Master Cleanse

I am on Day Seven of the Master Cleanse. It is arguably one of the world's most famous cleansing programs. The Master Cleanse was created by Stanley Burroughs in 1941. Author of "Healing for the Age of Enlightenment" and "The Master Cleanse", Stanley was renowned for his research into the role of toxemias in disease. Stanley experimented with cleansing techniques and discovered that drinking a mixture of organic Maple syrup, Organic Lemon, distilled Water and cayenne pepper throughout a ten day period would clean all of the systems of the body and detoxify the body.

Throughout the cleanse, the water nourishes the cells and keeps the body hydrated while the vitamin-rich lemons help to loosen and break up mucus in the body. Grade B Maple Syrup is one of the most balanced of all sugars- it keeps sugar levels balanced to avoid unnecessary spikes in hunger or extreme lows in energy levels. Finally, cayenne pepper is a blood vessel dilator, thermal warmer, and valuable source of vitamin A.

Stanley believed that toxicity was the main reason for disease and the root of many of the problems that our bodies experience. Over the last thirty years, people all around the world have taken part in this fast and have cured themselves of everything from infertility, diabetes, back pain, ulcers, and more. While I am not claiming that this cleanse can heal everything, I firmly believe that the Cleanse can take you to a whole new level of living!

The idea of not eating anything for 10 days is scary. Immediately, you realize just how much time and energy you put into thinking about eating, getting the food, preparing the food, eating the food, cleaning up from eating and then eliminating the food. The body requires enormous amounts of energy to process food. How do you think you will feel when that energy is not being spent on food? At times, the energy can be overwhelming.

When people tell me "I could never do that" I say "That's right, you can't." You will do whatever your mind tells you that you can or cannot do. Understanding the power of the mind is what begins to elevate human beings. Maybe it's time to clean up and clean out your mind and body—it was for me.

Yoga Systems

In a previous Blog I wrote about how my Hatha Yoga was taking a backseat to my Yoga Running. The average reader has probably never been introduced to Yoga running and thinks of yoga as an activity that involves stretching. This is a limited view of yoga and without some knowledge of yoga, how would anyone know? The word yoga comes from the Sanskrit word yuj which means to yoke. Visualize two oxen pulling a plow—the thing connecting the two of them is called a yoke. The word yoga means two forces working together to create a singular action.

Classically you have 6 major systems of yoga

1. Hatha Yoga—yoking physical postures (asana) and breathing techniques (pranayama)
2. Karma Yoga—yoking our actions with the benefit of others
3. Bhakti Yoga—yoking our life with God through devotion
4. Raja Yoga—Royal path or the Eight Fold Path. Path outlines guidelines for yoking our life with God
5. Jnana Yoga—the study of scriptures in the pursuit to attain more knowledge helping us come to a greater awareness of God
6. Kriya Yoga—is a complete system covering a wide range of techniques, including mantras and techniques of meditation for control of the life-force, bringing calmness and control of both body and mind.

From a contemporary standpoint, most serious yoga practitioners are practicing all six systems. In the west most of us come to the yoga practice via Hatha Yoga—as we stick with the practice we become curious and start reading yoga books. Now we are practicing Jnana yoga. Through the process of gaining knowledge we become more aware of where we are creating stress in our lives and the lives of those around us. In this stage we are practicing Raja Yoga. As we refine our lives we become more conscious of the seeds we are planting through our words and actions. Now we begin practicing Karma Yoga. We discover that the true purpose of Hatha Yoga is to sit in meditation and come into deeper levels of stillness. We are now practicing Kriya Yoga. Finally we begin to contemplate the face of God and what God means to us. The veil of egotism begins to lift and Bhakti Yoga becomes a moment to moment practice.

While it seems like I am suggesting that this is a linear progression, it is not at all. This is a 360 degree dynamic process that keeps unfolding and unwinding within us and around us. Yoga is something we do—it is also something that we are. As we begin to understand the profundity of this ancient science it becomes evident that yoga is our birthright all aspects of life can be yoga. When I am running if I maintain awareness of my mind and body then running takes on the traits of yoga. For me this is changing my relationship with running.