Miracle Minded Mothers

You can. This is a food based cleanse and you should never be hungry so you can go about your regular life. That being said, everybody responds differently and sometimes underlying issues will surface to be healed, so it is recommended to reduce your commitments as much as possible, including recruiting help with the kids! 

Like everything else in life, the more you put in the more you will get out of it. For an optimal 'panchakarma' experience you would want to think of creating a 'sacred retreat bubble' for yourself so that you had plenty of time for gentle movement like yoga, walks, journaling and meditation. 

In Ayurveda food sensitivities are seen as the result of poor digestive fire and accumulated ama, which this cleanse addresses directly, so it is very much indicated in the case of food sensitivities. 

Any foods you are more comfortable avoiding do not have to be included in this cleanse. 

The most important thing that you can do to prepare physically is to start to deeply hydrate. You can do this by undertaking my 'hot water challenge'.

To do so, find a ~30oz insulated cup or thermos and fill it with hot water at bedtime. Place it next to you and drink as much of it as is comfortable first thing in the morning.

You'll likely need to use the restroom straight away after. This is good! 

Aim to fill up the cup or thermos two more times  & sip on the hot water throughout the day. If you are experiencing warm summer temperatures you might prefer room temperature water and that's fine too. 

Challenge yourself to do this for a couple of days and pay special attention if you find yourself MORE thirsty than usual. 

Welcome to deep hydration.

You can also prepare buy gathering what you need (be sure to check out the 'What do I need to buy' tab) and clearing and minimizing commitments as possible.  

You'll receive a grocery list along with recipes and everything else you'll need to know when you sign up, but if you'd like to get a little head start, here ya go!

Grocery List:

• Ghee
• Basmanti rice
• Baby red lentils or mung dahl (split yellow mung beans)
• Indian curry spices (black mustard seeds, cumin, coriander, turmeric, curry blend)
• Fresh ginger
• Fresh vegetables like chard, carrots, potatoes or sweet potatoes, fennel, zucchini, Summer squash, green beans (minimize cruciferous like cabbage, broccoli etc.)
• Pears or apples
• Oatmeal or other cooked breakfast cereal
• Castor oil
• Ginger tea or Smooth-Move tea
• Massage oil like unrefined sesame oil
• Dry bath brush (optional)
• Hot Water Bottle (optional)
• Essential oils (optional)

You can also hit the easy button and order this cleanse kit from Banyan Botanicals and throw in some massage and castor oil while you are at it. 

Prep:

• Sipping on warm water (or room temp in hot weather if you prefer) throughout the day (~64 oz/day)
• Cutting down on caffeine before hand so as to not have (or at least minimize) withdrawal symptoms

The most important principle in Ayurvedic cleansing is that the body feel satisfied and well nourished so that it naturally releases what it is holding on to that is no longer needed. 

You should feel deeply nourished and satisfied, although you might bump up against the strong habitual patterns that dictate your relationship with food. This is a good thing! 

You just need to commit to taking care of yourself by working directly with whatever comes up - and looking at the meaning you are making of it. 

And you'll have my support, and that of the collective in order to do this! 

In my own experience, very likely. I usually easily lose 5-10 lbs and lots of bloat, although that is rarely my primary intention.

Everybody is different, however it is very common to lose a few pounds and even more common to finally experience a belly free of bloating!

Any daily coffee habit, even 'just one cup a day' can lead to some pretty nasty withdrawal symptoms.

In order to avoid this during your cleanse (yes, it's better not to drink coffee during the cleanse), cut back on your caffeine over a few day period. The recommended way of doing this is to switch to 3/4, then 1/2 and then 1/4 and then no caffeine in your morning brew. 

Well, you might be right! Only you will know what is truly best for you. I encourage you to really look inward and see if the habits that you are partaking in now are really serving you. 

Are you snacking? Eating on the run? Skipping some meals and overeating others? Leaning on the comforts of wine or sweet or salty treats more than you know really serves you? 

If so, then you are not setting yourself up for success in whatever you are undertaking. 

You could customize this cleanse by maximizing the 'nourishing' and minimizing the 'cleansing' (you'll learn how to do this during the introduction class and in the PDF Guidebook as well). 

But it might be that this is truly not the right time for you, and that's okay too. It's not meant to be a 'one and done' anyway! I'll be offering this from now on, every July, October and April, and I can also support you on your own schedule. 

The actual 'cleanse' portion of the cleanse (you'll learn what I mean in the intro class + handout) isn't indicated if you are pregnant or nursing, but the nourishing portion most definitely is!

I highly recommend this pre or postpartum, as it is an important piece in supporting your healthy transition into motherhood. 

Great! I'd love to hear them. 

I'll be hosting a short Q&A session Friday, July 17th @ 2pm AKT (6pm ET) via zoom. 

Send me an email at https://www.stephaniedickerson.com/contact-us or send me a text message at (907) 299-3532 for the invite link. 

It can feel daunting to open up to a whole new way of eating, but the food prep is very easy!

The main meal is classic 'one-pot' fair and is crockpot or instant pot friendly (or can easily be prepared on the stovetop). I do recommend some side-dishes and indulgences so you might want to do a bit more than the 'one-pot' version, although the most classic version literally has you eat the same one-pot meal only!

I teach this differently because of the most important principle of Ayurvedic cleansing, that you feel very well nourished and satisfied. There should be no deprivation! Although as I've already mentioned you ARE likely to bump up against your habitual ways of relating to food, so it's important to be ready to look directly at those. This is a different experience for everyone!). 

For me, it is always really important to get the buy-in of my family. It might not be impossible for you to choose the cleansing and nourishing foods that make up this cleanse over the pizza your family normally eats on Friday's (or even less tempting choices) but for me that's not practical. 

I also like to know my kid's digestions are getting regular and seasonal cleansing as well.  While the actual 'cleanse' part of this cleanse is not appropriate for children in general, eating the nourishing and healing foods you will be preparing absolutely is. 

And, actually, many many of my clients report that their kids (often even picky eaters) LOVE kitchari (the main meal) and while my kids groan when mama is doing another cleanse and they know a lot of 'boring' food is heading their way, it doesn't stop them from gobbling it all up and exclaiming on it's deliciousness and how good it feels in their bodies. 

However you choose to handle it, it is a good time for clear firm boundaries. I try to never put myself in a situation where I have to feel deprived - feeling nourished and deeply satisfied is an INTEGRAL PART to releasing what doesn't serve us. 

The great news here is that you don't have to get it perfect, it doesn't have to go just right, you don't have to shoot to the moon and heal your physical body from top to bottom and inside out in one short week!

This gets to be a learning experience that you can build upon. Can you let however it goes be enough? Whatever you learn serve you in how you move forward more in alignment with who you want to be? 

This protocol is meant to be done 2-4 times a year and can even be done monthly (with guidance) to address big shifts when desired. So you can just do your best and know you can celebrate whatever success you have and build on that in the future. 

Sure! There is no time like the present. Just message me and we can work out the details to be sure I can support you through whatever week you choose. Once you purchase you'll have access to future group cleanses as well. 

It's taught that the benefits of this 4 or 5 day process last for 3 months. The cleansing processes that are set underway in your internal digestive and cleansing organs will continue to benefit you in clearing out old stored gunk and storing less new gunk. 

You might have begun to guess this from the last question!  Doing this cleanse every three or so months - classically at the changes of the seasons-  is ideal.  

Sometimes it is indicated for someone to do a gentle version of this cleanse every month for 3 or so months, if someone is really out of balance in some way, they wanting to support their system in healing in a deep way, or there is a lot they have been holding on to.