Cleansing, Self Care, and Intention

I started my juice fast today. I actually fasted most of the day for personal and religious purposes and then broke that fast with juice only. I didn't think it would be a good idea to fast, eat regularly for a meal and then go to juice fasting in the morning. So, my cleanse has begun. I am feeling low energy and a headache at the moment. Those are normal signs of a cleansing. As the toxins move out, it sometimes doesn't feel very good. I will drink some more water in a few minutes and then head to bed.
So, why do I do these juice fasts? I have been doing them regularly since I learned about them from my mom, who is a master herbalist, about maybe 15 years ago. Actually, I'm now remembering trying different diets/cleanses when I was even in high school, just because I was interested in health and keeping my body healthy. Our body builds up toxins from regular daily life, from foods - even if you try to eat fairly healthy, from our environment, and even from toxic emotions. Giving my body a time to rest from digesting food, and then aiding it in letting go of what it doesn't need, has been a helpful practice. I find my body starts to ask for this cleansing time, I feel I need it. Sometimes I put it off, but eventually I make it happen. My mom says that doing a cleanse starting each new season isn't too much. I don't do it quite that often.
I've tried different types of cleanses over the years, but the one I do most often is the 3-day juice fast taught by Dr. John Christopher. You start with prune juice in the morning and then alternate water and apple juice every half hour throughout the day. Yes, lots of bathroom time. But I'm glad to take the time to do this for myself.
It's called self-care. And as we make self-care a practice, a ritual, whatever that looks like for you, we are better able to approach our lives and our relationships with peace and authenticity. So this brings me to gratitude for an opportunity to practice self-care and self-love. And then to make it more powerful, I will set an intention for this time.
I declare this to be a time of de-cluttering my body, my home, and my mind; a time to be more internally focused and a time to show love and care for myself.
I wondered what would happen if I just kept writing this blog entry. It took me a few minutes, but I got to what I needed, making the intention. Intention brings more purpose to the things that we do, makes them more meaningful. And so for tonight, I am complete. ~Julie