Cleansing and the Whole Body Transformation

The book that inspired the cleanse

Amie Valpone and I at the 1440 Multiversity demonstration kitchen

Two years ago I went on a 21-day cleanse inspired by Amie Valpone's book, 

Eating Clean: The 21-Day Plan to Detox, Fight Inflammation, and Reset Your Body.

I wrote a blog post about it called Consider a Cleanse.

The cleanse eliminates:

Caffeine (even decaf coffee)
Alcohol
Added sugar
Gluten
Soy
Dairy
Citrus (except lemons)
Night Shade Vegetables (peppers, tomatoes, eggplant)
Preservatives
Pre-packaged foods

Eggs

Meat

I made it almost to Day 21 this time and overall it was easier the second time than the first because I was already eating pretty clean.  

The main thing I struggled with this time was withdrawal from caffeine.  I thought I was only drinking 1-2 cups of coffee/day before the cleanse, but I must have been drinking more because I went through awful withdrawal symptoms. My advice to anyone trying to stop caffeine is to taper instead of going cold turkey.  Taper with fewer cups per day, then to black tea, then green tea, then to herbal caffeine-free tea. You and anyone living with you will be grateful you tapered instead of going cold turkey.

While on the cleanse this year, I noticed the author of the book, Amie Valpone, was giving a workshop at 1440 Multiversity. (I love that venue near Santa Cruz, CA.) I decided to attend, thinking I'd learn a whole lot more about food and cleansing, and get to meet my favorite cookbook author. Double Yay!!

My friend Tracy and I at 1440 Multiversity

The workshop, called Whole Body Transformation, went deeper than just talking about food and cleansing. Amie will be writing a book in the future on this topic and the workshop was a sneak peek at her upcoming book.  

In the workshop, Amie led us through an exercise of how our past trapped emotions are still affecting our health today.  When I go back and review this, these are the recurring feelings that came up for me: fear, shame, anger, embarrassment, insecurity, hurt, anxiety, regret, worry.  Most often these emotions were felt in my gut and sometimes my upper back.

Amie taught us a rewiring technique to use when we get triggered in our daily lives.  It involves listening to deep theta music and going through a sensory exercise that helps to eliminate the feelings that arise from the trigger.  I'm confident her next book will explain this in-depth.

One of the main takeaways from the workshop was - you can fix your food issues by eating and drinking differently, but you may still feel stuck or sick, and your body may still feel unwell.  If that's the case, it's time to go deeper into your past and start doing the work to ease the traumas that have built up in your life and have been held in your body in various forms causing pain and unease. It's time to rewire those neural pathways that have been causing you so much pain.

I've been doing this type of work pretty regularly since my divorce.  The work is different for everyone, but for me, these are the tools that continue to help me:

yoga

meditation

reiki

sound healing 

self-help books

self-help workshops

self-help podcasts

music

watercolor painting

collage 

photography

journaling

blogging

therapy

talking to friends and family

eating and drinking well

regular exercise

allowing only healthy relationships

gardening

being in nature

traveling

being spontaneous

meeting new friends

revisiting inspirational quotes

Here are some current favorites:

It didn't happen TO you, it happened FOR you.

Hurt people hurt people.

What is the story you are telling yourself?

Beliefs are not true.

Get out of your own way.

You can't control others, but you can control your reaction to others.

When faced with something ask yourself, Is this a Tonic or a Toxin?

If you want ease, align yourself with ease.

Yoga for Pickleball Players

I started playing my favorite new sport, pickleball, a couple years ago and am officially addicted.  I've noticed my yoga practice has helped my pickleball game tremendously.  

When my pickleball friends see me stretching in between games, and learn that I teach yoga, they usually laugh and say, "I'm too inflexible to do yoga, but I know I NEED it."  I tell them, "That's like saying I have too many cavities, so I won't go to the dentist!"

EveryBODY can do some form of yoga or stretching.  Here are three suggestions for beginning a stretching routine:

1. Begin slowly and work your way into each pose.
2. Listen to your body and use modifications when needed.  
3. Always STOP if you feel PAIN.

Here is a great series of yoga moves that can improve YOU and your pickleball game. Pick and choose as you move down the list or follow the entire routine to get a full body stretch.

Knees to Chest — 30 seconds

• Lie down and then place your hands on your knees.  
• Inhale and push your knees away from you as you straighten your arms.
• Exhale and draw your knees closer to your chest as you bend your elbows.  
• Keep your hands on the knees while while you continue to inhale and exhale.
• Always remember to breath through the entire pose, every pose.

Hamstring Stretch and Twist — Three positions for each leg

• Wrap a strap, belt or towel around the arch of your right foot. 
• Lift the heel toward the ceiling with a slight bend in the knee if necessary, 
• Hold for 5–8 breaths.  
• Then widen the right leg open to the right,.
• Hold for 5–8 breaths.  
• Place the strap in the left hand and twist to the left, 
• Hold for 5–8 breaths.  
• Repeat on the other side.

Figure Four Stretch Variations — Choose ONE that works for you and hold 30 — 60 seconds

Option 1

• Lie on your back and place your right heel over your left knee in a figure 4 position.  
• Flex the top (right) foot.  
• Reach behind your left thigh and interlace your fingers.  (If this isn't possible, use the strap behind the left thigh and hold with both hands. )
• Keep your head on the ground with the chin slightly pointing down toward the chest.
• Hold for 5-8 breaths.  
• Repeat on the other side. 

Option 2

• Sit at the front edge of the seat. 
• Cross one leg over the other. 
• Gently press the bent knee down toward the floor.
• Hold for 30 seconds while you breathe.
• Repeat on the other side.

Option 3

• Stand behind a block, chair or table that is hip high.
• Lift one leg, bend the knee and rest it on the support.
• Hold for 5–8 breaths.
• Repeat on the other side.

Option 4

• Hold onto the back of a chair while waiting to play pickleball at the gym.
• Place your right ankle over your left knee.
• Squat.
• Keep the arms straight.
• Hold for 5–8 breaths.
• Repeat on the other side.

Option 5

• Test your balance with this pose.
• Place a chair or wall in front of you for support.
• Stand tall and cross your right ankle over your left knee.
• Place your hands at your chest.
• Slowly begin to squat.
• Hold for 3–5 breaths.
• Rise up slowly.
• Repeat on the other side.

Reclined Twist — 20 seconds each side

• Lie on your back and draw the knees toward the chest.  
• Release the knees and let them twist to the right.  (If they don't reach the floor place a block or book under them.)
• Turn your head toward or away from the knees.  
• Hold for 5–8 breaths.  
• Repeat on the other side.

Seated Twist Variations — 20 seconds each side

• Sit cross-legged.
• Place right hand on left knee.
• Place left hand behind you.
• Lengthen the spine as you sit tall.
• Twist from the upper back to your left.
• Hold for 5 breaths.
• Repeat on other side.

• Sit with both legs out straight in front of you.
• Bend the left knee and place foot inside right thigh.
• Wrap your right forearm around the left knee or hold the knee.
• Place your left hand behind you.
• Sitting tall, twist from the upper back to your left.
• Hold for 5 breaths.
• Repeat on the other side.

Low Cobra — 20 seconds

• Lie on your belly with the forehead on the ground.  
• Bend the elbows and keep them close to the ribs.  
• Walk the wrists back so they are under the bend elbows.  
• Firm the thighs so the kneecaps rise off the floor.  
• Keep the tops of the feet on the floor.  
• Lift the head, neck and shoulders a few inches off the ground without straining the neck.  
• Keeping the elbows close to the body hold for 3–4 breaths.  
• Release the head back down to the mat.
• Rest and repeat a few more times.

Cat — 20 seconds

• Find a hands and knees position.  
• Use a towel or blanket under the knees if they are tender.  
• Place your wrists under your shoulders and your knees under your hips.  
• Place the tops of the feet on the mat and parallel.  
• With your fingers spread wide, press into the floor and arch the back up toward the ceiling.  
• Exhale.  
• Then return to the tabletop starting position.

Cow — 20 seconds

• Using the same starting position as Cat, drop your belly and lift your chest.
• Inhale.  
• Keep the arms straight and strong and the shoulders over the wrists.

Cow/Cat together — 30 seconds

• Inhale cow
• Exhale cat

Cat/Cow Seated Variation — 5 or more times



Downward Facing Dog Variations — 20 seconds




Option 1

• Start on all fours.  
• Walk your hands forward a few inches.  
• Curl under your toes and lift your hips high.  
• It's ok if your heels don't touch the floor.  
• Keep the arms strong and legs relatively straight.  
• Relax the head between the arms.  
• Breathe.  
• Come down to all fours when you are tired.  

Option 

• Same as above, but place hands on blocks if shoulders are tight.

  

Option 3

• If first two options are not working, try this one.
• Face a wall.
• Stand far enough away to reach your hands out and place palms flat on wall.
• Hinge at the hip.
• Keep the hands slightly above hip height.
• Keep both legs straight.

Chair Pose — 30 seconds

    

• Stand tall and bend the knees into a high squat.  
• Place the weight in your heels.  
• Keep the knees parallel.  
• Reach the arms forward and overhead or keep them at the chest if shoulders are tight.   
• Gaze forward.  
• Hold for 5- 8 breaths.  
• Stand up and repeat a few times.

Shoulder Stretches — 20 seconds each side 

You can use a pickleball paddle instead of a strap for this shoulder stretch!

 



Triangle Pose — 20 seconds each side

Try this with a block under the lower arm if your arm does not reach the floor.  
The goal is to create length in the side of your waist, NOT to touch the floor with the butt sticking out.

  


Tree Pose — Challenge your balance.  Try one or more of these for 20 seconds

Keep the standing leg and hip firm and strong.  Repeat on each side.

Option 1

  

• Use a chair under the bent knee for support.

Option 2

  

•  Place foot on floor of bent knee leg.

Option 3

  

•   Place bent knee against wall for support.

Option 4
     
  

• Place foot against inner thigh (NOT ON THE KNEE) of standing leg.  

Child's Pose Variations 

• Widen the knees and sink the hips back toward the heels.  
• If the hips don't touch the heels, that's fine, let them be higher in the air.  
• Place a rolled blanket or towel under the knees.  
• If that is still uncomfortable, lift the hips higher and stretch the arms out in front.  
• Pad the knees for comfort.

   









Enjoy all the benefits yoga has to offer pickleball players - focus, balance, strengthening, mobility, calming, overall flexibility, coordination and agility.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Notes:

If you are new to pickleball, check out this link.

Yoga for Healthy Aging blog has great suggestions for stretches as we age.

Up Your Game With Yoga Poses for Pickleball from Pickleball Central.

Yoga for Pickleball and On Court Relaxation by Gale Leach.