What I’ve learned over years of seasonal cleansing

A few years ago, I started practicing ritucharya, Ayurvedic seasonal cleanses traditionally practiced in spring and fall. I owe a debt of gratitude to the people of South Asia who have passed the wisdom of ritucharya and Ayurveda as a whole through millenia.

I’ve always cleansed in virtual community, whether as a participant or as a leader. I was hooked after my first go. Here are a few of the key takeaways I've learned from returning to the practice over many seasons:

Every season is different.

This is kind of a ‘duh’ statement, yet it bears consideration. I’ve never come close to being in the same place (in my inner or outer life) for more than one. Sometimes I feel fairly easeful and peaceful going in, and I want to be more ambitious with the changes I’ll make during the cleanse (for example, taking 3 walks a day, taking a daily bath, letting go of alcohol, cannabis, and sugar and eating only whole foods/eating a monodiet for a few days, limiting my reading to spiritually engaging material, cutting out TV and movies, limiting my socializing and spending more time in meditation). And sometimes, I have so much commotion in my life (externally or emotionally), that at the outset, I don’t feel like to have the space to dive into such a robust cleanse. That’s good intuition to listen to, because even the choice to, say, give up sugar and Instagram, and add two additional daily walks could have a massive impact on my internal ease barometer.

It’s appropriate to shift goals and behaviors mid-cleanse.

Going along with the above point, I’ve found at times that letting go of one mental/physiological noise-maker (aka sugar, alcohol, caffeine, TV) can leave me feeling liberated enough during my reset to go deeper. So a reset that started without any food modifications might turn into one where I only consume kitchari, a classic South Asian cleansing dish (see my favorite recipe here) and green smoothies for a few days to reset my digestion. I have learned to be open to the pull to go deeper. To spend more time in meditation when the space opens up. It’s a beautiful thing to answer that call.

Self-compassion is key to navigating cravings.

Yogic and Buddhist paths guide us to skillfully navigate releasing our attachments. And Goddess knows, I have mine. Sugar is a main one. I’ve gone off refined sugar for 30+ days enough times to know that while my cravings for it can be powerful, my mind and my desires (read: the desire to lower inflammation in my mind and body, and to feel liberated from sugar’s ball-and-chain tendencies) are much stronger.

I usually experience a sense of grasping before ‘going in’ to a cleanse - my small-me mind making bargains and pleading for me not to remove my creature comforts, and a tendency to binge a bit. I think this will continue to fade as I continue to practice ritucharya. When I tap into self-compassion in the face of this totally normal and not-particularly-fun tendency, I have the opportunity to seek balance. On the one hand, I ask myself how deep I feel prepared to go, and also how much of a reset I could benefit from. These are more or less opposing forces in the planning of a cleanse. The more depth I plan for, the greater my outcomes of ease, better sleep, and a clearer palette may be. Expect too much of myself, and the whole thing will have a boomerang effect; be so soft and squishy about it that I don’t change anything, and I might get a lot of benefit from simply noticing myself and responding in real time to myself. 

I also ask myself where a sense of “should” might be coming in. Especially as someone who guides others in Ayurvedic habits and practices, I do well to watch my sense of impostor syndrome. When I’m not careful, I can expect myself to be more-than-human (actually, I am a lizard in a suit, but with totally human mental/emotional tendencies). So basically, I make an effort to plan with balance in mind, and then stay open to shifts that might feel important to enact during the reset itself.

More is not always more.

This one builds on the last point. When I say that an entire reset could consist of changing virtually nothing behaviorally, and instead making a commitment to awareness, I mean it. Here are a few examples:

• • Being mindful of what I put in my body, how it makes me feel
  • Being mindful of who I spend time with and how this affects me
  • Noticing how much time I spend outside vs. inside
  • Noticing where I put my attention when I am between tasks
  • How I talk to myself

What if you spent 8 days actually attending to yourself with this kind of awareness? I guarantee you’d start shifting some of your behavior out of pure desire (rather than coercion), and it would feel great.

That said, intentional behavior changes (say, adding in 5+ minutes of meditation before bed and/or upon waking), adding in more time outdoors and on walks, drawing on a daily movement, pranayama, or yoga practice to help you move emotions through your body) are all wonderful experiments. Especially when you consider that you’re only adding them in  for the duration of the reset (which are usually 5-21 days; they don’t last forever).

It can be easy to imagine I’m “not doing it right.”

Even after cleansing many times and leading others through resets (I use cleanse and reset interchangeably), I still find myself second-guessing my choices and implementation. I’ve learned to turn that volume right down for a few reasons.

One: I know that the human mind is wired towards a negative bias; just because that negative self-evaluation shows up doesn’t mean it’s the record I keep on the turntable.

Another: The concept of “one right way,” is one Tema Okun discusses in the succinct, valuable White Supremacy Culture reader. As an individual and a habit-change coach, I’ve seen firsthand that this way of thinking is SO firmly ingrained in most of us who grew up in Western culture. That is, until we dismantle it. There is not just one right way, just as there is no one mental or physical constitution, set of life circumstances, or personal history. We’re all different from each other, and we all change over time. In response to this, I’ve learned that being adaptable and open to ease during resets/cleanses can lead to freedom and ease.

I really love cleansing. It’s not always comfortable. That’s part of the deal - we pare down distractions so that some of the mental, emotional and physical ama (a Sanskrit term for that which is undigested) can be cleared away. That processing isn’t always fun. Sometimes it’s really gnarly. And sometimes it’s easeful. I’ve found that it is always worth the effort, because I come out clearer-headed, more connected with myself and the divine, and with habits that are spruced up. I feel better, and can show up better for those around me when I engage in ritucharya. And speaking of community, this leads me to my last point:

Community is key.

Many of us have a tendency to isolate. This can be the result of living in an individualistically-oriented society, COVID factors, and our own desire to protect our hearts. As a human being and a coach, I’ve witnessed time and again the power of going through processes like resets alongside other people. It’s easy to get trapped in our own heads and experiences, only to miss out on the fact that what we’re struggling with mirrors that of others to a T. Put bluntly, it’s not our problems and blocks that make us special - we share those with many people. What makes us special is how we shine and share our gifts with others. Connecting with community is an incredible way to realize that we’re not alone, and bring our uniquely valuable selves to the collective.

If you're inspired or curious, or if you've had a weird experience with a cleanse in the past and think some of these pointers might make another go at it more easeful, I encourage you to try one for yourself. Hit me up at adair@withadair.com to learn when my next Reset will be!