I hate fasting.
There, I said it. It makes me hangry, intensifies cravings, and generally turns me into someone I don't recognize. So when friends kept raving about juice fasting, I resisted. Hard.
But here's the thing about being over 40 — your body starts sending you different memos. The yogic techniques I'd relied on for years weren't cutting it anymore. The macrobiotic brown rice fasts that used to work beautifully? Now they left me more congested, not less.
Something had changed. And I needed to listen.
The Setup That Made All the Difference
After one spectacular failure (trying to juice fast while maintaining my full client schedule — spoiler alert: total disaster), I knew I had to approach this differently.
This time, I cleared my calendar. No intensive sessions, no commutes, no retreats. Just space. I picked a week when my neighbors were away, leaving me with their two adorable dogs and a quiet house in Bali. The weather was mild, the setting peaceful.
The protocol: Three days of alkaline eating to prep, five days of juice only, then a gentle return to solid foods.
And you know what? The part I was dreading most — the middle of the fast — turned out to be the most beautiful.
Day 1-2: Reality Check
The first couple of days humbled me quickly. Mild headache, fatigue, and the realization that my brain operates differently when my body is working overtime to detox.
I rescheduled client sessions. I gave myself permission to float between tasks instead of my usual laser focus. I made homemade vegetable broth because warm liquids felt necessary among all the cold juices.
Lesson #1: Your productivity expectations need to shift when you're asking your body to do deep work.
Day 3: The Massage That Changed Everything
By day three, I was feeling surprisingly smooth. The key? I got a lymphatic drainage massage.
Game. Changer.
I floated out of there, and something shifted. The gentle movement helped my system start the deeper elimination process. I continued with dry brushing, light treadmill walking, even brief dancing when the mood struck.
Lesson #2: Gentle action during detox isn't optional — it's strategic.
Day 4: When Vata Takes Over
Here's where it got interesting. My body felt more alive than it had in months, but mentally? I entered what Ayurveda calls "vata aggravation" — a quality of air and ether that creates lightness, not fog.
Ideas flowed like water. Connections sparked everywhere. But my usual structured focus? Scattered to the wind.
I could still show up for clients (focus is a trained muscle), but my approach was more intuitive, less systematic. For someone who built her success on efficiency, this felt... weird. But valuable.
Lesson #3: Different states of being access different kinds of intelligence.
Day 5: The Wisdom of Slow Living
I couldn't believe I'd made it to day five. The cravings hit hard when I walked into a supermarket to buy fruit for the next day — a true Pavlovian moment surrounded by all the foods I enjoy.
But something beautiful was happening. My system was requesting more integration time. More space between activities. More rest that wasn't just physical, but mental and emotional.
This reminded me of early pandemic days — that forced slowness many of us initially resisted but later found surprisingly generative. Soft, creative, inward-focused.
Lesson #4: Sometimes the most strategic thing you can do is stop strategizing.
The Integration Surprise
Coming off the fast brought its own lessons. Day one of fruit-only eating was worse than not eating at all — my body clearly doesn't thrive on that much quick sugar. Adding vegetables helped, but interestingly, I had more cravings during integration than during the actual fast.
The detox had recalibrated my system. I became more sensitive to alcohol, fried foods, spicy meals — all signs that my internal intelligence had reset.
What This Taught Me About Working With Your Body
Your body isn't your enemy. We often push through physical signals because we fear slowing down means falling behind. But sustainable high performance requires honoring your body's cycles, not fighting them.
Different paces access different wisdom. My usual structured, efficient mode is excellent for execution and client delivery. But this slower, more spacious state revealed insights and connections I couldn't access at my usual speed.
Timing matters more than we think. I'd planned to do a half-year review around my birthday but couldn't find the "right time." The detox created that space naturally. Without forcing, everything aligned.
The Real Transformation
The physical reset was just the beginning. As I finished the detox, I transitioned into a mental and emotional one — finally doing that half-year review I'd been putting off.
Sometimes when we stop pushing so hard, life starts flowing in ways we couldn't have planned.
I'm carrying that slowness forward now. Not as a permanent state, but as a reminder that my nervous system, hormone cycles, and energy rhythms aren't obstacles to productivity — they're information systems designed to optimize my capacity.
Questions for You
- What signals has your body been sending that you've been ignoring?
- Where are you forcing performance when rest might be more strategic?
- How might honoring your natural rhythms actually improve your results?
Your body knows what it needs. But our minds resist slowing down, thinking we'll miss out or fall behind.
Sometimes the thing your body is asking for most is exactly what your mind pushes against.
And that might be the most important lesson of all.
Want to explore your own relationship with your body's wisdom? Check out My Body My Temple module of the Feminine Way Program, where I share the sustainable approach to food and body intelligence I've been developing.
