During dry fasting (no solid and liquid intake), the body concentrates its energy on internal regeneration. Throughout the process, all organs of the body, including kidneys, are allowed to rest, accelerating the body’s natural healing process. In addition to being a unique physical experience, dry fasting comes with its own kinds of awakening, a place of communion with the self.
Number one step: intermittent dry fasting
It is often through health concerns that we are feeling a call to consider fasting or modifying our eating habits. Even though the attachment to food is enormous, through a gradual descent, the body gets used to a less and less dense intake. When I started to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables and no longer eat acidic foods, I heard about dry fasting and began to widen the daily dry fasting window with which I felt comfortable. Naturally, we dry fast during the night. How long is this daily window already? We can then add an hour each week to reach 12 hours (we then spend as much time empty as we do in contact with liquids and solids) and then 14 to 16 hours (or more). With this experience comes a sharp mental clarity. The morning hours can be focused on projects that we want to see blossom in this reality.
From 24 to 36 hours and more
After 8 to 12 weeks of experimentation and without forcing, I signed up for my first 24-hour dry fast (from 2pm to 2pm the next day). Before doing so, diet has to be simplified if possible over several weeks, if not at least one week before: elimination of stimulants, dairy products and animal flesh, industrial food and cereals to tend towards remineralizing plants, hydrating fruits, soups (including raw soups) and juices. Before starting, and also when breaking the fast, a colon enema at home using a pear or a kit, with preferably filtered water heated at room temperature, with the juice of half a lemon (possibly accompanied by a decoction of plants such as camomile) will greatly support the process. Distillation units are affordable and quickly paid back. The water can be used for watering plants, for our pets, to prepare infusions, to soak and clean fruits or make broths and so on. After distillation, there are simple tools (a cork or a vortex bottle, crystals, a few drops of lemon) to revitalize and reinform the water. Plant inctures or decoctions supporting the kidneys (dandelion, juniper berries, parsley, nettle, burdock, plantain, marshmallow, fenugreek) are welcome before and after dry fasting.
Once comfortable with the new established record, the challenge can be set to aim for a window of between 32 and 36 hours (from 8pm to the morning of the day after). I’ve pushed the experiment to 53 hours of dry fasting and while this is totally feasible, it requires more discipline to set into place and has to be done gradually. One can prepare oneself psychologically for the absence of solid food by thanking one’s body in advance for the cleansing work that it is about to perform and by preparing to start the experience in a clean living space and with the necessary resources for breaking the fast. Personally I opt for a non-strict dry fast where I still brush my teeth (with the minimum amount of water), wash my hands and do the dishes (the skin absorbs a very small amount of water). Strict dry fasting avoids all contact with water. The benefits of strict dry fasting and non-strict dry fasting are largely similar. It is preferable to let the body guide the path with intuition and discipline without authoritarian control or purely intellectual imposition.
What happens when we dry fast?
As many of us are dehydrated at the cellular level, it is possible to experience a state of weakness, fatigue, dizziness or a feeling of dry mouth. Dry fasting can reveal the true state of internal dehydration. This dehydration reveals an interstitial acidity that has not found its way out. Often, the most difficult part of the challenge is mental, with all the emotions that are rising. A state of euphoria, joy or liberation can also be experienced. Sleep will certainly be shortened as a result and things will go back to normal as soon as the fast is over. It’s easier to know what is ours and what isn’t. Doubts that were previously persistent suddenly come with an extremely clear and distinct perception.
The intestines and kidneys are allowed to rest, the lymphatic system then works on eliminating lymphatic waste trapped in the body, after the kidneys have been locked in and stopped their role of filtration. This lack of filtration can be observed by looking at the quality of our urine: if it is transparent and without sediment, the kidneys do not filter. Cleansing this acidic waste is a long-term process considering the chronic acidic state in which most of us live. The most stable and balanced way to proceed is to include dry fasting as a part of the general hygiene of life.
During dry fasting, as the day can be long, it is an ideal time to incorporate an additional detoxification practice such as the use of ear candles to relieve the head area. We can prepare the dry fast or end it with a castor oil pack treatment (preferably from a glass container) and cayenne pepper. It can be applied to the stomach one or two hours before sleep or throughout the whole night, wrapped in bandage wraps and accompanied by something containing hot water to provide a warming effect. Castor oil externally helps to desolidify the hardened congestions in the body and to facilitate evacuation. This helps too to find sleep more easily.
Counter-indications
It is considered risky to change from an acidic diet rich in proteins and low in living elements to drastic fasting as the kidneys may become overloaded. A food descent to prepare for the dry fast a few days before and an ascent will allow the organism not to be shocked. The ideal diet is mostly raw and rich in ripe fruits, coconut water (ideally ordered fresh on the internet or in last ressort pasteurized), fresh sprouts, vegetables and vegetable juices, bringing structured water to the body allowing a progressive cellular rehydration. We can begin to observe when at the end of one meal, we are feeling quite thirsty, revealing the dehydrating character of the meal we have just consumed. This is an excellent opportunity to become more aware of what is really nourishing and hydrating for the body and what is not. It is recommended to be careful also in case of frequent urinary infections and to stabilize with intermittent dry fasting until the situation improves.
Breaking the fast
A liter of fruit juice (grapes, lemons, oranges, pomegranates, tangerines, even some pineapples or kiwis) will act as a powerful scrubber: it is highly likely that the body will take advantage of this to flush out the acids and metabolic waste, dislodging them from the tissues. It seems important to pay particular attention to the rehydration phase (ideally it will last twice the time of the dry fast). We can sometimes feel a bit weakened when breaking the fast, sometimes more than during the fast. Sticking to fruit juices, coconut water, birch sap and vegetable juices for the first 24 hours helps greatly. After that it’s preferable to opt for alkalizing foods (whole fresh fruits, homemade compotes, soups and lightly seasoned gazpachos made from tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and zucchinis for example) as acidic or salty food can cause kidney discomfort. Fasting makes it possible to leave behind habits that do not serve us (coffee, stimulants, sugars, fats). It allows us to reset our taste buds (it is very likely that fasting will have a positive influence on irrepressible food cravings); it allows us to boost the immune system, to stimulate intellectual, emotional and spiritual acuity and to feel rejuvenated. The relationship with food is being pacified.
Go further
- Buying organic plants harvested with love or growing our own, making our own tintures encoded with our own healing intentions
- Investing in a distiller (as Megahome with glass carafe, about 250€, can be bought second-hand), a vortex bottle or a vortex Creator Plug (Quantum Balancing).
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