Try to be honest and realistic with yourself – to meet your own needs and expectations. That way you will achieve great results.‘For the spiritual warrior
The act of surrender
Consummates a victory
And nothing important is lost’
K. BRADFORD BROWN
I WAS TOLD not to move. Men encircled me in white coats. I could hear my sister’s voice. She was crying beside me. My head had been masking-taped to the hospital bed and I was unable to move my body.
My neck was broken at C2 and C3, dislocated at C3 and C4. One of the men in white coats informed me that if I moved my head and neck I would spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair. My spinal column was resting on an open fracture, the equivalent of a piece of string on a razor blade; one false move and that could have been it. In this moment I came face to face with my own entombment.
Then, in the morphine-induced din, the events of the previous evening began to piece themselves back together. In A&E I was watching myself watch reality. I was back in the grocer’s shop, before the first blow had been struck. I was inside the shop, admiring the incredible array of colours from the confectionery counter. A muffled laughter. Then I was walking up to the grocer’s shop with my sister, linking arms, busily chatting before it all happened. And then silence. I couldn’t see anything for the film of blood that separated me from reality.
I pleaded. I was in a vice-like grip. I was terribly confused. What had I done? Why was this man so furious with me? What had I done to him? Why was he beating me?
‘Please no more,’ I said.
And then something beautiful happened, unexpectedly. As I started to slip away, everything went quiet.
The beating had come to a premature end. And before that tap on the shoulder, I remember thinking how sorry I felt for my unmoving, juiceless body that I saw lying on the floor from above.
Suddenly, I was able to run out of the shop. I bolted outside into a sea of noise, police sirens and ambulance lights. I held my head above my shoulders in the palms of my hand and ran.
‘Can you hear me, Mr James?’ somebody asked.
In the years leading up to the assault, I had been living and practising yoga and meditation in India, enjoying a lifestyle that some might think quite unorthodox. I bought antique textiles in Gujarat and Rajasthan and other parts of India. I also designed simple block-print and screen-print sarongs and blankets. In the summer months I sold my wares on the Portobello Road. The stall told a story of adventure and people loved it.
I lived in an old green miner’s bus, which I had rescued from an embankment along the Thames in south-west London. I spent the next month making her roadworthy, while my mechanic, Fabrice, taught me how to bypass the fuel line while smoking Gitanes.
The axles were not quite straight so the minibus drove at a slight angle. And from the minibus roof, a chimney protruded out of a wood-burning stove. This was my dream, a real gypsy wagon. I will never forget the look on my father’s face when I drove the minibus home. As if all of the thousands of pounds spent on my education had gone up in a cloud of gypsy smoke.
Like this I followed the sun for a few years.
I came into contact with yoga and meditation mainly through curiosity. In India, I was amazed at the enthusiasm with which other Western travellers spoke about yoga. This new world sounded so wonderfully exotic, this was exactly what I was looking for! On a textiles-buying mission in the Himalaya, as I passed through Rishikesh, I went to find a course and a teacher to help guide me.
In the years that followed, I practised yoga and meditation diligently, sometimes for as long as nine hours each day. In retrospect, the time that I spent devoted to the practice of yoga and meditation had been time well spent. The senior orthopedic surgeon later asked me if my spinal column was made of concrete!
In intensive care, I allowed myself to feel my own pain, the full weight of the assault weighing down upon my shoulders; I was powerless, finally. And that’s where it happened. I surrendered, but in a way that I had never really surrendered before.
From that day forward I was completely present, in a way that I had never been present in my life before. I felt enriched from my experience.
My neck was rebuilt with bone from my hip, screws and titanium plates. From the moment I was told my prognosis, I knew that I had to win my life back. So, I used all of the breathing, visualisation and meditation techniques that I had learned, and I successfully brought the intelligence back into my body. It was a marathon, of sorts, but when you are determined to win, nothing can stop you.
The medical staff could not believe how quickly I recovered from the assault. And I walked out of the Whittington Hospital in six weeks with a blue-and-white neck-brace collar.
While I cannot be 100 per cent sure whether my recovery can be exclusively attributed the yoga and meditation, I am quite certain that they played a significant part. I was amazed at the power of this humble teaching and I was placed in a unique position to practise it. As I regained movement, I realised that this simple practice worked, so I decided that this is what I wanted to do with my life: to teach yoga and meditation and share this gift with others.
My whole approach to wellness is based on the fundamental aspects of the practice that I discovered in India. I discovered a link between gut health, the practice of cleansing and nutrition, which together with yoga, breathing and meditation created a path for healing and an enlightened approach to being.
THIS BOOK EXPLAINS how the human ‘machine’ (comprising body, mind and spirit) works in harmony and how you can use my unique detoxifying 12-Day Plan, which forms Part 2 of this book, as a tool to transform your whole self. Working from our knowledge of how the gut operates in the context of the mind, body and spirit combined and how it is the lynchpin for good health, my easy-to-follow, transforming 12-Day Plan includes a challenging, enjoyable and highly rewarding combination of fasting diet, yogic exercise and breathing, meditation and a wealth of healing and health-care tips to do at home. Combined, these will help you to cleanse toxins from your gut, mitigate the effects of stress, become strong, fit and well and heal your Self, creating peak wholeness and happiness, which can have life-long effects.
SOME THINGS YOU WILL GET FROM THIS BOOK
All about fasting and how it works
All you need to know about food and nutrition
Effortless weight loss on the 12-Day Plan
Delicious cleansing recipes
Tempting juices and smoothies
All about the digestive system and how to improve yours
How to do yoga, meditation and breathing exercises
Great green lifestyle tips
The secrets of inner cleansing
How to reduce and eliminate stress
How to create all-round wellbeing in your life
IF YOU ARE NEW TO YOGA
This book is suitable for everyone, whether you already have knowledge and experience of the issues and yoga techniques or are just starting out. However, if you are a newcomer it is vital to learn the exercises and asanas in a regular (weekly) class under the supervision of an experienced teacher. Then, having learnt the techniques and been taught and coached by a qualified teacher, you can then go on to practise at home on your own – as part of my 12-Day Plan – and avoid unnecessary strain and injury. The style of yoga described in the book is a Hatha and Iyengar mix, which I have adapted for my own clients, and concentrates mainly on inversions, twists and bends, which are the most effective cleansing asanas to use for our purposes.
The yoga sequences set out in this book are not here to substitute weekly yoga classes. But if you are new to yoga, I recommend signing up to an introductory course or booking in some private classes before starting the 12-Day Plan. Home practice can help you to understand your weekly classes at a more profound level, through making practice more regular – even daily – if you possibly can.
‘This Cleanse has taught me that my body performs and looks better when I am putting good, healthy foods inside it. All in all it has been a fantastic experience and I’ve lost a total of 9lbs.’
IF YOU HAVE picked up this book for the first time, it is likely that you have just taken your first steps towards creating a brand-new you – may I be the first to congratulate you!
I have written this book to guide you and let you know that it really is possible to re-engage with your mind and body in a completely new way.
‘Prepare to be amazed by the results of carrying out the 12-Day Plan.’
It’s a good idea to read Part I (Mind Body Cleanse: Background) of the book first of all to get an overall understanding of my Mind Body Cleanse ethos and my unique 12-Day Plan, which I want to share with you. Part 1 tells you all the theory you need to know and understand about your own health, including stress, the vital role of your gut in your health, all about the theory behind yoga, meditation, the breath and the preparation you need to do before embarking on the 12-Day Plan. Then you can move on to Part 2 (The 12-Day Plan: Taking Action), reading the overview of the Plan so that you can get a clear idea of what you will be doing on a daily basis and can devise your own approach. For example, you will need to decide on a start date when you can commit to following the Plan as well as possible. Choose 12 days so that the Power Phase (Days 7–9) falls in a period of relative quiet in your schedule – when you haven’t got 10 or 15 back-to-back meetings or are doing the Iron Man competition! Part 2 gives you all the practical information you need about how to do the yoga asanas, how to prepare your food and drink every day with some delicious easy recipes and all about the meditations you will be learning. An at-a-glance chart (see here) gives you a quick way of checking the order of the exercises in your daily practice.
Try to be honest and realistic with yourself – to meet your own needs and expectations. That way you will achieve great results.
Once you decide on your start date, be mindful of the days leading up to it, so that you can prepare yourself mentally. Read through the whole book, so that you can find out what to expect and be prepared for any challenges that may arise.
It’s a good idea to purchase a notebook to take notes as you go along and record your progress. Writing things down will help you lodge everything in your own mind more effectively. At the beginning of each phase of the 12-Day Plan, write down your goals and make them as specific as possible. This will help them to become real.
After the 12 days of the Plan you will feel refreshed, energised and more in control of your life. You will see the physical results of a more toned body, sparkling eyes and glowing skin, and experience the benefits of increased mental clarity and joy.
Many people have experienced weight loss by following the 12-Day Plan, but this should not really be your primary motive. The Plan is not just a quick fix that sees you working towards your beach-toned body, only to return to bad habits afterwards. Instead, think of it as being the start of a long-term life plan. To maintain optimum levels of health and vitality I recommend that you carry out the 12-Day Plan every three or four months each year.
As a health professional, I am adamant that everyone should have a healthy body, both inside and out, and it’s my intention to get you to think differently about your relationship with food and drink and how you look after yourself on an ongoing basis. You only have one body, so you should treat it with respect and aim to get it into peak condition. Prepare to be amazed by the results of carrying out my 12-Day Plan. But if you have any health concerns, please discuss them with a health practitioner before embarking on the Plan.
‘The Cleanse Plan is easy to follow, no excuses for anyone with a busy schedule. You do have time to do this! You won’t get bored or hungry. My fridge has never looked so healthy. I am sure my insides reflect this. I would recommend this to anyone.’