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magyarFasting for Yoga Practitioners
Fasting means abstaining from eating, drinking or doing any other activity out of our own free will for a while. There is not necessarily religious reason for it, it is rather a way of developing self-discipline. Let us give you an overview of why to fasting, the good effects it has on your body and how to put it into practice. Stay with us!
Fasting can be traced back to ancient times. It has always been an important practise in almost every religion. Many great founders of religions have taught that with the help of fasting we can get closer to God, because not only the body but also the soul and spirit are purified. However, before you start, you have to prepare yourself for it, as the change caused by fasting can be stressful for your body and mind.
Reasons for Fasting
Every action we do consciously has a much greater effect on the mind than actions performed unconsciously. Conscious eating is an important part of fasting. But for a spiritual yoga practitioner, this practice means not only skipping meals for a day and consuming only water, but most importantly abstaining from bad habits, thoughts, and futile preoccupations while fasting. Today’s society is spending a lot of unnecessary time in front of the computer or with their smartphone and their television. All these material goods keep their minds distracted. This wasted time instead can be used to get to know ourselves more deeply, to think consciously, to increase our willpower and to be able to observe how dependent we are on material goods.
In conclusion, there are basically two reasons for fasting:
1.) The development of willpower and spirituality
This is when we become more receptive to subtle energies, thus initiating inner development and the strengthening of our intuition. Fasting helps to break the desires and stubbornness of the lower self, for a full stomach endows the lower self with power and arouses its desires.
2.) Health Benefits
Too much eating makes the body sick and tired. Fasting helps to detoxify the body, get rid of excess weight, overcome fatigue. It helps to eliminate sleep disorders and to create internal balance and harmony.
Fasting Put into Practice
Fasting during the full moon and the new moon – so twice in a month is recommended – because the movement of the planets has a significant effect on our lives. One of the best and most well known examples of the effect of the alteration of lunar phases are the tides of the oceans. Just imagine, if the massive, deep and calm ocean is so strongly affected by the moon, what effect can it have on the human body?
On a full moon night, often not only us humans but also our pets are restless. As a result of the increased subtle energies, the consumed food starts to rot three times faster in the digestive system. And not only is the nutrient intake not done properly, but the food also stays in the body for a much longer time. It is recommended to avoid eating on these days so that we do not accumulate more toxins in our body.
So how do we get started?
We recommend that you start your spiritual preparation the day before the fast. If possible, don’t go shopping and don’t make your favorite dishes during this period. Then on the next day, let us be aware in the morning before getting up, that for spiritual reasons, for our spiritual development, we do not eat anything all day.
We can support the process by lighting candles, doing yoga and meditation. If we have succeeded in the process, we will feel a great deal of happiness and satisfaction. However, it is important to note that prolonged fasting is only recommended under medical supervision.
Other Fasting Alternatives
Fasting is not just skipping a meal. If we prefer to aim for mental-spiritual cleansing, there are also other ways. In the yoga tradition, one of the best practices for this is mauna, i.e. listening. The silence that comes with it can extend not only to giving up speaking for a period of time, but also to omitting all other communication methods. The fasting of words calms the processes of consciousness and so helps to observe and raise awareness of the processes happening in our mind. This exercise is mostly done in the context of a retreat, but less strict versions can be applied in everyday life.
Tip:
Try to stay away from any external source of information for as long as possible, up to a full day. If you can, turn off your cell phone, avoid newspapers, the Internet, radio, television. It may be unpleasant at first, but we will soon notice the addictions we have unconsciously developed with these tools, thus trapping our minds.
We hope we have been able to provide you with useful information again, and you will join the fasts during the next full moon. Wishing everyone effective, healing, cleansing period!
