I have always found the correlations between detoxing the body and detoxing the mind to be a fascinating insight into human nature.
In my lectures when I worked at Hippocrates Health Centre, I always talked to people how when they are juice fasting and detoxing, that quite often emotions and feelings will come up to be “released” as well. It is like these feelings were trapped in the body, and as toxins are released and eliminated, so too are the feelings buried within.
During a juice fast it is perfectly natural to have different thoughts and emotions surface – some people get very angry and irritable – which as a generalisation can mean that their liver is cleansing – others get weepy and teary, or a past incident might play on their mind. Whatever happens is quite OK, and part of the healing is to not buy into or get too caught in the feelings, but just observe them as they move through, and recognise any parts that need attention or greater work to resolve.
This is where I find journaling is so important and I make it an essential part of my Embracing Life! Retreat program. When these feelings come up, it is valuable to write out exactly how you are feeling – without censorship or judgement – and see what might be underneath these emotions. Quite often they lose their power when written down; and other times you realise that the issue you are writing about isn’t actually the issue at all – but relates to something completely different that you need to resolve.
There is enormous power in understanding that the body heals on all levels simultaneously. As you can’t selectively heal one area of the body on it’s own – as Charlotte Gerson famously says – “when you truly heal – EVERYTHING heals; you also can’t cleanse the body without some cleansing of the emotions too.
I talk about this in a lot more detail in my DVD, The Emotional Aspects of Healing.
Nearly everyone reports at the end of a detox that they feel lighter in body and mind; clearer in their thinking, it renews their passion in life, gives them a fresh outlook and highlights areas of their lives that need restructuring.
By taking the time to attend a retreat or participate in a cleanse, not only are you doing wonders for your body, you are also doing wonders for your state of mind – and that can always do with a shake up and clean out every now and then!
Leisa
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