Healing Benefits of Cleansing

As I was preparing for my cleanse, I became aware of the healing effects of cleansing. Weight loss is obvious, but that benefit isn't enough of a driver for me to disrupt my life for nine days. Even considering the all-you-can-eat vacation, I was ok with my weight. But fasting and cleansing has been linked to all sorts of healing, which was very intriguing to me. Cleansing gives the body the chance to release the toxins it absorbs through the environment, processed/treated foods, products we put on and in our bodies, cleaning products, and even negative mental states. It gives the body the chance to convert from an acidic internal environment to alkaline, which is important for preventing and fighting disease. 

On the first day of my cleanse I made a point of noticing any areas in my body which had been causing me pain or discomfort for any length of time. I have had pain in my right hip for many weeks. I also have had a sensitive elbow since I fell on it two summers ago. If I put pressure on it I get a stab of pain. Something has also been going on with my shoulder the last few weeks. When I breath deeply it makes a jagged adjustment, as though it is clicking into position (the feeling your knuckles make if you "crack" them). I wanted to see how those areas might be impacted by the end of the cleanse. 

The first few days I noticed that none of these areas got better - in fact, they got worse! My hip pain flared right up, to the extent that my hip was the first thing I noticed for 2-3 days when I stepped out of bed in the morning. I also had pain all through my back for a day or two. Not muscular pain, but general pain running throughout my back. I noticed, too, that my gums were terribly sensitive when I brushed my teeth. I do experience some sensitivity from time to time in small areas of my mouth, but this was greater pain than normal and covered a larger area. 
 
Most of this pain subsided by the halfway point of my nine day cleanse. The gum sensitivity went on a little longer. I attribute those pains with the toxins being released from my body and moving through to be eliminated.

It's funny how sometimes things get worse right before they get better. You can see this even with meditation or other similar practices. I went to a breath work clinic a couple of months ago, and some people have very emotional experiences with that experience. You breath deeply for an hour and things get released in various ways, and that release manifests in different ways for everyone. In order for it to be released it has to be really seen.

As I write this I am in my final day of the cleanse. Yay!! So, it's really too early to say exactly what the verdict is on my pain points. My hip is feeling fine at the moment, but I know even as recently as a couple of nights ago it was sore in the evening so I will keep watching it. I do feel improvement in the elbow, but it's not totally resolved at this point. My shoulder is still making it's adjustment with my deep breaths, but it is not as pronounced. My gums feel a lot better when I brush my teeth, but there is still a bit of sensitivity in some small parts.

So, from a healing perspective I have not found the cleanse (so far) to have completely cleared up everything, although I do think it has provided a noticeable difference. It has had a wonderful impact on my energy. I normally feel tired in the afternoon and have not felt that little crash I normally have. When I meditate I feel much lighter energetically and feel that I am coming to my meditations from a higher point - I begin my meditations from a place I normally achieve after I've had my mind stilled for a while. And, yes, I definitely have lost weight. I don't know how much because I didn't think to weigh myself (and I don't think I have a scale anyway), but I can see in my face and by how my clothes fit that I am lighter than before I started.

I still have a few hours to go until I have completed the cleanse. I would imagine as the benefits took a few days to build up as my body turned more alkaline that I can ride the wave for a few more days even as I bring more variety into my diet. Let the healing continue!

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