Here is the link to my blog about my Juice cleanse and the time i spent at Ceibo-Bokis serioussillyness.blogspot.com/2010/04/un-monton-of-mountains.html
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Here is the direct link: Un Monton of Mountains

Independent Study
My Health
Shanti Vidya

Two years ago when I got really sick, I found out about my gluten allergy. Ever since then I have been working to get my health back to a normal state. Because I got so used to feeling sick all the time my “normal” state was something totally different then it is now. But it taught me a lot about my body.

This year I decided to commit to not eating gluten and I can see the difference it has made. Big things like my energy, digestion and overall mood have changed but also little things I have noticed are better without the gluten like memory, my ability to focus and even the way I speak. I have worked to add other routines to help make a healthier lifestyle for myself like regular exercise and my next step is becoming vegetarian. I have learned what keeps my body at a healthy state and I can tell when it is unbalanced.

Focusing on my health this semester and taking the Holistic Health class has helped me get to where I am now. I learned a lot and applied some of it to what I will do in the future for my health. One really thing I realized is how important yoga is in my daily life. After I do yoga I feel like I do after I get acupuncture but better. It boosts my energy and I feel like everything in my organs and blood are flowing in all the right directions. I know that for the rest of my life I am going to find time in my week to do yoga because it has been such a positive thing for my health.

Something I did on my own for my health was conducting my juice cleanse. Although I don’t think this would be healthy to do all the time I think that I could do this once a year and it would be a really great thing. I’m glad I did it in Ceibo-Bokis too, it was a really good decision. When I am there, surrounded by the mountains with a constant stream of fresh air and a healthy environment flourishing all around me it does something for my body, my mind and my spirit. I feel small yet invincible.

Doing my cleanse I had no distractions from the city of advertisements for fast food and things, and since it is so secluded I wouldn’t even physically be able to go and get anything from a store that I craved. I only started craving things towards the end of my fast, like hot rice, beans and cheese, that’s all I wanted.

I generally felt good everyday and after drinking a smoothie was always surprised how full I got. The best part about the cleanse was the feeling of weightlessness I got. When I eat meat or something greasy my body heavy and it takes more effort for me to carry it around but on the juice cleanse I felt light, easy like I was barely touching the ground when I walked.

The most important thing that I have learned is how to listen to my body. By paying such close attention to it and analyzing different health tactics I have better skills to apply for myself. My body is constantly growing and in this college my location is changing too so I know that I need to listen to my body even more. Now that I have small things that I can do in these times I am certain that I can continue to keep myself at a healthy state in the future.