A group of Ananda community members will follow Yogananda’s purifying and alkalinising diet in the coming days: an alkaline ph means a body full of health, more resistant to attacks from viruses and bacteria.
Here at Ananda Assisi in Italy we’re living the experience of the corona virus with high and positive energy and… as a really good opportunity to practice what we know! Yogananda gave a wealth of teachings on how to keep the body strong and healthy. One of the gems he gave us is his Nine-Day Cleansing and Vitalising Diet. This diet is designed to rid the body of accumulated toxins and increase our vitality. Many Ananda members do this diet every year with amazing results. It’s always much easier to do this diet as a group and it’s about time that we did it so here we go and you’re very welcome to join us…
Here’s how to do the diet. This explanation is extracted from A Taste of Joy , so if you have the book then you can follow it there.
Foods to Eat While on the Diet
Every day, the following foods should be eaten; no other foods should be eaten during the diet (including spices, oil or salt):
- 1 ½ grapefruits
- 1 ½ lemons
- 5 oranges
- 1 cooked vegetable with its juice (as much as you want)
- 1 raw vegetable salad
- 3 cups Vitality Beverage (see below)
If you feel the need of additional nourishment during the diet, a tablespoonful of thoroughly ground nuts in a half glass of water or in a glass of orange juice may be taken.
Vitality Beverage
In his Super Advanced Lessons , Yogananda states that the Vitality Beverage is a blood tonic and very effective against rheumatism, various stomach disorders (including acute indigestion), chronic catarrh, bronchitis and nervous ” breakdown ”.
One cup of the beverage should be drunk with each of your three meals.
Yogananda gave two different methods for preparing the Vitality Beverage, both of which are given below. The first, he says, is preferable. Because of the larger quantities it makes, it is also much more practical. Some people, alternatively, choose to juice the ingredients. This is basically the same as the second method, only the yield is greater.
Ingredients:
- 2 stalks celery
- 5 carrots including part of the stem
- about 300 g dandelion leaves, turnip greens or spinach
- 1 bunch parsley
- (no salt or spices)
First Method (makes about 1 litre)
- Using a food processor, mince the celery and carrots.
- Lightly boil the celery and carrots in about one liter of water for ten minutes.
- Add the greens and parsley and boil for a further ten minutes.
- Strain the vegetable stock through a sieve into a bowl. This is your Vitality Beverage
Second method (about 250ml of drink is obtained)
- Mince all the ingredients in a food processor
- Put them in a thin cloth and squeeze them, so as to extract the juice and collect it in a bowl. This is your drink of vitality.
Laxatives
A natural laxative must be taken every night while on the cleansing diet before going to bed. Yogananda recommends senna leaves, which can be taken with a glassful of orange juice. To obtain the best results, take half a teaspoon at first and later increase to one teaspoon. Any other natural laxative is fine to use. Alternatively, an enema works effectively.
Taking Baths
Yogananda states that while on the cleansing diet it is very beneficial to take a salt bath every night, just before going to bed. 900 grams of some good bath salts can be dissolved in a quarter tubful of warm water.
Ending the Diet
As with fasting, the way in which you end the nine-day cleansing diet is just as important as the diet itself. The first day after the diet you should be especially careful in the selection and quantity of the food you eat. Light and easy-to-digest foods should be emphasized. After the first day, your normal diet can be resumed gradually.
If you feel that you have not been successful in ridding your body of all its toxins, the cleansing diet may be repeated after an interval of two or three weeks.
It is very helpful to continue taking salts baths every now and then for several weeks after finishing the diet.
Let us know if you plan to join us in this wonderful adventure!
NB: If you have specific medical conditions, then please consult your doctor before starting this or any change in diet.
Published online in Joy Times. Shared here with kind permission from Ananda Assisi.
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