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Fasting For Health: What are the
benefits of Fasting?
by Dada Vedaprajinananda, copyright, 2004
Fasting is one of the secrets of long life. Your body,
and your digestive organs in particular, are required to work and work
without any vacation. You know that you require rest from your work or
your school from time to time. In the same way, your digestive system
needs a rest from time to time.
Periodic fasting provides the rest for your digestive system. It allows
your digestive system to recuperate from the rough treatment that you may
have given it by overeating or eating the wrong foods or eating at the
wrong time.
In addition fasting also provides an opportunity to eliminate many toxins
from your body. After fasting, you should take some lemon water with a bit
of salt. This drink helps to flush the digestive system, eliminating waste
material that might otherwise remain in the body if you didn't fast.
Fasting also helps you to keep a balanced mind in spite of the attraction
of the moon on the fluids of your body. That is why our fasting system is
timed in relation to the moon. The eleventh day after the new and full
moons is the time when this attraction is very strong. If you fast during
this period, then the emptiness of the stomach pulls down liquids that
would otherwise rise up in your body under the attraction of the moon.
Finally fasting also gives you a chance to save some time and use that
time for spiritual pursuits. In order to eat, you may have to spend time
shopping, cooking, cleaning and of course eating. If you fast, you can use
that time to do meditation, to read or some other valuable pursuit.
This system of yogic fasting has a duration from Sunrise to Sunrise. You
begin at Sunrise on the fasting day and eat nothing. If your body is
strong you can also refrain from drinking anything. On the next day, you
can break the fast with lemon water, as I have mentioned above, and then
with fruit and other suitable food.
Some people think that fasting is difficult. If you prepare yourself for
fasting it is not difficult. Prepare yourself physically by taking enough
food and also plenty of liquids the day before. Prepare yourself mentally
by deciding the night before fasting: "Tomorrow is fasting day, and I am
not going to eat anything." If you take this mental determination prior to
the fasting day, you will not be hungry during the fasting day. If you
don’t make a prior determination, during the fasting day you will start to
think “Maybe I should eat, and fast another day!” Decide before hand and
you will be able to complete your fast..
All in all, fasting is one of the best practices for maintaining physical,
mental and spiritual health. I highly recommend it.
If you want to learn more about
fasting and how it can play a role in an effective, easy and
healthy weight loss program, be sure to get our ebook, Yoga Weight Loss
Secrets. Visit our main page, or use the
download link below.
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