Our relationship to over-consumption is changing: the excess in food consumption that we see a lot around us in Western countries is becoming an evidence, that we feel bodily.
The health problems related to overweight, to “junk food”, are innumerable, and fasting is a gift for the health of your body, quite simply.
In particular, meat and animal proteins, which are the first foods to be removed in preparation for fasting, and the last ones to be removed at the end of fasting, are incredibly over-consumed. Fasting makes you sensitive, in concrete terms, to the difficulty for your body to digest such foods.
This does not necessarily mean becoming a vegetarian or vegan, but chances are that you will eventually eat less meat as you fast.
The benefits of fasting are many, because it is simply the tool provided by nature to cleanse the body of its impurities and regulate some of its vital constants. When you fast, it is a holiday for your digestive system, which is also your second brain.
There is no longer any source of intoxication from the intestines to the bloodstream, and your immune system is therefore less stressed.
Fasting can therefore be your ally when you are faced with specific pathologies for which modern medicine is ill-equipped: rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, but also more commonly insomnia or any condition linked to recurrent stress.
Concerning cancer and the Breuss cure mentioned above, one can legitimately wonder about the therapeutic effectiveness of the method, as advanced in the book by Jürgen H. R. Thomar, on pathologies such as cancer, but we owe the uninformed reader the following scientific fact: the combination of fasting cycles with chemotherapy has been shown to be more effective than chemotherapy alone, and the side effects of chemotherapy are also reduced. This result was explained by the following fact: during fasting, healthy cells change their metabolism, they “hibernate” in a way, which protects them from the effects of chemotherapy. The cancer cells, on the other hand, are deregulated and seem unable to change their metabolism. Chemotherapy is therefore better tolerated by the body, and its effectiveness is enhanced.
If you fast for a long time, you will observe phases where everything seems wonderful, but also less pleasant phases, on the physical and especially emotional levels. It is a detoxification of your digestive system, and different emotions contained in the belly can come out, in a temporary way.
In this privileged moment where you take care of yourself on a seemingly very concrete level, you allow at the same time your being to free you from certain emotional tensions, which probably no longer have any reason to be.
It is a sign that you are purifying yourself, not only on the surface but also in depth. It is an inner transformation, so fasting has its place in a peacock symbolism and this is certainly the reason why the three great monotheistic religions (and others) have recommended fasting.
The vast majority of fasters experience an increased sensitivity: contact with nature is more direct, their experience is strengthened, spirituality is also stronger, and the exercises of Yoga, Qi Gong and meditation are easier and more harmonious.
Those who are lucky enough to be able to fast in the country rather than in the city will feel even better, and a number of associations offer organised stays, in the mountains for example, on the theme of fasting, and this is quite relevant.
By simply abstaining from food, you not only purify your digestive system, you can achieve changes in your nervous system, rest it, heal it, and make it more capable of taking in a sacred dimension.
This is a very simple secret that is transmitted in all the great traditions.
Other techniques are there to help you if fasting seems difficult at first glance. Ayurveda can teach you certain diets that are very conducive to the purification of the digestive system. The so-called kriya techniques in Hatha Yoga help to cleanse the digestive system through enemas or abdominal massage with the breath. Chi Nei Tsang is an excellent therapeutic tool that works by massaging the digestive system but the results are felt throughout the entire body.
Although vigilance is required when you start, fasting is really one of the simplest ways to take care of yourself, to give your vital organs, which have been working non-stop since birth, a real holiday. Fasting has been an inseparable part of my life for many years, and it has been of great help to me. In addition to all its physical, emotional and spiritual benefits, it teaches the human being a sense of moderation and even harmony, a harmony so simple to implement. All one has to do is stop for a while, take a break, and the order of things spontaneously returns to normal.