Editor’s Note: This is the first article in a month
long series following be&behappy Co-Founder Suyogi Gessner as she experiences a pancha karma detox in India. Check back daily for her latest videos and blog posts, and follow her journey on social media with the hashtag #SuyogisDetoxJourney.
Today is Day 4 of my magical detox. As a professional, I know that the third day is always a tough one because you start to get detox symptoms.
What does that mean?
Usually you feel heaviness in the body, headache, body aches, tiredness and exhaustion. And who wants that? I guess no one. Then come the doubts. What am I doing here? Is this really for me? Is this worth it? Lots of questions come up, and then you simply want to stop. And on top of that you have the emotional dimension of the experience. You might get quite sensitive about little things, like the guy in the coffee shop who didn’t say “hello” back, and then suddenly feel anger. Or out of nowhere you remember old stuff from relationships—rejections which you thought you had completely forgotten about but now make you feel sad and start crying. During a detox, you experience all kinds of emotions, and they can suddenly make you feel like everything from a fire-breathing dragon to a crying baby.
Then, what you want to do is look for an escape, maybe eating some chocolate or a piece of cake. Only here, I can’t escape with food. It’s impossible. The restaurant here is a detox cafe, and when you’re in pancha karma they only give you healthy stuff to eat. So this food escape doesn’t work.
I live a life that follows the Ayurvedic philosophy. I have a great meditation practice, am vegan, and learn as much as I can about letting go, gratitude, forgiveness and magic marma techniques. But even I could feel how detox hit me on Day 3. I felt so tired, and my body was aching. I usually do daily workouts, but now even a few steps felt like too much. And then came the emotional stuff.
So what did I do? I used the power of positive incantations. I told my brain that what’s happening is great and reminded myself of the end goal. I imagined how I will feel after 4 weeks—how I will look, how much younger I would be, and how my cells,
immune system and energy would be on top of the world. And then I decided to take a journal and write it all down.
I asked myself powerful questions to release the toxic emotions of sadness and heaviness. I asked questions like, What could be a positive meaning of the whole story? What did Ilearn from the episode? How did it serve my purpose and my values? Which advantages I do get in letting go now? And then I sat down and did the same simple breathing technique I began on Day 2: breathe in and say “let;” breathe out and say “go.” After a few minutes, I felt wonderful and had a great relaxing sleep.
It’s also important to be aware of your environment. India is a great country which can teach you many things. One of the things I love here is that even when it looks like pure chaos, there is a beautiful harmony in everything. If you look at the cars and traffic, everyone seems to go as he likes—no rules, no system. “Please horn” is written on the trucks, and indeed they all do use their horn. But there is no aggression. Honking simply means, “Hi, I am there. Please notice me.” It’s a beautiful sign of respect and positivity, completely hidden unless you stop and practice awareness.
It’s the same with the mind detox. We have to change the meaning of old disturbing,negative thoughts into something positive and beautiful. I believe so much in this that I created be&behappy with my friends to show you how to do this.
Detox is the base of happiness because it allows you to release physical and emotional blocks and brings out your true potential. I have seen amazing results all over the world when people understand the magic of detox. That’s why I love detox so much, and why I’m so grateful for the next three weeks.
We have just launched a FREE Giveaway for our next 10 Day Detox Challenge starting September 15th Focusing in Mental Detox. ENTER TO WIN NOW!