Ariadna and Issy at April’s cooking workshop on cleansing

I’ve recently had a chance to do a much needed fast/cleanse for which I’m most grateful for. I’ve been doing fasts since I was 17. This last one might have been one of the best yet. During the first month of our move you see, getting pots and pans to cook with was an adventure, which at times involved leaping. Hence we (heavily) relied on takeaways, frozen food and left overs (gasp!). Yes, not ideal and certainly detrimental to digestion.

The situation improved in the months that followed, yet by the time April arrived, I could feel the burden the poor diet had created on every cell of my being. I needed to detox and detox I did. Perhaps one of my longest detox so far, for a period of three full weeks. As the days went by, I felt better and better, mentally clearer and happy as I renewed myself inside out.

Cleansing is perhaps one of the most simple and yet most effective ways of healing (maybe the most cost effective too). You can do it at home, whilst on holidays (my favourite), or at a retreat with the help of a professional. It is important for a cleanse to be appropriately done though. Otherwise we risk causing an imbalance to our Vata (the bio-element that runs the nervous system), and our Prana (the vital force that glues the body, mind and soul). If that were to happen, we might end up in a worse place than we started.

A simple vegetarian diet with plenty of moong bean and vegetables like courgettes, carrots, broccoli, spring greens and asparagus (they’re now in season) might just do the trick. Certain Ayurvedic remedies also work wonders in the cleansing process. Do get in touch if you’ll like to get started with your cleanse, and you’ll like some guidance. It’s not too late and your body and mind will thank you for it. If you find yourself either tired, sluggish, bloated, constipated, suffering with generalised pains and aches, lacking good skin complexion and mental clarity, chances are high that your digestive system is overloaded with ama- toxins, and you need to cleanse.