LIFE STEPS COACHING

Today is Day 3 of a 5 day juice fast. I discovered the benefits of juice fasting this year while on a yoga retreat and have since decided to fast on a routine basis. Quite simply, fasting is just taking a rest from food. The motivation for my very first fast was to facilitate good health and loose weight while at a yoga reatreat. I was also just partly curious to see what the experience had to offer me. Since then, however, my motivation has shifted as I've tuned into so many other levels of benefit resulting from fasting. This is my 4th fast since the original and this time i haven't even had the desire to do a before/after weight as I did previously. Instead, my intention is to use the fast as a guide for enhancing focus and self-discipline.

Willpower
Too often I let myself "off the hook" with clever excuses. A tricky little voice inside says something like "You planned to go to yoga class every other day this week, but what's the harm in skipping today's practice? It's only missing one class and afterall, sleeping in is good for your body too." In coaching we refer to this little voice as the "gremlin", "inner critic," or "shadow self" and it certainly makes many appearances during a fast! But the fast is allowing me to meet this little shadow head on because, as I persist in my focus, I can actually feel the pleasure and sensation of my body's health fortified through cleansing. It is the old psychology around successfully doing the thing that feels hardest for you that also enables the "I can do anything" attitude! For me, the juice fast feels wonderfully affirming, validating, motivating and confidence-building in this way. I feel totally surprised by this, too, as before ever having fasted, I would have imagined myself to never have the willpower to follow through on such a thing. So I am now seeing my fast like a building block that empowers change through sharper focus and healthy self-discipline.

Internal Focus
The fast is a totally internal experience, highlighting for me how miraculous my body is; how miraculous the human body is! I've always understood this in principle, but the fast gives me another access point to connect with my body on the level of Temple: something sacred, something mysterious, and powerful. I feel fine-tuned with the raw energy of physical transformation, and the mind-body connection. And for me, it is usually during times of full mind-body connection that the additional element of spirit becomes very strong and enabled.