Fasting Journal, Day Four - Relaxing the Right Way

Just like physical exercise, relaxation is as much an essential part of the fast. The best idea is to spread them out both evenly during the day. Most ideally we should do some of both in the morning, as well as in the afternoon, in a way that seems most appropriate.

After waking up a bit of stretching is always nice, and after breakfast a morning walk (or swim) may be a good idea, followed by some meditation, and another type of exercise before lunch. After lunch a siesta is called for, followed by an afternoon hike, and eventually dinner. This is of course just a suggestion, it doesn't mean that it must be followed to the letter. One thing the fast does require is a daily liver pack, for which the siesta offers itself ideally.

Detoxifying the Liver

Every day after lunch, we fill up a hot-water bottle, and take it to bed with us. This is the indispensable siesta, of at least an hour. During this time the heat from the bottle liberates toxins that have been stored in our liver, accumulating for years. This practice is an essential part of the detoxifying part of the fast. Please keep in mind, that once the toxins are liberated they get into our blood stream, and eventually into our urine. So flushing them out by drinking plenty of water is essential, or else we intoxicate ourselves again. Another reason for good hydration.

Keeping a Peace of Mind

Clearing ourselves of poisons also applies to the mind. Imagine all the nasty things we keep absorbing mentally, day by day, year by year! The fast also gives us the opportunity to get rid of these mental toxins, or at least we should not actively introduce more things that stress us. This means, paying attention to what we put into our minds while we fast. Reading horror or crime novels are probably not your best bet, let alone listening to the news! Even scrolling through social media might have a stressful effect, at least in my experience, so I'd suggest to refrain from it. The worst thing we can do, though, is engage in stressful communication with ... whoever stresses us. So please, no business calls during the fast, and stay clear from interpersonal conflicts.

In my case, the location I'm currently in offers perfect peace. A rare thing to find in Mexico City, which is why I brought my only attempt at fasting there to an early end. Here I'm surrounded by the call of exotic birds, the constant roll of the ocean surf, with the only annoying sound being the occasional engine struggling up the hill. And sure, using a hot-water bottle in the afternoon heat might be counter intuitive, but in fact it's not too uncomfortable. It provides for a relaxing hour in the hammock.