Many months a-coming, I am going to embark on a juice cleanse in a couple of days :) This is something I have wanted to do ever since I heard the benefits of these cleanses -- just pure, natural liquids from God's forms into raw drinkable goodness... helping one's body detoxify and rid itself of unwanted pests and icky materials. Already, I think: this is something we should *all* do in the World of Heavy and Toxics-Laden/Modified/Enriched Foods... just from hearing about this all and reading about it... and I haven't even done it yet!! but I know it starts with me and it's time to do it. I know I will come out changed; if not for the reasons of the cleanse itself, then but for the commitment and austerity/severity of the process, and discipline not to have a bite of something delicious and solid :)

First, I need to look at my schedule and see how I can fit this in. I have a celebratory early dinner tomorrow, so the plan is to go grocery shopping to the Co-Op across town after then. I will stock up on lots of organic goodies and a tea that makes you poop. There I also feel best about giving my money, since it is a local and community-benefit place that offers classes and I can feel good about supporting. This is important. Then, my boyfriend is out of town for a few days so it may help with reducing the urge to snack and have a solid dinner. I also have a free lunch on Thursday for giving a presentation to freshman college students so I will have to forego that, and will have to forego drinking on Saturday night for the Keller Williams show.

Then, I contacted the one person I trust most with homeopathic nourishment and raw food advice, and cleanses.... Shannon, or Chandranana, who is a wealth of knowledge and an infinite positive support system! She offered to help me through this, and will offer support during the cleanse itself, too, which is really reassuring. She gave me some great instruction that I otherwise may not have considered. Here is what she said off the bat:

"do 14 days if you can!!!!

curezone.org is a GREAT RESOURCE

i would ease-in ---- day 1 kichari & fresh fruit (one fruit at a time), day 2 soup broth & juice, day 3 juice & master cleanser then do 14 days of master cleanse

and do daily water enemas (if you're not pooping) and don't do enema if you ARE pooping

you can also do a psylium bentonite cleanse simultaneously to rid yourself of all the rotten animal flesh in your colon

http://curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=120380"

She also said to start with mono-veg juice... so one type of vegetable at a time. And not to mix fruit & veg. If the juice is really bitter, add an apple if needed. She said an Alkaline juice fast, in combo with a Master Cleanse afterwards, is best!!   !!Really Helpful Stuff Already!!

I will get into this more later, when I actually start a Master Cleanse, but if you don't know, a Master Cleanse is basically Fresh Lemon Juice, Rich Maple Syrup, Cayenne Pepper and Pure Water. 6-12 glasses a day, for like 10 days, with 3 ease-in and ease-out days on each side. We'll see if I go into this right away after the juice cleanse (and do a pure MC or not, or wait longer for the MC).

SHANNON: yes, you can do fruits but the MC is a bunch of citrus + Sweet, so its good to rinse your bod with alkaline  bc. your dosa is pita  (I still have to ask about what this means)

ME: OH ok so maybe do just vegs for the raw juice part, intro for ~5-7 days and dep how I am feeling go into fruits for going into the MC?!

This is going to be serious!

SHANNON: yes! make it a good one, the longer you go, the more crunk your body will shed and youll feel SOOO GOOOOD

yes, just do veg 7 MAAAYYBE apple, and just skip the fruit and go right into the cleanse

Another interesting thing I learned is not to eat tomatoes on this cleanse. The only good time to eat tomatoes, she says, is when they are in-season and fresh (and organic), and preferably local (i.e. from your garden). But not on this cleanse.

She also recommended the following vegetables/herbs to stick to on the juice cleanse:

• kale
• celery
• parsley
• ginger

Great thing I love all of these!! 

Another option is to mix the Master Cleanse (lemonade diet) with the juice cleanse a bit, since she found from experience that her body craved greens. And the MC is strictly a lemonadey sweet liquid. Could mix it and do both, depending on what works best for my schedule (hooray!). Or just juice for a few days before going into the strict MC. I'm gonna leave this one open.

She also recommends doing headstands to reduce the headaches that will come (!), and an enema -- which is a word I am scared of. Teas and saltwater and such, or other forms. May go into later. But supposedly we have lots of rotting things in our digestive and intestinal system that need to come out, and it's best to make sure they come out !! So, I must be sure that I poop a lot during all of this! Oh, and sorry I didn't have a disclaimer on this blog, but I am going to tell it like it is and I'm sorry there was no warning < :P Oop! >

The main concept, is going on a liquid diet for as long as I can. And drinking lots of water. I have a PUR filter at home and may bring it to work.  And  (since she is a devotee to Hare Krishna) she reminded me to make sure to do an offering first to the source :) So I will!

I am EXCITED!!!! It just feels like I should do this NOW. Why keep putting it off? There will never be a completely PERFECT week for this, it seems. It is a challenge, to add to weekly and life-challenges, that I can overcome with determination. I want to rid my body of toxins and "start over," if you will. Reset with a juice cleanse.