Mind Body Cleanse

CHAPTER 9 Pre-purification phase/days 4–6

DURING THIS PHASE you start to introduce some further poses into your Mind Body Cleanse practice. Do all the poses from the Preparation Phase before adding in the new ones explained in this section, using the chart on here.

Your checklist

Follow the nutrition guidelines and try some of the suggested recipes

Remember to do your Mind Body Cleanse practice

Do some skin-brushing

Drink hot lemon water first thing

Drink freshly squeezed juices

Drink plenty of water

Try some gentle stretching

Get ready for the Power Phase, which comes next, by buying in all you need and see it as treating yourself to three days of healthy calm.

MIND BODY CLEANSE PRACTICE/THE PRE-PURIFICATION PHASE

PRE-PURIFICATION PHASE

Continue your practice as described in the Preparation Phase/Days 1–3. In this phase we add a couple more poses as well as some new techniques for pranayama and meditation.

Do the following first:

Sun Salutation (Preparation Phase, see here)

Triangle (Preparation Phase, see here)

Revolved Triangle (Preparation Phase, see here)

Boat Pose (Navasana)

The Boat Pose improves digestion and strengthens the abdomen, hip flexors and the spine.

Step-by-step technique

Lift through the top of the sternum and lean back slightly. Make sure your back doesn’t take up a rounded shape, and continue to lengthen the front of your torso.
Exhale and bend your knees, then lift your feet off the floor so that your thighs are angled about 45 degrees to the floor. If you have a history of lower back problems keep your legs bent at the knees.
Stretch your arms alongside your legs, parallel to each other and the floor. Draw the inner edges of your shoulderblades in towards each other. Reach through the fingers.
Breathe easily. Tip your chin slightly towards the sternum so that the base of your skull lifts slightly away from the back of your neck.
At first, stay in the pose for six breath cycles. Gradually increase the time of your stay to 12 breath cycles. Release your legs with an exhalation and sit upright on an inhalation.

Contraindications and cautions

Heart problems

Menstruation

Pregnancy

Neck injury: sit with your back near a wall to perform this pose.

As you tilt your torso back, rest the back of your head on the wall

Do not attempt this pose if you have suffered a lower back injury.

Modifications and props

You may find it difficult to straighten your raised legs. If so, try bending your knees and loop a strap around the soles of your feet, gripping it firmly in your hands. Inhale, lean back, then exhale and lift, and straighten your legs, adjusting the strap to keep it taut. Push your feet firmly against the strap.

Beginner’s tip

You can prepare for this pose throughout your day without even leaving your chair. Sit on the front edge of a seat with your knees at right angles. Take the sides of the seat with your hands and lean slightly forward. Firm your arms and lift your backside slightly off the seat, then raise your heels slightly off the floor, but not the balls of your feet. Let the heads of your thighbones sink into the pull of gravity and push the top of your sternum forward and up.

Benefits

Improves digestion

Strengthens the abdomen, hip flexors and spine

Stimulates the kidneys, thyroid and prostate glands, and intestines

Helps relieve stress.

The importance of twists

In this Pre-Purification Phase of the 12-Day Plan we come face to face with the most important group of poses for cleansing and detoxification, namely twists. Twists are key in this process and it is necessary to explore them fully. Practise one of the following seated twists every day during the 12-Day Plan, and for full spinal movement into old age I recommend doing a twist every day for the rest of your life.

Contraindications

If you have a spinal disc injury, consult your doctor before practising twists of any kind.

Half Lord of the Fish (Ardha Matsyendrasana)

This wonderful twist stimulates the digestive fire in the belly and increases your appetite. The pose massages the liver and kidneys and stretches your shoulders, hips and neck, and energises the spine. It relieves menstrual discomfort, fatigue, sciatica and backache. It is also therapeutic for asthma and infertility.

Step-by-step technique

Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you. Using a folded blanket or block under your buttocks is key, especially if you are a beginner or have tight hips.
Put your feet on the floor, then slide your left foot under your right leg to the outside of your right hip.
Lay the outside of your left leg on the floor.
Step your right foot over your left leg and stand it on the floor outside your left hip. Your right knee will point directly up at the ceiling.
Exhale and twist towards the inside of your right thigh.
Press your right hand against the floor just behind your right buttock and set your left upper arm on the outside of your right thigh near the knee.
Pull your front torso and inner right thigh together.
Press your right foot into the floor, release your right groin and lengthen your front torso. Lean your upper torso back slightly, against the shoulderblades, and continue to lengthen your tailbone into the floor.
With every inhalation, lift a little more through your sternum, pushing your fingers against the floor to help.
Twist a little more with every exhalation (a vertebrae or two).
Be sure to distribute the twist evenly throughout the entire length of your spine; don’t concentrate it in your lower back.
Stay in pose for 30 seconds to 1 minute, then release with an exhalation, return to the starting position and repeat to the left for the same length of time.

Contraindications and cautions

If you have suffered a back or spine injury, perform this pose only with the supervision of an experienced teacher.

Benefits

Stimulates the digestive fire in the belly

Increases your appetite

Massages the liver and kidneys

Stretches the shoulders, hips and neck

Energises the spine

Relieves menstrual discomfort, fatigue, sciatica and backache

Therapeutic for asthma and infertility.

Modifications and props

At first it’s often difficult to get your torso to sit snugly against your inner thigh. Position yourself a foot or so away from a wall, with your back to it – the exact distance will depend on the length of your arms. Exhale into the twist and reach back for the wall. Your arm should be almost, but not quite, extended (make sure you aren’t sitting too close to the wall, otherwise it will jam your shoulder). Push the wall away and move your front torso against your thigh.

Bharadvaja’s Twist

This gentle twist is a tonic for the spine and the abdominal organs.

Step-by-step technique

Sit on the floor and swing your legs to the left.
Lay your feet on the floor outside your left hip, with your left ankle resting in the right arch. Make sure that the pelvis feels even and you are not falling across to your right-hand side. If you are, you can use a block underneath your right hip.
Inhale and lift through the top of your sternum to lengthen your front torso. Then exhale and twist your torso to the right from your tummy, keeping your left buttock on, or very close to, the floor. Lengthen your tailbone toward the floor to keep your lower back long. Soften your belly.
Place the skin of the knuckles of your left hand to your outer right knee and bring your right hand to the floor in line with your spine
behind you. Always keep the extended arm straight. Pull your left shoulder back slightly, pressing your shoulderblades firmly against your back even as you continue to twist to the right. You can turn your head in one of two directions: continue the twist of your torso by turning it to the right or counter the twist of your torso by turning it left and looking over your left shoulder at your feet.
With every inhalation, lift a little more through your sternum, using the push of the fingers on the floor to help. With every exhalation twist a little more from the tummy.
Stay in this pose for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Then release with an exhalation, return to the starting position and repeat to the left for the same length of time.

Contraindications and cautions

Diarrhoea

Headache

High blood pressure

Insomnia.

Modifications and props

For an easier variation of this pose, sit sideways on a chair with the chair back to your right. Bring your knees together and your heels directly below your knees. Exhale and twist towards the chair back. Hold on to the sides of the chair back and lift your elbows up and out to the sides, as if you were pulling the chair back apart. Use the arms to help widen the upper back and move the twist into the space between the shoulderblades.

Deepening the pose

You can increase the challenge in this pose by slightly varying the position of your arms and hands. Firstly, exhale and swing your right arm around behind your back as you twist to the right. If you are able to, take your left arm, just at the elbow, with your right hand; if you can’t, hold a strap looped around your left elbow.

Beginner’s tip

If you tilt onto the twisting-side buttock (which compresses the lower back), raise it up on a thickly folded blanket. Consciously sink both sitting bones towards the floor.

Benefits

Improves digestion

Massages the abdominal organs

Stretches the spine, shoulders and hips

Relieves lower backache, neck pain and sciatica

Helps relieve stress

Especially good in the second trimester of pregnancy for strengthening the lower back.

Partnering

A partner can help you learn to ground the opposite-side buttock. If you are twisting to the right, have your partner stand to your left side and place his/her hand on the very top of your left thigh.

Modifications and props

For an easier variation of this pose, sit cross-legged with your feet underneath your knees, toes pointing forwards. Allow enough space between the pubis and calf muscles to lay a spanned width of your hand in between them. Bring your left hand to the outer side of your right knee and then your right hand back behind your body. Twist from your tummy to the right.

Revolved Abdomen Pose (Jathara Parivrtti)

This pose gives a much-needed twist to your intestines, which massages your internal organs and tones your abdominal muscles. It is a wonderful pose to promote bowel movements and relieve constipation, as well as loosen a stiff lower back.

Step-by-step technique

Lie on your back on the floor with your arms outstretched from your shoulders, like the letter T, palms facing the ceiling. Let there be a straight line running from your chin to your sternum to your pubic bone.
Bend your knees and place your feet flat on the floor.
Lift your hips off the floor and swing them to the left.
Take your knees toward your chest and drop them towards the floor on the right side of your body.
Inhaling, lengthen your spine. Exhale both shoulders towards the floor. Soften your gaze; quiet your hearing. Relax your jaw.
Hold the spinal twist for three complete breaths.
Lift your legs off the floor and place your feet back down to centre your hips on the floor.
Repeat everything to the other side. Repeat this up-down movement on the left side 10 times, or until your waist or back muscles begin to tire.

Focus

In your mind’s eye, trace a diagonal line from your right knee to your right hand and then lengthen through the torso along that line. If you feel yourself kinking up in your right waist, place your right thumb in your hip crease and actively draw your right hip away from your shoulder and towards your feet. Then bring your right arm back to its place.

Contraindications and cautions

Back or spine injury. Perform this pose only with the supervision of an experienced teacher or avoid it altogether.

Also avoid this pose if you have:

Migraine

Headache

Insomnia

Or if you are pregnant.

Benefits

Good for sluggish digestion, low energy, stifled breathing and a variety of spinal muscle aches and pains

Improves breathing, eases back and neck tension, and soothes frazzled nerves.

Cleansing Breath Pranayama

This pranayama exercise is great for clearing negativity from the mind and the body, ventilating the lungs and cleansing the system. It is also known as the Whistle Breath, due to the sound you make while inhaling and the fact that you purse your lips as though you are about to whistle.

You can do this pranayama in either a standing or seated position. For the best results, do this breath at the end of your practice; your asana practice will loosen up any toxins and negativity in the body and this breath will help release them.

Step-by-step technique

Duration: 5 minutes

Take a deep breath, hold it for a little while, then purse your lips as if you were going to whistle.
Now start exhaling forcefully, little by little, but do not blow the air out as if you were blowing out a candle, and do not puff out your cheeks. They should be hollowed. These successive and forceful exhalations will feel almost like slight coughs, which expel the air until the lungs are completely empty. The effort of the exhalation should be felt in your chest and in your back.

Benefits

Increased lung capacity

Stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system

Increases vitality in the body

Promotes self-healing and inner calm.

Contraindications

Avoid this breath if you suffer from chronic chills or constipation.

Meditation (Sankalpa)

Step-by-step technique

Coming into a comfortable seat, close your eyes or rest your eyes softly on a single, unmoving point. Invite your body to soften.
Turn your palms face up, a gesture of receptivity and openness, resting the backs of your hands on your knees. This meditation is a practice of opening to all that this new 12-Day Plan has to offer.
Begin to turn your awareness to your breath, letting it be natural and effortless. The 12-Day Plan is a time of renewal, a time of rebirth. As you stay with your steady, even breath, consider what you are welcoming in as you enter this new phase of light and life in your life. What is the intention you are setting for yourself at this time? Try to capture your intention in a single word, like ‘joy’ or ‘abundance’.
On each inhale, internally and silently say to yourself, ‘I am (your intention)’. For example, inhaling, ‘I am joyful’ or ‘I am abundant’. On each exhale, allow your intention to radiate through your body, mind and spirit. When your mind wanders, simply return to this repetition.
Continue this meditation for 5–10 minutes. At the end of your practice, allow the repetition to slowly subside. Remain still for a few moments, allowing your breath to deepen, and slowly open your eyes. Give yourself permission to repeat this mantra throughout your day, taking your practice off your cushion and into your life.

There is nothing more radical than the moment you realise that it’s possible to reinvent your life. I am not talking about changing your chic look for all-whites and mala beads, or even leaving a regular job to work for the charity of your choice. I’m talking about reconfiguring your mental and emotional attitudes, shifting your vision of life – the kind of inner shift that turns a pessimist into someone capable of seeing the perfection in everything; that lets an angry person channel rage into creative energy; that makes us happier, more peaceful, more in touch with the love and wisdom at our core.

This sort of transformation is the crux of the 12-Day Plan. Yet it’s essential to understand what kind of change we’re really after, and also to understand what that level of change requires. We don’t want to limit our own possibilities by expecting too little from our practice.

Another great practice, and a good alternative to the one above, is Positive Characteristic.

Positive characteristic

As you go through the 12-Day Plan, start paying attention to your mental disposition. Whatever the conscious brain dwells upon, the subconscious mind will bring to fruition. Often our negative self-image can greatly affect our ability to transform ourselves.

Step-by-step technique

Take a few minutes to single out a characteristic that would positively affect your life. Try to keep to a single characteristic if possible. It could be compassion, patience, simplicity, decisiveness,
selflessness or non-judgement of others. Sit with this character attribute and think what it would be like to embody this throughout the course of your day. Does the perception of your world change? How will your interactions with those around you change? And are you happier as a result? What other things in your day might change?
Return to this image during your day and notice how it changes the tasks and interaction. It takes 12 days to adopt a new mental approach to your life and the life you lead.

YOUR NUTRITION

DURING THE PRE-PURIFICATION Phase, we start to streamline our diet in order to condition our body for optimum cleansing during the Power Phase. In warmer months, eat as much raw food as possible.

Menu Guide/Days 4–6

Day 4 BREAKFAST

Berry Breakfast Smoothie

A delicious and simple breakfast smoothie, brimming with antioxidants and flavour!

1 serving

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

4 oranges

2 handfuls berries

2 tbsp flax, sesame, sunflower/pumpkin seeds

½ lemon

Day 4 LUNCH

You can finish off the Baked Sweet Potato and Borlotti Bean Stew (see here) that you made last night. It will taste even better on the second day: delicious and comforting. And you can try this:

Mixed Salad

A simple tossed salad that will bring out all of the flavours of the leftover Borlotti Bean Stew.

1 serving

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

Make a big mixed salad of shredded cabbage and a selection of dandelion leaves, grated beetroot or carrot, watercress, red, yellow or green peppers, half an avocado and spring onions.

Make a dressing, add plenty of finely chopped parsley and sprinkle with sesame seeds and pine kernels.

Day 4 DINNER

Vegetable Quinoa

Nutty, simple, satisfying and delicious!

2 servings

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

50g dried wild mushrooms

125g quinoa

175g broccoli, sliced

1 tbsp capers

1 red pepper, chopped

2 tbsp gardens peas

1 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp tamari

500ml bouillion powder

To garnish:

Basil

Hempseed oil

Smoked paprika

Method

Bring the vegetable stock to the boil. Add the dried mushrooms and simmer. Add the quinoa and continue to simmer gently with the lid on for 5 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients, stir and replace the lid and continue to simmer for a further 10 minutes. The quinoa should have soaked up all the water and become light and fluffy – if not, stir and allow to stand with the saucepan lid tightly closed for a further 5 minutes.
Serve with green salad or red cabbage. Sprinkle some smoked paprika and chopped basil on top and drizzle with extra tamari and hempseed oil.

Day 5 BREAKFAST

You can have muesli this morning – there shoud be plenty left over, or you can make some more porridge.

Try some Wheat-Free, Sugar-Free Muesli (see here) from your storage container.

Day 5 LUNCH

Blackberry, Raspberry and Fennel Salad

Quite delicious! An elegant, light combination of tastes and textures.

4 servings

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

50g walnuts

¼ cucumber

½ fennel, very thinly sliced/shredded

85g watercress, thick stalks removed

1 round green lettuce, washed and dried

150g blackberries, washed and dried

150g raspberries, washed and dried

150g silken tofu

Method

Preheat oven to 200°C.
Spread the walnuts on a baking tray and put in the hot oven for about 4 minutes until lightly roasted. Remove from the oven and cool.

To make the dressing:

Drain the silken tofu by putting it in a bowl lined with kitchen paper and patting dry. Transfer silken tofu to blender.
Blend for about 30 seconds until creamy. Put into a bowl ready to serve.

Continue with the salad:

Cut the cucumber in half lengthways and then thinly slice to make half-moon slices. Mix these with the fennel and watercress.
Arrange whole green lettuce leaves on four plates and pile the cucumber mixture on top. Scatter with the blackberries, raspberries and roasted walnuts and serve, passing the dressing around separately.

Day 5 DINNER

Aduki Bean and Puy Lentil Curry

This wonderful curry recipe was shared by one of my students who had completed the 12-Day Plan.

2 servings

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

2.5cm piece ginger

2 sticks celery

1tbsp coconut oil

1tbsp curry powder

1 flat tbsp garam masala

Pepper

4 ripe vine tomatoes

75g aduki beans

75g puy lentils

400ml coconut milk

150g kale

75g green beans

100g red/orange or yellow pepper

50g sweetcorn

50g peas

Serve with brown basmati rice

Method

Soften the onions, garlic and ginger together in a little coconut oil. Add the celery. Add the curry powder and garam masala.
Add the tomatoes, aduki beans and puy lentils and simmer for 5 minutes or so. Add some pepper and maybe more spices to taste.
Add the green beans and peppers. Simmer for 10 minutes or so. Add the kale, peas and sweetcorn. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the coconut milk and simmer for 5 minutes.
While you cook the brown rice, leave the curry on for 10 minutes then turn it off to rest while the rice finishes.

Day 6 BREAKFAST

Orange Spice Granola with Black Mission Figs and Almonds

This recipe is gluten-free, vegan, refined-sugar-free and delicious.

2 servings

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

160g certified gluten-free rolled oats

50g dried organic figs, sliced

50g almonds

50g finely shredded unsweetened

organic coconut

30g flax seeds

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

¹/₈ tsp ground cloves

1 pinch ground ginger

Juice from 2 oranges

1–2 tsp orange zest

1 tsp maple syrup

1½ tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp blackstrap molasses

(optional – very distinctive taste)

Method

Preheat the oven to 150°C.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine all of your dry ingredients: oats, figs, almonds, flax seeds and coconut with all of your spices, in a large bowl.
In a small bowl stir together all the wet ingredients: orange juice, zest, maple syrup, vanilla and blackstrap molasses.
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir until well coated to make a granola. Let the mixture sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
Spread the granola from the bowl onto the baking sheet(s) and bake for 30–40 minutes. Toss every 10 minutes or so to provide even toasting.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely – it will become crispier as it cools. Keep in an airtight container.

Day 6 LUNCH

Mixed Salad

This light refreshing salad will tempt you with its peppery flavours and fresh minty tastes.

1 serving

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

2 handfuls watercress

Fresh mint

3 spring onions

2 tomatoes

1 red/yellow pepper

3 leaves chicory

125g baby spinach

Bean sprouts drizzled with a lemon juice and olive oil dressing

Day 6 DINNER

Spanish-Style Chickpeas with Wilted Spinach and Pine Nuts

Whether you are doing the 12-Day Plan or not, this detox-friendly recipe is a winning mix of ingredients and tastes.

2 servings

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

1 onion

Indian spices of your choice, added to taste

¼ tsp ginger, coriander, nutmeg

1 chilli

10 cherry tomatoes, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

200g chickpeas

200g spinach

Roasted pinenuts, to garnish

Method

Cook an onion and add Indian spices of your choice to taste.
Add the ginger, coriander, nutmeg and chilli followed by the cherry tomatoes and red pepper.
After 10 minutes add the chickpeas.
Stir in the spinach at the last minute.
Garnish with roasted pine nuts.