Finish Line
Allison and I met at the Four Winds Certification in Shamanic Energy Medicine, which we completed in March 2023. We decided to take on the week-long Alberto Villoldo “Grow a New Body Program” together. I know it helped both of us and we recommend finding a partner for support and communication throughout the experience. :) Here are our ponderings on the experience:
Educational - Janet: Thinking of sugar as “the poison in the kitchen” was an attention grabber and a take away that I’ll keep close to my heart (not my gut haha) - truly understanding that my sugar cravings are an addiction - more than a crutch - more than a habit - the candida in my stomach is insatiable in its quest and desire to feed on sweets. Breaking the cycle was difficult and It’s not over. I was on vacation with my daughter on the last two days of the Grow a New Body program. I was raised and also raised my children to equate food with love - it was very difficult to abstain from sweets and gluten during our time together. I made it through the program but once it was over - I enjoyed a beautiful bagel and blueberry pancakes - so this sugar thing is real and is not over. But, vacations are meant to be vacations and my goal is to live a clean lifestyle with exceptions and food freedom on special days. I was accustomed to reading food labels due to my vegan diet but I wasn’t really observant about added sugar. Taking note of added sugar in many of my food choices like oat milk, pickles, ketchup and bread was eye opening. I also didn’t quite get it - that regular fruit is very sweet and should be limited to some degree. I rely on fruits for my sweet tooth and realize that too much is too much. I found a nondairy “yogurt” (cashew) with zero added sugar and loved it as a treat. I found oat milk and almond milk with no added sugar. Allison: I learned a lot about how my usual diet is hard on my body. I usually eat very spread out during the day ,so my gut doesn’t get much down time to rest.
Lessons Learned - Janet - Prepare some of the recipes before the start of the program so that everything is lined up and ready to go, including the vegetable broth, the soup, list of supplements and vegetables for juicing. Avoid vacation or special events during the program, so that there is less temptation. As someone who is early to bed, early to rise, consider eliminating dinner - in other words - swapping small juice breakfast for small juice dinner - works better for my schedule. My stomach aches were not just from nerves, and from digesting trauma - as I believed. My gut was suffering and the program eased my gut pain in a few days. Allison - Participate in the Grow a New Body program at a retreat when you are not working and can focus on the necessary hydration, saunas and spiritual practices - in addition to food and food supplements. I found it difficult to juggle it all with my work schedule - working four full days of the seven. I did have two saunas and two saltwater Epsom salt baths and a body brush. I didn’t get enough exercise in and didn’t feel I was adequately flushing things from my system. I had a low grade headache and sometimes a moderate to intense one every day. It was challenging to stay hydrated. I underestimated how much time it would take to prepare for the week and then each morning to pack it up and take it to work - so many dishes.
Cost - Janet - Like I quoted at the beginning of this process, I felt I would do this when I had the money but I turned it around to “I’ll have more money when I do the program.” I can’t show that for myself just yet but my stomach aches improved right away. I felt constipated much of the time but perhaps there just wasn’t much food in me because when the week ended - things got moving again. How do you put a price tag on health? Allison - I estimate I spent $650 on supplements and food for the seven days. Supplements are the biggest expense. Some of them will last for the next round (the book suggests doing the program quarterly.) Sometimes it was tricky to get the right dose.
Other Challenges - Janet - I never made it to a steam bath or sauna - but I did garden, ride my bike and play pickleball - so sweating was achieved. The program is not accessible to everyone, due to the cost of the supplements, organic vegetables, juicers and to saunas and steam rooms. I never successfully fermented the fruit into the .S Boulardii. I tried but I didn’t have a light bulb in my oven so the required temperature (not too hot, not too cool) was not achieved. I took the S. Boulardii pills instead. This was not the intent of the program but it was the best that I could do. A couple of times I was out having a coffee with a friend and the coffee shop’s oat milk had sugar in it - not 100% sugar free. Due to the loud juicer, I started juicing at night so as not to disturb my Air BNB visitors. Allison - It was easy to hit the 28 grams of protein - so measuring hummus and nuts (for example) was critically important to stay within acceptable protein levels. I had the same soup every night and it was very boring. Next time I will make two types of soup, swapping them out daily. My struggle was eating as much as recommended, especially by day three, the spoon-Fulls of coconut oil and the big salad at lunch were hard to get down. When I’m in ketosis, my appetite really shuts down. The lack of movement, poor hydration and too few calories are why I experienced a lot of fatigue, irritability, poor concentration and insomnia. I experienced some significant memories of past challenges surfacing and felt raw the entire week.
Loved - Janet - The juices were delightful. I was not accustomed to adding lemon and a bit of apple to a vegetable juice - just delicious. The walnut tapenade was yummy. I also ate basic things like steamed broccoli - reminding me how good a basic vegetable can taste. Viewing my body as a sacred vessel and in alignment with my spiritual practice made the experience sacred in itself. The rigidity of the program may be viewed as challenging but the flip side of the challenge was the focused intention. Loving ourselves, loving our bodies is emphasized with focused intention. We mindfully ingested nutrients, loving our guts, our brains and organs. Allison - I am hopeful that the benefits of the Grow a New Body Program week will begin to show in the next few weeks.
