Rejuvenation & peachy times

The final part of the Ayurvedic cleanse & a perfect sky

Warm words

The sun is low in the sky lighting up purple clouds with peach flurries. 7.30 pm here in the U.K. as I write this post and it’s so peaceful. The lighter days are returning bringing a feeling of new life.

There’s a tree outside my window that was pollarded last autumn. I’m looking at its thick patchy trunk and branches, the peeling bark shines peachy highlights, as the sun paints it warm. Soon the tree will be a silhouette. Behind there is a church, now lived in, with tinted brickwork from the last of the evening sun. A single cross on the roof apex, where a single wood pigeon sits cooing. So much to celebrate. A crow flies out from behind the church and across the now pink and deeply purple sky. Followed by a single seagull diving down through the deep purple and pink. I drink this in to nourish my bones, as the little patch of planet where I live starts to lose sight of the sun. It’s been a perfect blue sky day.

This years spring cleanse

This year I kept the active stage of my cleanse to three days — that stage is explained here. I am spending 3 months on the final stage which has two parts, reintroduction and rejuvenation, because I had a bout of Covid at the end of last year that really knocked out my immune system. If you are feeling the same, and know your body is undernourished you may like to do this too.

Reintroduction

This stage is for easing your body out of detox mode, you can spend the same amount of time you spent on the first two stages, eating simple foods that are warm, well-cooked and mushy with texture similar to the kitchari. Make some of your meals a bowl of kitchari, but use mungs beans and add in a good selection of vegetables. Include ghee and digestive spices like asafoetida, black pepper, cardamon, cayenne, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, fennel, ginger, mint, turmeric. Continue to eat your main meal at lunchtime — take it with you in a food flask if you are back at work. Gradually bring back o your normal diet.

This is a great time to think about whether there is anything you would benefit from having less of. For example I won’t be reintroducing regular coffee drinking because Covid shot my nervous system to pieces, and I need to sooth and nourish this part of myself — caffeine can switch your nervous system from rest and digest to fear and flight when it is already struggling. I’m also finding that a glass of wine is enough to knock out my immune system and let the bugs through since the Covid episode, so alcohol will have to stay on the edges of my life while I strengthen my immune system — it’s all about context with Ayurveda. Foods Ayurveda recommends avoiding during this stage include raw foods, alcohol, meat, refined sugar and processed/preserved foods. So eat fresh if possible.

If you have any questions post them in the comments.

Rejuvenation

Rejuvenation is a really important part of your cleanse. If you miss this out your tissues can become depleted, your digestion can weaken and your immunity can suffer leaving you feeling fatigued and drained — Ayurveda places equal emphasis on detoxing and rejuvenating.

The time you spend on rejuvenation will depend on your state of health, and how long you spent on the first two stages. if you are recovering from an illness you could spend a few months. If you are just trying out the Ayurvedic spring cleanse and spent 3 days on each of the stages, then two weeks is a good length of time.

Ayurveda calls the rejuvenation stage ‘rasayana’, a word that translates as ‘path of essence’. Rasa means essence and ayana means path, and so this stage is all about nourishing the essence of your being through your food and your mind.

Food

During rejuvenation food should be nourishing. If you know your Ayurvedic constitution eat meals that will support your balance. If you don’t, follow along over the next few weeks because I will be posting recipes that you can make.

Here is a list of ingredients that Ayurveda recognises as rejuvenating, that you could include in your meals during this stage.

Rasayana foods

• Avocado

• Bone marrow broths

• Coconut (meat, water & milk)

• Dates

• Figs

• Ghee

• Meat broths

• Nuts (almonds & cashews)

• Oils (coconut, olive, sesame & almond)

• Organic, whole milk (warmed and spiced)

• Raisins

• Raw honey

• Rice pudding

• Seasonal vegetables

• Seeds (sesame, chia, hemp & pumpkin)

• Sweet, juicy fruits like peaches, fresh figs & mangos.

• Sweet potato

• Tahini

• Whole grains (brown rice, buckwheat groats, oats, whole wheat)

Next week I will start sharing some recipes to nourish you tissues and comfort your mind, but for today, here’s a recipe for a lovely sweet truffle using some of the above ingredients.

Rejuvenation truffles

INGREDIENTS

1 cup ground almonds

10 medjool dates

1 tablespoon liquid ghee

1/2 teaspoon dry ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamon

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder

Zest and juice of 1 orange

5 drops of rose water

1 tablespoon raw honey

METHOD

Process all the ingredients in a food processor adding a little water if needed. Roll into balls and coat in cacao powder or coconut or ground seeds.

Feel-good chemicals

There are also rasayana behaviours and attitudes that will nourish you. Ayurveda recognises a substance called Ojas which gives us bliss, health and vitality. Ojas is created by the nourishment in the food we eat, and by our mental state. When you are happy your body releases feel good chemicals that support your health and, when you are stressed, your body produces chemicals that put a strain on your health.

And so, it’s important to cultivate love, compassion, generosity, a light-heart, positive thinking and simplicity — I wrote about ‘joy dots’ here which help to do this.

Well that’s it for today and for the Ayurvedic spring cleanse. I’d love to hear how your cleanse goes, let me know in the comments, if a few people do this I’ll start a chat thread to support you.

Till Sunday, warmest wishes,

Lucy x

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