretes the bile juice, which is very important to break down fats, cholesterol, vitamin A, D, K2 etc. Bile also breaks down cholesterol to prevent stones. When our liver is impaired due to insulin resistance and fatty liver, our body does not get the essential nutrients it needs. The process of excreting the proper amount of digestive acids or juices is the function of Agni.  A fatty liver is a result of weak Agni. High levels of insulin and insulin resistance are responsible for fatty liver also. When we overeat, do not eat at the correct times, we do not eat the right foods, and for several other eating mistakes, we develop insulin resistance. A prominent feature of the fatty liver is belly fat. If you have a belly, you have a fatty liver to some degree. Eating a lot of junk foods and sugar leads to a weak Agni and fatty liver as well. A fatty liver also impedes the thyroid. The inactive T4 needs to be converted to active T3. Hence a fatty liver corresponds to a weak digestive fire in the stomach. The liver produces about 350 grams of bile, and that is very critical. A lack of proper bile juice can also increase the harmful bacteria in the body. This also leads to bad gut and intestinal health. Bad breath in the mouth is also a signal of impaired digestion.
In the long run, a fatty liver results in liver cirrhosis.

Activating Agni with a juice diet
 
The goal of our juice diet is to activate Agni, healthy digestion. However, this is not possible until we detox the liver and reduce stomach fats and reverse cholesterol. We can reverse the fatty liver activate our digestion by a combination of diet, yoga and mudra.

Fats and weak organs in the body are cold. i.e. the proper flow of blood and other digestive juices to them is impeded. Therefore the first step is to improve circulation. The first step in enhancing circulation is to have hot teas. Hot teas like ginger, cinnamon tea activate Agni, heat or digestion—fennel, cumin, Chamomile detox the body.  A combination of these different hot teas is given in the second section of our book food for the soul, and they are the best way to begin detoxing the liver, stomach etc. Just like we run a  machine with a cleansing liquid, these juices cleanse the organs and improve their efficiency.

Chia detox lemonades and smoothies
  
The ayurvedic detox begins with these chia juices with fruits and ayurvedic herbs.  Spices in your kitchen pantry can be the best detoxers.  Cumin, fennel, cinnamon, ginger, Cardamom, mint are very good detoxers. The first thing you put into your stomach in the morning should remove the mucus layers in the stomach, which builds up overnight. When this layer of mucus, or Kapha is called, is cleared, just like we scrape the tongue, the stomach pores become clear to secrete digestive juices. E.g., when our mouth is washed clean, then we don't feel like eating unnecessarily. However, if the mouth is unclean and there is constantly secreting saliva, we feel like eating something to fulfill the mouth's urges. If we keep the stomach clean, then unnecessary eating can be controlled. Hot teas improve the circulation in the stomach and remove the layer to produce proper Agni.
 
Once you are done drinking the teas, time for some chia detox lemonades. Lemon, although made up of citric acid, becomes alkaline in the stomach. Chia controls sugar levels and reduces insulin resistance. Chia has four times more calcium than milk, lowers blood sugar and provides more energy to the body. Chia can supply all the energy we need for the day. Chia is the Mayan word for power. Hence chia seeds are highly beneficial. In our book food for the soul, we have provided various recipes of chia detox lemonades where we soak chia overnight and then add lemon, maple syrup and a fruit blend. These are the most wonderful recipes for the morning. Chia keeps you full for longer and also keeps you energetic at the same time, reducing insulin resistance.
 
In the first week of the fast, we take hot detox teas and chia detox lemonades only. We should act as though nothing is happening, and we are perfectly fine. That's the key. The body feeds off the food you eat or feeds off the fat stored in us, especially the fats stored in the liver. Remember human body has so much extra fat that even if we have only water for up to 40 days, we can sustain it. So three weeks will remove a lot of excess fat from the body, detox the liver and fire up the Agni. The practise of asana and pranayama should accompany this.
 
In the second week, we focus on smoothies. Fruits are full of vitamins and minerals. In the food for the soul book, we have designed very energetic smoothies.  We will reduce the chia water and add a smoothie a day to the fast. The hot detox continues.
 

Ayurvedic herb supplements
 
When we fast, all the ayurvedic herbs we take will be absorbed better. For example, we can take Bacopa Brahmi, Ashwagandha, Triphala, and Amla in tablets or powder. When we take these supplements, our nervous system improves very quickly as these supplements are nerve tonics. Nerves of steel, they say, if our nervous system is sound, all the different muscles and motor organs coordinate and work well. Along with these, one can also add energetic foods like wheatgrass juice or even ginger shot
to the smoothie or chia lemonade.
 
Therefore along with the fast, we also get to inject the good herbal supplements and absorb them better.