My 3-Day, Ayurvedic Cleanse

If you haven't yet, start by reading the basic concepts of an Ayurvedic cleanse here.

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Now welcome back. A few weeks ago I decided it was time for me to have a short, 3-Day cleanse as I noticed some symptoms of Ama showing up. My symptoms were:

-a small flare-up of eczema

-a dip in energy in the afternoons

-brain fog in the evening

-faster & looser digestion

-irritation & anxiety

These are all ways my body was communicating with me that something was off and I needed to slow down, simplify, and release. In order to have as much support and success with my cleanse, I considered these 5 things before starting:

Timing

I wanted to choose a timeframe that had the most routine and support so I could successfully carry out the cleanse. I chose Wednesday|Thursday|Friday as my kids were at school and my family would have the most consistency with our routines those days. I made sure to plan around my cycle and not cleanse during active bleeding (as menstruation is already a natural cleansing process). I also decided to start the day after a very powerful, partial lunar eclipse during a full moon. The days between a full moon and new moon are naturally depleting as the moon wanes. I wanted to tap into that energy and increase the potency of my cleanse, releasing just as the moon releases and decreases.

Emotional Support

Cleansing can release mental, physical, and emotional symptoms. With this in mind, I wanted to ensure I had good emotional support during my cleanse. I talked with my family beforehand about the details of the cleanse and that my time in the morning/evening would look a little different. Communicating my needs for their support was essential in the success of the cleanse. I had a therapy appointment scheduled and prior to my cleanse, I gifted myself a 90 minute massage. This allowed me the stamina I needed to support myself and also be given support by those around me.

Planning

I made a detailed plan for my morning/midday/night prior to the cleanse so I could follow through on my intentions and stay committed to the plan. A wise teacher during my Ayurvedic schooling put the emphasis on plans/goals like this: PREPARE do RECOVER. I can attest to the potency of this medicine so my preparations beforehand also included: daily schedule/routine, food prep, ordering organic fruits/veggies, scheduling workload to be lighter, cleaning my home, decluttering, and gathering all items I would use for the cleanse. The planning part was HUGE in the success of my cleanse.

Herbal Remedies

Herbal remedies are an intrinsic part of the cleansing process. I focused on dipana and pachana herbs for these 3 days as my focus was to repair agni and cleanse ama. Dipana refers to herbs that help enkindle agni (digestion) so these are taken prior to or with your meal (depending on your doshic needs). Pachana refers to herbs taken after a meal and these are used to literally "burn" ama. I ordered any herbs I needed and ground them fresh to increase their potency. My selection of herbs was done with precision and support from my Ayurvedic trainings.

Intention

Before I started my cleanse, I set this intention which became my mantra during those 3 days: "May I know I am worthy of the time and energy to care for my mind, body & spirit. May I honor the wisdom of Ayurveda & my body. May I commit to my health and well-being." Carrying these intentions and mantras with me were so helpful, especially when things didn't go as planned or I found my cravings (for sugar!!!) manifest. Setting the mindset that I would show up and not give up was also essential during this time. I would say the success of a cleanse is 20% in what you do and 80% your mindset.

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Now lets dive in to what my cleanse actually looked like. As I mentioned before, I chose a modified cleanse as to best allow successful completion of the 3 days and to include my family as much as possible. I repeated the same outline all 3 days.

Morning

Rise 6a (no screens)

Prayer|Gratitude|Mantra

Oil pull|Tongue scrape|Rose water eye-wash

Warm water w/ lemon

Herbal churna w/ ghee & warm water

Tea|Medication|Supplements

Full-spectrum light|Journaling

Meditation|Yoga|Pranayama

Workout

Dry brush|Gau sha|Abhyanga|Shower|Skin-care routine

Breakfast: Oatmeal w/ dates, ghee, cinnamon, cardamom, almond milk

More herbal tea

Get outside

Mid-day

Drink warm water 30 minutes before meal

Fresh ginger slices w/ lime & salt (dipana)

Prepare Kitchari

Clear & set table

Sacred Eating practice

Pitta Digest half-way through meal

15-20 minute walk

Lemon-ginger tea (pachana)

Evening/Night

4:30 done w/ work

Herbal tea

Prepare dinner (salmon, rice, vegetable)

Drink warm water 30 minutes before meal

Fresh ginger slices w/ lime & salt (dipana)

5/5:30 Sacred Eating Practice w/ family

Pitta Digest half-way through meal

15-20 minute walk

Lemon-ginger tea (pachana)

FAMILY TIME (each night varied)

Hot bath w/ Epsom salts & doTerra Balance|Book|Peppermint Tea

Abhynaga|Nasya

Prayer|Gratitude

Child's pose|Seated twist

Bed by 9:30p|Asleep by 10p

Now the big question--WAS I PERFECT?? No, I wasn't. I definitely had a few snacks, meals weren't eaten as slow and intentional as planned, and one of the days, I enjoyed a chocolate treat. However, if you notice, I use the word "PRACTICE" alot. That is my mindset behind everything that I do--this is a practice. If I were aiming for perfection I would be trapped where I was 10 years ago--sick and depressed. Ayurveda aims for optimal health AND allows you to be human. Both can live together. However, even though I wasn't 100% with everything each of the days I did my best to stay on track and adjust where I needed to. I felt SO much better afterwards and felt an energetic shift that was essential in the weeks to come as news of death and impending death came knocking.

Im here to tell you that YOU CAN DO THIS. You can live your life to its full, human capacity AND meet your needs along your health journey. If you aren't yet sure how to do that, consider a with me. I am here to serve you and your highest self. I have had so much help from a variety of healers on this journey and I am so grateful that I took the time and energy to invest in myself. You are worthy of love, care, and abundance. Just remember that.

Thanks for reading along and as always, please send comments & questions my way! I am happy to answer anything you may be curious about.

Have a beautiful day. Namaste.