14 Day Winter Home Cleanse - A Seasonal Ayurvedic Program to Shed Weight, Reduce Inflammation, and Reboot Your Metabolism

By Noah Volz and Kate O'Donnell

You already know that longevity, well being, and vitality can be enhanced by a cleanse - but how can you ensure that the cleanse you choose is personalized enough to work for you?

How can you do a cleanse that is both gentle and effective?

More importantly, how can you learn recipes and lifestyle practices that you WANT to continue

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rhythm of Healing
• Release date: Dec 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781087959207

Book preview

Introduction

I am grateful to Noah Volz for writing this clear and concise guide, Winter Home Cleanse. As an Ayurvedic Practitioner, I have led thousands of people through seasonal cleansing programs every spring and fall. A winter guide comes as a great gift to us, as so many people come to me after the winter holidays, looking to get back on track. Ayurveda, India’s health system which is as many as 5000 years old, contains a lot of information about food and digestion and how these are major factors in maintaining health. This book is one wonderful way readers can take agency in the healing process and follow this program to improve their diet, daily rhythms, and digestive strength.

The science of Ayurveda stresses the importance of eating a seasonal diet, Rtucharya. We can balance qualities in our environment through our food choices and cooking practices. When we do, we experience states of mental ease, good energy, and sound digestion. When we don’t change with the season, according to Ayurveda, we run the risk of falling into a state of imbalance. Any disease originally began as a simple state of imbalance, an increase of one or more elements. In autumn, we are likely to see an increase in air and space elements, which bring along dry, cold, hard, and rough energies (think standing on top of Mt Washington). This could manifest as dry skin, gas and bloating, dry colon (constipation), cracking joints, dry eye, cold hands and feet, to name a few. As the season continues on, the body brings in heavy, moist, qualities to balance this dryness. If the heavy, moist qualities increase beyond what is useful, for the body, we may see weight gain, stagnation, and sluggish appetite. Noah carefully expands on this concept. 

To put it simply: in winter, increase your moist, warm, soft foods! Replace your salads with steamed vegetables and soups, your iced water with warm water and herbal tea. Doesn’t that sound intuitive? All one has to do is pay attention to what your body is telling you—but what if one is having trouble reading the signs? Enter, the 14-Day Winter Home Cleanse program where Noah guides readers into, through, and beyond his two-week diet and lifestyle program to gain deep understanding about how the body works through an Ayurvedic lens, what and how the five elements are important, and what readers can do to create conditions for optimal health.

I completely agree with Noah, that a tendency in modern cleansing programs is to focus on the cleanse itself and to shortchange the preparation and reintegration phases. This oversight has consequences which can result in more problems and feeling worse after a cleanse. I am thrilled that he clearly describes the difference in scope of home cleansing and traditional panchakarma techniques. It is so important to have a clear view and intention for any cleanse. Noah introduces cleansing as part of an integrated whole which is dependent on preparation and reintegration phases. The phases are very clear and easy to follow. The very thorough explanations of what aspects of the program are important and why will ensure users of this information stay inspired and get beneficial results from their efforts.

Noah describes the kind of toxins that can lodge in the body, and how his program can stimulate the body’s own intelligence into removing them. He offers it in stages, and readers can choose to use herbal formulas for maximum results, or rely simply on Noah’s whole foods recipes throughout the program. A tiered program is essential, as feeling comfortable with the undertaking results in success.

The 14-Day Winter Home Cleanse program comes from well over a decade of Noah’s immersion into Ayurvedic practice, teaching others and guiding them through the steps to prepare for cleansing, undergo it, and reintegrate wisely. It is through this kind of live laboratory that ancient wisdom is adapted to serve modern lifestyles. Due to Noah’s diligence and care as a practitioner, I endorse his program knowing it is carefully constructed to address the booby traps he and his clients have experienced along the way. Wisdom born of experience is the best kind, and Noah has it.

This book is a gift to the art and science of Ayurveda and may many receive long-lasting and life-giving principles from the practices within these pages.

—Kate O’Donnell

Kate O’Donnell, Ayurveda Practitioner and senior yoga teacher, is the author of three books on Ayurveda cooking and lifestyle, The Everyday Ayurveda Cookbook; Ayurvedic Cooking for a Calm, Clear Mind, and The Everyday Ayurveda Guide to Self-Care. She is an international presenter and on faculty for several Ayurveda Schools in the U.S. Most recently, Kate has founded The Ayurvedic Living Institute, an online resource for Ayurveda education and practice.

Prologue

The study of the traditions of Ayurveda, yoga, and other Vedic ­sciences have been extremely rewarding for me. A deep and passionate study of these foreign traditions has been one of the most respectful ways for me to engage with them, and my focus on meditation, Ayurveda, and yoga has had profound and ­unparalleled effects on my life. They have promoted more self-awareness, alignment, and physical resilience within me. These traditions embrace the wisdom of old, and I have been blessed by their depth. Therefore, from a perspective of gratitude and giving back, I have sought to embrace and share these teachings in a way that is passionate, authentic, and practical. My hope is that you can experience an effect similar in profundity to the one they have had on me. 

Many of the traditions that I love come from cultures that are not my own. I am a white, middle-class American. My ancestors were Polish and German, and I grew up in a Methodist household. It was during my middle-class upbringing that I had the privilege of being introduced to these teachings. These traditions were developed over 5,000 years ago in Asia, primarily in India and Nepal. Many of them were not known in the West until Westerners started visiting these places or taking them over (British rule of India). It is the privilege of being born in the West that has allowed me the financial, social, and educational means to engage with these ancient sciences. In fact, many of my teachers and mentors have been Westerners such as Dr. Mark Halpern, Dr. David Frawley, Dr. John Douillard, and Dr. Paul Dugliss. I have, however, also studied with non-Western teachers such as Dr. Sarita Shrestha, Dr. Deepak Chopra, and Dr. Vasant Lad.

The entire capitalist and colonialist¹ system has allowed for the cross-cultural influence and appropriation² of these traditions in the West. I am only aware of a small amount of the appropriation of these traditions and it is important for me to not contribute to this problem as I have seen the way these traditions are used commercially. Therefore, it is not my intention to cause harm through the sharing of these teachings; nevertheless, it’s important to note that, despite my sincere intentions, I am inevitably and inextricably a part of the cycle of appropriation and colonialism because of where I was born. So, I commit to continually do my best to educate myself and others about the cultures from which these traditions of wisdom come.

My hope in sharing these teachings is that you will grow and evolve through their wisdom and that they will support you on your journey towards greater balance and healing. Also, I am aware that while I am knowledgeable about these ancient sciences, they are not my traditions. It is therefore my sincere hope that you will also approach these teachings in a way that gives credit to the places they originated from and recognizes the cultural and colonial forces that have made them accessible to many of us. It is this sincere approach and devotion to these traditions that help them spread in ways that support the entire human family and make us citizens of the healing world.

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1 Colonialism is the practice of acquiring full or partial control over another country’s resources, people and culture by occupying and exploiting them.

2 Appropriation is the action of taking something for one’s own use, without the owner’s permission.

Author’s Note

During my sophomore year of high school, I did an independent study in cooking. What this really means is that I did dishes for a local Cajun restaurant for free, and then they hired me over the summer. I really wanted to learn how to cook, and that is where my journey began. From an early age, I understood the importance of food and developed a deep love for the art of cooking. This love would culminate decades later when I worked for a small company in Southern Oregon called Farm To Fork Events. With the help of the company, local farms would host 120 guests who would enjoy a five-course meal sourced from local ranchers, farmers, cheesemakers, and wineries. That was the highlight of my journey as a cook and a chef, and I am forever grateful for the friends I made during that time.

This book merges my love of cooking and my love of Ayurveda. It is meant as a guide on a journey to encourage you to try new things and develop new habits. Although I use the word cleanse in the title because that word best describes the process, it is not a cleanse in the true sense of the word. True cleanses are the Ayurvedic detoxification practices, often called Panchakarma, along with their Western relatives outlined in toxicology textbooks. This is more of a reset. An opportunity to try a new way of doing things for a couple of weeks and see what sticks. You will still benefit a lot from the procedures outlined here, but it is only called a cleanse for semantic ease.

The Main Cleanse Phase section of this book outlines the actual cleanse, but before you get there, I have outlined a lot of the principles that will guide you through it. I have also collected a lot of resources and included them in the appendixes to help you get the most out of this cleanse. The cleanse is organized into three phases: Preparation Phase, Main Cleanse Phase, and Integration Phase. The Main Cleanse Phase is further broken down into two steps. In each phase, there are a couple of recommendations that are made in addition to the basic diet and lifestyle practices outlined at the beginning of the book. Having led these types of cleanses since 2009, I have found that not enough time is spent on preparing for a cleanse and integrating it afterward. Thankfully though, the Ayurvedic system in this book highlights the importance of these stages. On a final note, I hope you learn a lot from this book, and I commend you on taking this important step towards your health and healing.

Part 1

Why Do This Program?

We all reach a point in our lives where it becomes undeniable that we need healing. That is usually when we seek out help, and that is probably why you are holding this book in your hands. You are seeking help in healing yourself. You may, however, also be here simply because you want to better yourself and take your health to the next level. Either reason is enough to be investing in the information presented here. This book will help you understand the fundamentals of health, food, and the lifestyle practices needed to help you heal yourself and take charge of the way you approach your life.

In most ancient systems of medicine, the digestive tract is the key to health and healing. Digestive disorders have been around since the dawn of