21 Day Cleanse Eve

  I went to yoga tonight and heard an amazing story.  I didn't hear the specifics of the man's name, but the story is true.  An Indian man began practicing yoga at the age of five.  For every year old he was, he did that many sun salutations per day.  That means that at sixty years old he did sixty sun salutations.  Yes, you read correctly!  Sixty.  Sun salutations.  Every day!  The story goes that he was so in touch with his body and spirituality that one day he said that on a specific future date he would see Krishna (the deity he felt most connected to), meaning he was approaching his time to die and move on from our world.


  On the prescribed day, he was 105 years old.  He woke up, had some water, and did 105 sun salutations.  Again, you read correctly!  He followed with his typical routine and eventually went on to sing and chant.  Twenty minutes in, he threw his arms up in the air and proclaimed vitale!  At that moment, he left his body behind.


  Can you imagine being so healthy and in touch with your body and spirituality/faith that you know when your time to leave is coming?  What a novel concept!  Not only was he healthy enough to do 105 sun salutations, eat, and chant the day he died, but in the three days it took his family to travel to India to have the funeral he had zero rigor mortis.  The combination of his clean eating habits and yoga practice kept his muscles supple and allowed his body to stay healthy, even for that short time after his death.


  Is it coincidence that my yoga teacher stressed the importance of digestion the day before I begin Kris Carr's 21 day cleanse from Crazy Sexy Diet?  It's possible, but I don't think so.  I'm preparing for tomorrow, and I'm more excited than ever.  Below you can see a sneak peak of my tools and get a sense for the plan:

  My Mother was kind enough to share a coupon to Macy's so I could have my very own juicer!  This one is a centrifugal juicer, meaning that it's easy to clean but that the nutrients don't keep as long, so I'll be drinking up right away post juice concocting as well as locking the remaining green goodness in air tight mason jars (for those of you interested in doing this cleanse, I found some at World Market for under $2).

  What I'm most excited about is getting more fluids, cutting out the few processed foods still in my diet, and the Green Juice and Guru Smoothie recipes!  What I think will be hard is cutting out the extra servings of fruit I am notorious for downing and eating it by itself.  I've read in other resources that fruit is best on its own (check out Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman; she wrote the preface for SCD).  It will also be tough stopping noshing three hours before bed, especially because there are evenings when I am at the gym until 1 AM because of my schedule.

  I'm also glad to start now because my show is about to launch into dress rehearsals, not to mention yoga teacher training (also known as YTT) is right around the corner!  I want my body to be in an optimal place to receive all the wonderful information that will be learned in YTT.  Also, with all the processed gunk out of my system, that can clear up any hidden negative emotions sneaking and skulking around our subconscious regions, meaning I may end up having greater emotional capacity on stage.  It's a win win situation (despite how much I will miss my apple and chocolate-almond butter combo over the next three weeks).

  Tomorrow I will start my day with purified water and lemon (and a pinch of cayenne if we have any to boost circulation), followed by two cups of green tea (decaf since I have to sing!).  For breakfast and a snack later in the day I'll have Green Juice, and the rest of the day will be filled with yummy vegetables, hummus, quinoa, and raw almonds.  That mixed in with daily physical activity (yoga, running, and a resistance band routine with my best friend from third grade a few evenings a week) should make for an interesting few weeks!  I'll be updating you every step of the way!  Wish me luck!

Check out my new lululemon crops!

  If you take anything away from this post, I hope it's the inspiration to treat you and your body with the love and care that you deserve.  Treat yourselves like the amazing people you are!

Namaste!