Experiment with Fasting

I had this desire to know what fasting does for a long time and always wanted to try it. Whenever I expressed my intention to fast, I always got warning and cautions like my body will become weak or I will have gastric problems  or I will not be able make it. This went on for a long time almost two years.

One fine day Sadhguru (also know as Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudhev, the founder of Isha Foundation, visit www.ishafoudation.org to know more) announced the Shivanga program (check this link for details http://blog.ishafoundation.org/inside-isha/announcements/shivanga-sadhana/). I being a follower and consistent practitioner of Isha Yoga was excited and wanted to know further details. There were a lot of processes which where supposed to be done by the Shivanga participants and one important part of it was fasting for the entire period of 42 days of the program. I didn't have the courage to go the full way and participate in the Shivanga program in it's entirety. But I got an excuse and reason to finally get my wish of fasting fulfilled.

My better half was convinced and the decision to fast for 42 days was taken.

The fasting was done in a particular way. The instructions to be followed were

1. Smoking, alcohol and non-vegetarian food was to be avoided during the period. (I being a non smoker and non alcoholic all I had to give up was spicy non veg delicacies )
2. Soak 8 to 12 peppercorns overnight with 2 tablespoons of honey, mix with lemon juice and water in the morning, and drink on an empty stomach.
3. Only two meals a day was to be had. No food was to be taken before noon. If hungry, the pepper-honey-lemon juice can be drunk once again.
4. Taking head bath daily.

Apart from the above instructions  I decided to have only fresh raw vegetables and fruits for my lunch and Rotis for dinner.

The initial couple of days were un-eventful. My body was getting used to the new routine and emptiness in my stomach. Hunger used to arrive right on time of my usual stomach filling periods of the day. But the hunger was not very intense, it was like a reminder to have my filling. After some days (around a week later) the hunger reminders were becoming weaker, as if it didn't had any purpose, it was just following it's old routine as it was doing for whole my life.

One thing that fasting did was to increase my my sniff dog abilities dramatically. I could smell food from a mile away :-). Where I was the smells of food was enveloping me. The places where I went through everyday without much of a thought were transformed. The scents made notice all the small food joints in those places which went unnoticed by me till now. I could just tell what was cooking just by passing by the homes and restaurants. Food was always on my mind.

It was difficult to curb the urges and move on, but luckily I did move on. After 3 weeks the obsession with food subsided and the routine fasting went smoothly. Not much restraint was required from this point on-wards. 

My body felt lighter day by day. It was easier to move it in, easier to put it in different postures, easier to stretch. It complained less while I was doing my Suryanamskaras and it really felt good. One side effect of this whole process which I am proud and delighted with was I lost 7 Kilos of my weight and my waist size reduced by an awesome 2 inches. My trouser which used to feel like Chinese torture on the waist, started to feel more like Goa beach holidays.

There was strange phenomenon which happened in the last week of my fasting period. When I thought the worst was over and it would be a breeze to go through the final week, things changed. The obsession with food came back, the heightened sense of smell returned and hunger remainders became more intense. What was supposed to be a walk in the park became a torturous crawl to the finish.

Now I realize that it was because of the expectations from me on all the things I would enjoy after I finish with my fasting. I started to fantasize about all the different delicacies which I would indulge in. I started to plan my completion party before the final bell rang. These expectations and desires started to wreck havoc and the final week miserable. My body and mind was craving only for one thing - FOOD.

But luckily I persevered and completed the journey successfully. It felt great to do it completely, sincerely and  intensely.

I learnt a lot on how fickle my mind is and how strongly it has become programmed. I realized that my mind either lives in the past or in the future, it never stays in the present. It either follows the things which it has been doing so far or it looks up and start working on the future expectations. It just cannot stay in the present moment and do what has to be done now at this moment.

I learnt how much my body gets effected by the food we eat. I always thought that fasting will reduce my energy levels but in reality the contrary happened. I was more lively and energetic throughout this period than most of my life. I learnt that more food doesn't always means more energy, if food is taken in moderation it produces more energy and drives away the lethargy in the system. Two meals a day is more than enough to sustain my day to day and activities and even more.

Overall these 42 days where a great learning experience and proud achievement with some awesome side effects.

So will I do it next year, ABSOLUTELY without a doubt.