This was the first day of the 3-day juice fast and I was not looking forward to it. I have never been able to make it a day on liquids, so I was worried about how I was ever going to make it three whole days. But I was here to go through the process, so I made a commitment to follow the program to a “T”. The philosophy here is focused on cleaning out all parts of the body that store toxins. The way our bodies accomplish this task is by giving the digestive track a rest through juice fasting. When your body has no food to digest, it can take that energy and use it to clean itself out. The other two parts of this program that no one really ever talks about is the overwhelming use of wheat grass and colon cleansing. So, I’ll lay it on the table for you.
Wheat grass is the cornerstone of this program, and for a very good reason. Wheat grass is pure goodness (but taste like chewing a lawn). It is high in anti-oxidants, protein, and has an amazing ability of pulling toxins out of the body. So, while you’re on the program, you are encouraged to drink at least 4 ounces of wheat grass a day, which leads me to the next part of the program. A clean colon; yup, and it makes sense once you understand how your body works. The colon is the last place where our bodies absorb nutrients from the liquid food matter. Finally, our colon sucks out all the goodness and then we are off to the ladies’ room to powder our nose.
So, you can imagine if you keep using the same vacuum for 40 years that there is a good chance the filter is not working very well and that your carpets are not getting very clean — same with the colon. Most people have years of residue (toxins!) stuck to their colon walls from poor eating habits. Therefore. to really detox, you got to clean out the trunk! And part of the cleanse includes cleaning it with that amazing wheat grass. So, between waves of dizziness and chills, I had to clean my bootie. Now, back to my day.
Breakfast was a juice made with a bunch of green vegetables. I’ll be honest, it looked like hell; it was an odd concoction the color of rotten lettuce. But after adding some garlic powder, cayenne, and dried dill I pretended it was a virgin Bloody Mary and it tasted quite refreshing. At OHI, they teach you to “juice your food and to chew your juice.” So after taking 20 minutes to “Chew” a 10-once glass of juice, I was ready for the day.
One of the bodily reactions to detoxing is to get really cold. Basically, your body is expelling toxins at a very fast rate, which takes up a lot of energy to do and you get really chilly. I started to get really cold and wrapped myself in a few sweatshirts even though it was 80 degrees outside. We still had classes to attend and I could tell that people were starting to get loopy because of the detox process. I kept loosing my book while others forgot names and the days of the week.
Classes included “Elimination” and “Emotional Detoxification.” There is so much to learn about how our bodies work and I just treated my body with gentleness and did the best I could to listen and learn.
Lunch was another glass of the green stuff. Once again I added my potpourri of spices and chewed my lunch. Dinner’s juice was a bit redder in color, I think they added beets and carrots this time. By the end of the day I was exhausted, both physically and emotionally. Detoxing also brings up stored emotions that have been stuck in your body and instead of pushing them back down, you get to deal with them there.
Everyone here is going through the same process, so there is deep sense of community and love. I was the “Designated Hugger” for the week, so anytime anyone needed a hug, they would come to me. It really was a special feeling to be with people who knew exactly what I was going through.
I did not sleep well that night. I felt like I had a fever. Once asleep, I would wake up every hour in a clammy sweat. It sucked, but I know that I am really doing something profoundly important for my body.
