Top 7 Reasons to Detox and Cleanse Your Mind, Body, and Spirit

I did the Master Cleanse right after the New Year hit and now I'm starting a 7-day juice fast as soon as I get my new juicer in. Juicing, cleansing, and fasting are ancient spiritual practices that promote healing, wellness, and spiritual transcendence and ascension. All of the ancient teachers practiced fasting in order to heal their bodies and to ascent to higher levels of spirituality.

There are many different types of fasts for many different people, lifestyles, likes, tastes and desires so I encourage you to find one that fits your tastes and just do it. But in the meantime here are some top ten reasons to cleanse and detox your mind, body, and spirit

• Weight Loss - Weight is nothing but waste in your digestive organs such as the colon or liver. Anytime you do a cleanse or detox of any sort, you are going to shed some pounds. Some will shed more than others. Even though I'm not looking to lose weight, usually when I do a detox I expect to lose about 5-7 pounds, but usually I gain the weight back when I stop doing the detox. The body's intelligence will know how much weight you need to lose or not to lose. Trust me if you are looking to lose weight you will, if you are not looking to lose weight, you will not.
  

• More Energy - With all the weight loss, your body naturally will have more physical, mental, and emotional energy. I always notice that I rise earlier, fall asleep better, and sleep less when I detox. The mornings are great for prayer and meditation so this is a wonderful time to really connect with Source and get back to your body's natural energetic rhythms.
  

• Clearer Skin - When the body releases toxins within, it shows on the outside. What's going on inside is going on outside so for those who need to have clear, bright, skin that shines, the right herbal detox is a great fit for getting that photogenic skin in gear.
  

• More mental and emotional clarity - This is a big One! With all the physical benefits of a detox, there are enormous other benefits as well. When the body is aligned, the mind and spirit become aligned as well. So the mind can deal with more things when it is clear and grounded. I notice how much more emotionally balanced and available I am to myself as well as to others. What can also happen though and for those who are extremely toxic in the body is that you can experience extreme mood swings when detoxing, but whatever emotion you have to detox it has to come to the light to heal so embrace the mood swings, take a nap if need be, journal about it, and keep on your detox. Clarity is a huge gift as it helps us to make better decisions, critically analyze, and otherwise see things that we normally would not see when we are bogged down physically in our bodies.
  

• Improved Immune system - After a detox, you will notice how you won't get as sick as much if you also continue to stick to a mostly raw and/or vegan/vegetarian diet that is diverse, nutritional, and full of greens. Or when you do get sick, your body will immediately work to heal itself and it will heal itself quicker. Years ago when I used to detox frequently, I noticed when I did get colds, they might have only lasted for a day. And when I first went raw, I came down with the flu for the first time, but it only lasted for two days. The body's intelligence starts to work overtime as it responds to how you are taking care of it.
  

• Better stress management - I don't know if I have more or less stress in my life or if I'm just better at handling it now than I was before. Doing a detox and also maintaining a really healthy diet and exercise program will reduce your unhealthy reactions to stress. Stress is a killer, but if we can learn how to respond to it differently, we can manage our health differently.

• Spiritual Ascension - When the body is purified and empty, your spirit now has the ability to transform itself without the distraction of toxins. Do not be surprised if your intuitive and psychic muscles start to activate. Cleansing and fasting is practiced all over the world in our churches, our mosques, and our synagogues as ways of purifying our lives and connecting to God more deeply.
  

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Nwenna Kai is the author of The Goddess of Raw Foods available for purchase at www.amazon.com and the upcoming children's book, The MoreLove's coming September 2010. You can get the FREE e-book Nwenna Kai's Holiday Recipes at her website www.nwennakai.com by signing up for her weekly e-newsletter at her website. She is the previous owner of Taste of the Goddess Cafe, one of LA's pioneering organic raw food cafes. She is the 2007 winner of the Elizabeth Dole Young Entrepreneurial Scholarship sponsored by Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) for her work as a health and wellness entrepreneur. Visit her website at www.the-guide-to-raw-foods.com and her blog at www.theguidetorawfoods.com/blogspot.com.