I’m writing this post as I sit inside a cozy A-frame log cabin in a canyon north of Santa Barbara California. My family and I have come here, to this wilderness location to get away from the city for a few days and in essence we are here to detox from our modern lives. We have limited access to phone and internet connections as well as modern cooking equipment.

What are we doing?

To outsiders it might seem that we are giving up a lot. In fact we are even paying money to the cabin owner for this natural experience. But we are also beginning to notice the simple things that we never would have noticed without taking a break from our hectic schedules. And it’s making a great improvement in our lives.

Simplicity

In just a few short days we’ve noticed a bluebird on our picnic table, the fresh scent of California lavender, and the sound of a single falling leaf. These all remind us to slow down the pace, practice being in the moment, and cleanse our souls.  Juice cleansing is also based on this same simple detox principle. Your body needs a break from the hectic routine of eating on the go and often eating the wrong kinds of foods.

Slow down and practice being in the moment. Drink fresh juices to recharge your physical (and spiritual) health. As you do this you will begin to notice the little things too. Here’s a list of five benefits you might experience on a juice fast cleanse:

Five Benefits of a Juice Fasting Cleanse

1. increased energy
2. better skin tone
3. reduced cravings for junk food
4. improvement in chronic conditions
5. clearer mental focus

Detox Naturally

At first it might seem like you are giving up a lot but your body knows how to heal itself if you give it a vacation. After juice cleansing for a few days the gastrointestinal tract will begin to clear itself of the residue accumulated from a busy lifestyle and unhealthy eating. It’s so amazing that such simple actions can help you recharge quickly and greatly improve your life.

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One can often feel the juicing benefits simply by starting to drink one juice per day.  This may include better mental clarity, and a feeling of well-being, clearer sinuses, improved digestion and elimination.  By continuing to consume juices on a regular basis, or say during a complete juice cleanse, the benefits increase.  The skin may feel softer and have an improved, younger look, the body may appear slimmer, the toxic buildup in the body can be reduce and the immune system may be stronger.

While these may seem like miraculous improvements, juice cleansing simply restores the body to its natural state. These juicing benefits indicate how a normal body should be performing.  By consuming the nutrients of fresh fruit and vegetable juices, this can be a fun and easy way to restore health.

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Fasting
There’s a hidden sweetness
in the stomach’s emptiness.

We are lutes, no more, no less.
If the sound box is stuffed
full of anything, no music.

If the brain and the belly
are burning clean with fasting,
every moment a new song
comes out of the fire.

The fog clears, and a new
energy makes you run up the
steps in front of you.

Be emptier and cry like
reed instruments cry.
Emptier, write secrets with
the reed pen.

When you’re full of food and drink,
Satan sits where you
spirit should, an ugly metal
statue in place of the Kaaba.

When you fast, good habits gather
like friends who want to help.

Fasting is Solomon’s ring.
Don’t give it to some illusion
and lose your power.

But even if you’ve lost all
will and control, they come
back when you fast,
like soldiers appearing out
of the ground, pennants
flying above them.

A table descends to your
tent, Jesus’s table.
Expect to see it, when you
fast, this table spread with
other food better than the
broth of cabbages.

–Rumi

Earlier this spring a writer at Elle magazine researched the juice cleanse craze by trying it herself. She called her excitement “juice mania” and was thrilled by sluggish feelings brought on by the detoxification process (though her gurus don’t like the word detox as it’s too trendy.) She doesn’t mention consulting a health professional before beginning her cleanse, but she did consult one after going too long and too far with her “juice mania” and getting sick.

Mania, I guess, is a good word for the mentality that gets us into these situations. We buy into the hype, believing we can achieve perfection and look like a celebrity in a matter of days. It’s not the juice’s fault if we get sick. We forget that prior to 5 days of eating healthy we’ve stuffed our bodies full of junk food gradually, day, by day for months, even years.

A juice cleanse should be approached with careful planning and clear objectives. Take it slow. The turtle wins the race. Do some research and get a reference book. Talk to a health professional. High fashion comes and goes. You want your health to stay.

You can read her full article here.