Choices

"Man is either the master of himself, or his appetite and sensual pleasures master him."

Food for the Soul: Controlling Our Tongues

"If we cannot control our appetites and hold to a simple fast, how can we eventually overcome the temptation to judge and condemn others and succeed at the formidable task of controlling our tongues"

-Bishop Chrysostomos

Gaining Perspective Through Fasting

In Carole Garibaldi Rogers' book "Fasting: Exploring a Great Spiritual Practice," writer Mary Aktay talks about the revelation that came to her while fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.

"The rationale in Ramadan is that it's not about giving up food. It's about not doing anything else during the day that would take your mind off God. At first I wondered how that could be since when you're hungry all you can think of is food. Then, as I got older and wiser, I started thinking , well, where does the food come from? The food comes from the grace of God. And then that brought me into justice issues and solidarity with the poor. The food comes from the grace of God, but it also comes from the sweat and labor of people like the migrant farm workers."

The Gift of Goodbye

Often when one even thinks about the idea of fasting, apprehension descends like autumn nightfall. Many of us have spent so much time cultivating an intimate or oppositional relationship with food, that the idea of letting go, even for a day, is too terrifying to contemplate.

Below is a poem that I first heard while on a seven-day silent meditation retreat. It spoke to those contracted places inside of myself where I hold on, often for dear life, to things, attitudes and positions that I know are no longer serving me. Hearing this poem gave me courage and wings.

Adios

It is a good word, rolling off the tongue
no matter what language you were born with,
Use it. Learn where it begins,
the small alphabet of departure,
how long it takes to think of it,
then say, then be heard.

Marry it. More than any golden ring,
it shines, it shines.
Wear it on every finger
till your hands dance,
touching everything easily,
letting everything, easily, go.

Strap it to your back like wings.
Or a kite-tail. The stream of air behind a jet.
If you are known for anything,
let it be the way you rise out of sight
when your work is finished.

Think of things that linger: leaves,
cartons and napkins, the damp smell of mold.

Think of things that disappear.

Think of what you love best,
what brings tears into your eyes.

Something that said adios to you
before you knew what it meant
or how long it was for.

Explain little, the word explains itself.
Later perhaps. Lessons following lessons,
like silence following sound.


~Naomi Shihab Nye
from Words Under the Words

Fasting and Exercise

While kickboxing and spinning classes might go over well just before a breakfast of steelcut oatmeal and berries, a fasting body needs as much physical rest as it can get. The physiological work and repair that happens during the fasting detox, requires an enormous amount of energy that we want to reserve entirely for that purpose. It is however recommended that while fasting we do exercises that facilitate this process. These include walking, yoga, light swimming and breath work. As a yogini, I can attest to the very powerful detox benefits of yoga and breath work, not only physical but also spiritual and mental. 

The breath is the vehicle upon which our life force enters the body, so that when the breath is shallow, our thoughts and actions are shallow. When the breath is labored our thoughts and life are labored. More than anything, while fasting (and even on non-fasting days), I encourage you to notice the breath and breathe with intention. At every moment you can remember, drop in on the breath to see how it’s doing. Follow the inhale to a completely ballooned belly, brining in strength, health, energy, faith and peace. Exhale until the navel meets the spine, letting go of disease, fear, weakness, fatigue and tension. 

Attending to the breath will still agitating thoughts. When left unattended, these thoughts create agitation in the body, which often causes us to feel empty or “hungry” and so we attempt to fill that emptiness with food. Typically the types of food we choose when we are in this mindset are high in salt or sugar because these nutrients, when refined or in excess, act in the same way as drugs, changing the chemistry of the body, creating a diversion from feelings. Catch yourself breathing and you will be able to see more clearly the trajectory of your thinking. When we can see where our thoughts are headed it is easier to get in front of them and change their direction.

Yoga, on the other hand, twists and bends the body in order to allow for better circulation and flow of oxygen. It also wrings the organs and helps jumpstart sluggish glandular systems. The practice of yoga also incorporates breath, which stimulates the body’s ability to relax. A relaxed body is one that is more prepared to take on the task of cleansing and healing.

Be good to your body. Be Good to yourself. Breathe.

Listening for the Inner Music

There is an inner music that becomes evident to our ear when we begin fasting. It is the song of the teacher, friend and love within. Don Gerard talks about the resonant effect this music has on our lives beyond the fast days.

"I have discovered that I can listen to this inner music, learn to interpret its language and literally be tutored by my own body on what to eat so that I feel good all the time. Once I’ve achieved what my body (not my head) tells me is my ideal food intake, I can happily maintain that state of health, contentment, high level of functioning – and yes, my optimum weight – simply by continuing to listen to that same inner music each time I eat.

- Don Gerrard, "One Bowl: A Guide to Eating for Body and Spirit"

The same applies not only to what we eat and how it affects our physical bodies but to what we think and how it informs our actions and spiritual lives. If we listen carefully, this inner music allows us to see our motivations clearly. It can help direct us into right action and a continuous state of grace.