Chi Kung and Fasting: An incredible cleansing experience!

[Erica]

Dear Omar,

I'm sure fasting can bring good experiences, but so far I will enjoy eating when hungry

Hahaha, fantastic!

Wishing you many enjoyable meals,
Erica

[PatrickUK]

No time like the present!

Ok I decided at the weekend to do a 3 day fast and I am coming to the end of day 1! Initially I was nervous of how I would feel, as the mind rebels against the thought of not eating!

However I was surprised that actually I did not start to really feel hungry until I go home from work and my body said 'time for dinner!' Right now I feel like I could not be trusted to hold a piece of cheese for 5 minutes, but although food is on my mind, I am looking forward to carrying the fast further!

I intend to make full use of this evening for my chi kung practice and some chanting/prayer as fasting is supposed to enhance spiritual awareness and I may need some strength in the days to come!

I will let you know how I get on tomorrow,

yours hungryly,

Patrick

[Ronan]

Good luck :-)

[Erica]

Enjoy!

[Piers]

Patrick, how did you get on?

piers

[PatrickUK]

so sorry for the late reply - Ive had a hectic weekend! I hope no-one thought I had starved to death!

The fast continued on the 2nd and third days much the same as the first. I experienced little hunger in the familiar sense, but more a craving for food that I noticed was attached more to the pleasure of eating, rather than satisfaction of nutritional needs. This has confirmed my suspicion that the bulk of my desire to eat every 4 hours is a kind of addiction to the pleasure of the act rather than necessity!

For this reason I feel much more confident about going without food and I will endeavor to vastly lessen my food portions in light of this! I will probably aim to do a 3 day fast every six months, as I did feel that I experienced some benefit from giving my body a rest.

However I did not experience any deep cleansing like Erica described, which was a slight disappointment. I did notice that my chi kung was slightly enhanced on an empty stomach, but nothing really significant.

In spite of this I am very glad I did it, as I have come away with a fresh perspective on my eating habits. The only thing I will change next time is that I wont be doing it while Im at work - it was a pretty long day!

[joko]

Dear Family,

I have just finished my yearly 30-day fast, for which I am grateful; All praise to God the Almighty and Merciful.

Joko

[Erica]

Dear Patrick,

Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences with fasting! It was great to read and compare with my own experiences. Sorry about the late reply, I've been enjoying my last few days in the US before I return to Japan tomorrow.

I experienced little hunger in the familiar sense, but more a craving for food that I noticed was attached more to the pleasure of eating, rather than satisfaction of nutritional needs. This has confirmed my suspicion that the bulk of my desire to eat every 4 hours is a kind of addiction to the pleasure of the act rather than necessity!

I know the feeling.

Whenever I fast, I often feel that sometimes I just "miss" food. Fasting was a great way for me to learn the difference between when I'm craving the enjoyment/stress relief I get from eating and when my body actually needs food.


On a related note, did you notice how much time is freed up when you are fasting? It always feels like I have so much free time when I fast. No food prep/eating/clean up leaves a lot of time to enjoy life in other ways.

However I did not experience any deep cleansing like Erica described, which was a slight disappointment. I did notice that my chi kung was slightly enhanced on an empty stomach, but nothing really significant.

I've fasted several times since I first tried it out back in March, but the only time I had a very deep cleansing experience was that first time. I think that at that time, for perhaps a variety of reasons, my body needed a break from food to achieve a deep cleansing.

Since March, I've had mixed results. Sometimes I notice some good cleansing, other times not so much. I hope to understand someday what causes my body to need a break from food. (If there is something in particular that causes it)

I feel much more confident about going without food

Before fasting, when I got hungry, I just wanted to hurry up and eat food.

It's nice to experience being hungry but being ok with being hungry, isn't it?


To me, learning that alone makes a fast well worth the effort!

Thanks again for sharing,
Erica

[Goldbake10]

Hi Erica

Thank you for your article which is connecting to some of my own present thoughts about fasting. I have fasted in the past and I am looking to go back to the practice of fasting one or twice a month. Thank you for the encouragement and it is great to hear your progress.

Marisa

[James L]

Hi Erica, thanks for posting this thread. I havnt fasted for a long time and was recently thinking I should do so. Actually I have never fasted and practiced Chi Kung excercise.
As it's so cold this winter I have opted for heavy foods and no water to regulate my body temperature. Basicaly no food and drinking water drops my body temperature. However when you mention in your post the cold and the heat experience I have to say this inspires me to give it a go.
So, Thanks for the inspiration.

Best Wishes
James

[Erica]

Dear Marisa and James,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts here.

I actually just made an interesting discovery last week that relates to fasting. The discovery was that I've been overeating almost everyday for many years!

When I was training for pole vault in university, I began to overeat so that I could put on more muscle. I think that this became a habit over the years, and even after I stopped pole vaulting, I continued the habit of overeating.

I have a very high metabolism, so even if I overeat, I don't gain extra weight...so perhaps that is why I wasn't able to realize that I was overeating for many years.


So what does this have to do with fasting?


Now that I've began re-learning to eat only the amount of food that my body wants, I've been experiencing the same good results that I had from fasting...except now, I experience them almost everyday! My energy level, clarity of mind, zest for life, and overall happiness have all increased since I stopped overeating (just like they all increased when I fasted)

So, I think that perhaps the reason that I had such good results from fasting is actually because at that time, my body was overloaded with food nearly everyday. Hence, other people who don't have tendencies to overeat might not experience the same things I did.


I am curious, however, as to why you (James and Marisa) are interested in fasting? I wonder if your reasons are related to or very different from mine?


Warm regards,
Erica

[James L]

Hi Erica, I have just got home from a huge meal, I am now rolling on the sofa. Oh my belly!
Oddly enough I feel amazingly light, cheerful and full of beans.

1: I find fasting a useful way to rest my body and let it be still.
2: To break habitual patterns.
3: It changes the minds thought process that then enhances specific subconscious thoughts to become more apparent.

Best wishes with a full belly of Chi
James

[Goldbake10]

fasting

Hi Erica and Ngankari

It is a month since you last posted a comment on fasting. You probably think that I have been on a fast for a month. Not true, though I have for a day. I choose when I would like to fast. It may be the beginning of a new moon or a full moon. I am not very strict with myself. I liked both your comments and I have similar reasons of my own. Practicing each day what is the right amount of food is an art in itself. I don't like diets and wish for my body to choose from what is available. I am mostly interested in the choices.

As for my last fast, I enjoyed the experience itself and I had a wonderful dream that gave me more insights.

A bowl full of Cheeries
Marisa

[Michael Agar]

Fast times

Dear Erica and others
I have just caught up with this fascinating thread tonight as I sit with that all too familiar feeling of a slightly bloated, post-dinner sluggishness. For some time I've wondered how the three great religions of the Middle East had incorporated fasting into their rituals and whilst this is still prominent in the Jewish and Islamic calendars, the Christian practice of Lent seems to have faded in many industrialised nations. In fact, the emphasis seems to be on constant feasting.

Thank you Erica for sharing your personal investigations into fasting, the enhancement of qi and the potential for spiritual cultivation. I read the references you suggested and found Sifu's comments yet again very enlightening, especially in the development of his opinions over time.

I have never fasted by choice. Prior to starting qigong and taiqiquan over three years ago, I would consistently get whatever flu was passing through town for about a week, every three months or so. Typically, this would be around the changing of seasons and I'd get sick usually after meeting a stressful deadline. As inconvenient as it was, it was a chance to take it easy as the flu took its course. Over this time I would usually lose my appetite and after the flu was gone, be filled with renewed energy sans a couple of unneeded kilos.

Nowadays, this just doesn't happen anymore. I miss the not eating for a week. I want to explore fasting with intent and with the power of qigong and meditation.

Thank you all
peace (without the mung beans)

Michael