Prelude: Let the Cleansing Begin

This month I've elected to go on a cleansing diet as part of a workshop Stacy and I are taking called 'Ground Into Fall.' The workshop combines making dietary changes for four weeks (more on that later) with learning more about Anusara Yoga principles (more on that later, too), along with four yoga sessions. I took the course primarily as a means of evaluating my eating habits, checking my dependency on certain foods and beverages (could I really live without coffee? beer or wine every 2-3 nights? cheese?). Like most folks, I feel more tired, lethargic, and susceptible to illness when the cold and dark rolls in.

Our course leaders, owners of the local yoga studio I frequent and one of their fellow instructors, who is a naturopath, raised a really interesting point. It's also ironic, our instructors say, that at the time of year we should be preparing ourselves and our immune systems for a metabolic slowdown and winter weather, we have two holidays that compel us to load up on sugary sweets (Halloween) and gorge ourselves (Thanksgiving). It's also easier to increase the uptake of stimulants (caffine, aka coffee for me) or depressants (alcohol), and comfort foods that are carb-rich or may actually increase inflammation and stuffiness (wheat, dairy).

I thought about that and the fact that a lot of us take the time to put away our summer and bring out our winter wardrobes and winterize our houses (I recently cleaned gutters, brought in firewood, and installed storm doors, for instance), but don't think much about 'body weatherization.'

The next 30 days will help address a series of questions, and of course, challenges: can the guy who claims he can eat virtually anything (except mayonaise-ugh) hold off on the foods and drinks he loves? How will I feel if I cut certain foods and substances out of my diet? Better? Worse? What will I eat? What did I learn from this, if anything.

This is also another chapter in the "Hell, I just turned 40, it's time to shake some things up around here" novella. I've never been on a cleansing diet for more than 24 hours.

So here goes...wish me luck.