The further we dig back in history, the more it seems that fasting has always been an important part of many cultures throughout the world. Fasting has been known for its spiritual value for ages, whether it was used as part of a purely spiritual path or as a religious ritual. There’s always been some mystical quality to fasting, something outside of our traditional range of awareness. Today, I’d like to dive into fasting and really explore its effects on the mind and body – and why its proven itself to be the most effective method of healing through the ages.

The most profound benefits of fasting come no doubt through the channel of the mind. While bodily benefits and physical healings can be astounding, the mental clarity and enhanced awareness brought on by fasting are the most valuable assets, in my personal opinion. Just imagine yourself waking up in the morning and downing that tall glass of water. You feel great, hydrated and clear-minded, right? Now if you go ahead and eat a breakfast loaded with sugar, you’ll start to feel the buzz of a sugar high, coupled with a loss of focus and concentration – a foggy mind. If you combine all sorts of foods together that don’t mix well, you’ll have chaos in your stomach and your mind! So what you eat does dramatically affect your mental faculties.

So what happens when you actually decide to simply take a break from food? You get extreme mental clarity- the kind most people have never experienced. You finally see things clearly from a state of peak mental performance, and you may even arrive at some startling conclusions about the nature of life. This is why the practice of fasting has been paired so strongly with spiritual paths! If you want to fully experience truth at the level of the mind, you need to let go of the obstacles that may be holding back that perception. What obstacles?

This is where the physical part comes in: everything circulating throughout your body! When you fast, your body goes to work further digesting and assimilating nutrients that may not have had a chance to be fully digested yet. In addition, your blood is cleansed – which may have all sorts of odds and ends accumulated without your knowing it! This is why those fasting under medical supervision show all of their blood markers normalizing in a wildly short period of time. Blood pressure, cholesterol, tryglyceride levels, and even blood sugar/glucose levels all commonly normalize under a moderate water fast. So the bits and pieces of undigested food are digested (or stored if not possible), your blood is cleansed, and your organs get a rest! It can really be compared heavily to the effects of sleep and rest on our physiology. It recharges us, revitalizes us, charges the battery! Giving your organs a rest through fasting does the same thing.

After basic maintenance and repair work has been completed by the body, it’s then able to shift its energy toward physical healing. I always find it amazing reading stories of people who found the strength to endure the longer water fasts, the 2, 3, or 4-week long cycles. These are the ones who receive that astounding physical healing, whether it’s better eyesight from cataracts completely disappearing, eliminating tremors from Parkinson’s disease, or even the wild case of one man who regained hearing in a deaf ear he hadn’t heard from in 6 years! Still, it’s not all about the physical. The mental clarity we touched on in the beginning is so important, and many have found that through fasting they’ve eliminated all sorts of addictions from their lives. Many have also overcome more severe mental problems, those who would have been considered “troubled” or even “insane” have found clarity and complete reversal of these conditions.

It just goes to show that thorough healing and rejuvenation are always possible, and there’s usually something profound hiding in these ancient rituals handed down through the ages. While I can’t offer medical advice, I’d certainly be glad to write another post with more specifics on common fasting practices for physical, mental and spiritual health, covering topics like how long to fast for benefits, what you can expect from a 24-36 hour water fast, and water fasting vs. juice fasting. If this is something you’d like to read more about, tell me below and I’ll follow up!

Unleash Your Vitality,

John Brackett

This week’s post is on something you can start doing tomorrow morning, and ideally every morning from here on out. It’s not a complicated routine, it’s not a certain meal, and it takes less than 30 second to do. What is it? This morning ritual is starting your day off with a large glass of water!

Sure, it sounds simple. But really think about how you start off every morning. Do you only occasionally start it off with a large glass or two of water? Do you head right over to breakfast and pour yourself a bowl of cereal? I’m not trying to put off your breakfast here! Here’s the small tweak: instead of doing your morning routine and then eating breakfast before heading out, pour yourself a tall glass or two of pure, clear water before you go about that morning routine. While you do your routine (shower, brush your teeth, whatever it may be) that morning hydration is surging through your body, getting things moving and cleansing the entire system…all before you even sit down for breakfast!

The reason I called this post “Weight Loss, Detox & Water” is because when you start to really get into this ritual every morning, you’ll find that the water does two things: it cleanses and detoxifies you, and it dramatically enhances weight loss. You already know that starting your day off with water leaves you feeling more energized and hydrated. But having a good amount of water first thing in the morning also gives your body a chance to go to work and get some of that debris out of there! Some of the most radical weight loss stories I’ve heard, mostly from women losing anywhere from 50-150 lbs, involve this one simple morning ritual. Don’t underestimate this one!

If you’re interested in weight loss at all, I really recommend just adopting this one quick habit. Try it for 7 days and see if you notice a difference in your weight, in how “light” you feel from starting to move out more toxins and wastes. Even better, make it a 21-day challenge and set a goal for yourself! While I know not everyone reading this wants to lose weight, I can guarantee that you’ll want to move as much waste out of your body as you can! Waste can do one of two things: stay stuck in your body and drain your energy levels or be flushed out. I’ll choose the second!

Try this one out if you haven’t picked up that morning ritual of starting out every day with 1-2 glasses of pure water. It’s worth the walk to the kitchen ;)

Unleash Your Vitality,

John Brackett