Dating back over 6,000 years, water fasting has been an integral healing modality used by many cultures, traditions, and religions. Often called the “universal cure,” water fasting is used to cure sickness, disease and restore the body to equilibrium. Beyond physical benefits, water fasting offers very transformative and healing experiences mentally.
Before embarking on your own water fast, it is important to have knowledge and understanding of this practice so that you do not disrupt that balance of your mind and body complex. If you are looking for a gentle introduction to fasting, intermittent fasting and juice cleansing offer a great place to start.
What is Water Fasting?
Water fasting is exactly how it sounds, you wake up, and drink water all day as a method of cleansing and detoxifying the body. A typical fast lasts anywhere from 24 hours to 7 days, and many people who have serious ailments to heal from do them for longer
We use over 40% of our daily energy digesting and absorbing food, and this can be even higher for people with illness and digestive issues. But when you fast, your body can redirect that energy back into healing.
Water Fasting Benefits
When we fast, the body goes into ketosis and full detoxification mode – our liver cleans out, our kidneys clean out, and our body starts to push toxins out through the 4 channels of elimination: perspiration, respiration, defecation and urination.
One study from the University of California Berkeley found that a three day water fast serves your body by resetting your immune system and activating the stem cells that enable you to perform at your optimum level.
How to do a Water Fast the Sanctuary way:
At the Sanctuary we curated very tailored programmes to each and every guest. With that being said, water fasts are more straightforward in nature, which is why we offer two main protocols:
- 24-36 Hour Fast: During this time you will consume only water and coconut water.
- 48-72 Hour Fast: During this time you will consume only water and coconut water.
There is much that goes into water fast beyond simply drinking water and fasting. During a water fast, many emotions arise that can feel very intense. The way we process these emotions is fundamental to our healing journey, which is why we have a very experienced in-house medical team, ayurvedic doctor and yoga teacher available to you 24/7. Our team is dedicated to holding space for you as you enter deeper states.
FAQ:
How do you keep from starving?
Our body has glucose reserves that are basically reserves of nutrients from foods we have eaten yesterday, last week, last month, last year, and even throughout our lifetime. When we take a break from eating and digesting foods, our body dips into those nutrient reserves to provide energy.
The most difficult time is the first 72 hours. During the first 72 hours, we are using up the stored glucose in our body. As our bodies begin going into ketosis, we begin to burn fat for fuel instead of relying on glucose.
Can I exercise?
It is strongly advised not to exercise on a water fast, so without that energy output your body will be focused on restoring, rejuvenating, and reactivating from the inside out.
Who can and can’t do this?
Technically anyone CAN do water fast, but it is important that you feel in a stable place mentally and physically with food.
Worth noting, someone coming from eating the Standard American Diet (SAD) would want to clean up their diet before they start a water fast. Switching over to a (mostly) plant-based diet full of veggies, fruits, leafy grains, grains, and legumes and then going into drinking all water for a day is the way to go, to ease your body into it.
What are the spiritual benefits?
Removing the digestive process for a period of time enhances the gut-brain connection and allows us to draw deeper into our soul and our solar plexus chakra to get answers to our deepest questions.
Many people express feeling more connected to nature. When we are more fluid in our bodies, we also become more fluid with the world around us. You will feel more euphoria and one with nature. Water fasting helps to clear brain fog, which is ideal for meditation, yoga, and all around spiritual healing. This is a great time to practice automatic writing, meditation, self-care rituals, crystal healing, and more.
Final Words
Water fasting has been one of the greatest healing techniques in history and continues to be so today. Our bodies accumulate toxins that clog our body filters and can create disease. It is important to cleanse and detoxify our bodies so that we can live optimally. If you are seeking water fast, we are happy to support you on this journey. Please ask any questions and make sure to consult a doctor before.
