Is There Any Benefit to Fasting?
Friday, December 13, 2019 IST
Sadhguru: It is important that you don’t fast forcefully. If you observe the natural cycle of the body, there is something called a mandala. The mandala means that every 40 to 48 days, the system goes through a certain cycle. In every cycle, there are three days when your body does not need food. If you are conscious of how your body functions, you will become aware that on these days, your body does not food. And without effort, you can go without food on that day.
Once in every 11 to 14 days, you may not feel like eating. On that day, you should not eat. You know, even dogs and cats have this awareness? Have you noticed that on particular days, they will not eat? They are aware of their system. On the day the system says “no food,” it is a cleaning-up day, they will not eat. Since you don’t have this awareness, they fixed Ekadashi. Ekadashi comes once in every 14 days in the lunar calendar. At least every 14 days, you could go without food. If you are unable to go without food, if your activity levels are such and you don’t have the necessary sadhana to support you, then you could go on a fruit diet. Just observe your own system, and you may notice that on certain days, you do not really need to eat. Forcing food on those days is not a good thing to do.
Suppose one wants to fast for a certain period, it must always be supported with the right kind of spiritual practices or sadhana. If you forcefully fast without preparing your body and mind sufficiently, you will only cause damage to your health. But if your body is properly prepared, if you are mentally also in a certain state, if you are prepared energy-wise, then fasting can be of much benefit to you.
If you are constantly drinking coffee or tea, then, if you fast, it will become torture for you; fasting will be very difficult. So if you want to fast, first of all prepare the body by eating the right kind of foods. If it is a great torture when you hold back your urge to eat, you will only cause damage to the system. Maybe you are thinking of performing some kind of a feat “I did not eat for three days,” and you want to go and tell that to the whole world. Please don’t do such things. It is of no benefit to you. You will just make yourself weak, that is all. Just understanding the body and coming to a deeper understanding of how the system functions and what is the best thing to do, is more important than doing something like this.
It may not be a good thing for everybody to fast, but it has many benefits if it is done with proper understanding. So finding the right situation for the system and taking off food at that time will be a good thing to o.
Related Topics
Related News & Articles
Anybody can cook, even if it’s only a fried egg – but not just anyone has the discipline to fast. This ancient practice of abstaining from eating for a ...
Recently posted . 1K views . 3 min read
Our bodies’ cells disintegrate and then recycle their own parts constantly. In 2016, Dr. Yoshinori Ohsumi, from Japan, received the Nobel Prize in Physiolog...
Recently posted . 1K views . 4 min read
• A new study found that a type of intermittent fasting that limits meals to early in the day could lower appetite and help the b...
Recently posted . 985 views . 6 min read
Anybody can cook, even if it’s only a fried egg – but not just anyone has the discipline to fast. This ancient practice of abstaining from eating for a ...
Recently posted . 978 views . 3 min read
Intermittent fasting is an increasingly popular approach to body weight control. It has also been shown to be effective in helping to prevent and reverse metabolic ...
Recently posted . 881 views . 2 min read
Trending News & Articles
Lung cancer is usually not noticeable during the early stages. Most people are diagnosed when the disease is at an advanced stage. According to Cancer.org, it is ...
Recently posted . 9K views . 2 min read
The health benefits of wood apple include [1] relief from constipation, indigestion, peptic ulcer, piles, respiratory problems, diarrhea, and dysentery. It also b...
Recently posted . 6K views . 2 min read
Bael, also known as the “Wood Apple”, is a species native to India. The bael tree is considered to be sacred to the Hindus. A famous drink known as sh...
Recently posted . 5K views . 2 min read
The scientists likewise shared how much liquor an individual can drink prior to facing overabundance risk challenges their wellbeing, contrasted with somebody who...
Recently posted . 5K views . 1 min read
More in Food & Health
A new study suggests that such twins are extraordinarily rare.
Recently posted. 936 views . 0 min read
A study conducted on mice found that besides harming your heart, a high-salt diet may also harm your brain and cause dementia.
Recently posted. 938 views . 1 min read
Energy drinks like Red Bull and Monster have become increasingly popular over the last 20 years.
Recently posted. 851 views . 0 min read
Recently posted . 1K views
Recently posted . 1K views
Recently posted . 2K views
Recently posted . 2K views
Recently posted . 3K views . 221 min read
Recently posted . 2K views . 45 min read
Humans have learned to travel through space, eradicate diseases and understand nature at the breathtakingly tiny level of fundamental particles. Yet we have no id...
Recently posted. 1K views . 2 min read
The pandemic has made most of them gain some extra weight. While the world is getting back to normal, we all are trying new ways to get back in shape. If you have...
Recently posted. 1K views . 1 min read