Day 5
Good morning!
We have made it to the last day of juice! Today is one of my favorite days of the cleanse. I always find that mental clarity is heightened and that the senses get extra sharp. Decisions are easier to make with less brain fog. You may also notice that the sense of taste is stronger, and while you might be a little sick of juice, you can taste its flavors more.
Take the time to notice all of this today. With a clearer mind, you might come up with a breakthrough solution to a simple problem that once seemed more complicated. You may also uncover a greater awareness around the things that are serving you and the things that are not.
As we start aligning how we want to be nourishing ourselves with how we are nourishing ourselves, we seem to open a mental door that allows us to see other ways we can improve the quality of our lives and the lives of the people in it. This is an especially powerful time for setting intentions.
If you're feeling a bit lethargic today, there isn't anything wrong with you. Everyone moves through their own waves, and that differs during each individual cleanse as well. Detoxification is a process, and it is normal to feel off for as many as 5 days as you dislodge digestive toxins, especially if this is your first cleanse of any kind.
Make sure that you always have juice on hand and don't let too many hours go by without drinking it so that you don’t reach that super hungry point. By day three of the fast, a tall drink of juice should feel satiating and grounding.
Anytime you feel hungry or tired, sip juice or broth - try not to wait for meal times or excessive hunger. Tea is also a great choice on day three when you might be over drinking juice, as there are so many varieties out there, and the sweetness of tea and/or honey should be extra flavorful with a cleansed palate. It will also ground Vata if the lightness you feel seems excessive and difficult to manage.
Ayurveda repeats again and again that the natural urges should never be suppressed. Waiting long periods to eat or drink when you are hungry or thirsty, ignoring times when you need to use the bathroom, holding in gas and dismissing moments when you need to talk, cry or laugh will eventually lead to disease. So, if you're chilly, stop everything and put on a sweater and socks. If you're hot, take off a layer. Don't leave your house if you even slightly have to use the bathroom. Speak your mind in a kind way.
Tomorrow, you will transition back to solid food. This could pose a new challenge, as the urge to overeat may be strong. Try to tap into your higher mind to eat slowly and keep portions to about two handfuls (this is the standard guideline in Ayurveda). At the end of your meal, your stomach should be 1/3 full of food, 1/3 full of water, and 1/3 empty.
Anytime you break a fast, it is best to ease slowly back to solid food. To ensure easy digestion, I suggest juice or a smoothie for breakfast, and kitchari for lunch and dinner. You have a recipe in your manual, but feel free to add extra sea salt or pepper, or more well-cooked vegetables (perhaps from your vegetable broth tonight) to taste. The portion should be 1.5 - 2 cups of cooked kitchari.
Vegetable soup or kitchari again for dinner would be fine. Raw vegetables will probably be too hard on your digestive system tomorrow, so we'll save the salads for day 7 or 8. Make sure that in all of the excitement around solid food's return, you remember to eat slowly to avoid indigestion.
On the morning of day 7, you will drink the liver cleanse, which is made in a blender. The carrot juice (which can be picked up at a juice bar the night before), olive oil, garlic and ginger will penetrate the liver and help to clean out toxins that may be contributing to sluggishness, unexplained weight gain, dullness in the skin and hair and fatigue.
You may have already noticed a shift in one or more of these symptoms with the incorporation of so many liver superfoods, but you should see an even greater result in the weeks following the 2-day liver cleanse.
Enjoy your day, you’re doing an amazing job!
Warmly,
Lauren