Wednesday April 6 was the formal start of Dr. John Douillard's Colorado Cleanse with thousands across the country.

The first 4 days are called the PRE-CLEANSE when you eat a low-fat seasonal diet, with mainly beets, apples, and smoothies of green seasonal vegetables (zucchini, celery, green beans, parsley), and apple juice.

Then from days 5-11 there is the MAIN CLEANSE, during which one starts the day with clarified butter (ghee) to get the body into burning fate mode, and then a diet of easily digested mung beans and basmati rice, spiced with curry or other flavors you like, as the main food – for three meals a day!

We also do the SELF-INQUIRY exercises to release emotional stress.

This is followed by the POST CLEANSE, where you gradually fire up your digestive system to eat a full array of the healthy foods you like.

On this cleanse Douillard advises that you eat 3 meals a day, with no snacking, to give the body the opportunity to detox.  I see it like this: It is in between meals, when “the kitchen is closed,” that the body can stop using energy to digest, and can “mop the floor.”

He thinks it’s wise to eat the largest meal in the middle of the day, and the lightest at the end of the day.  For beverages drink water - half your body weight in oz per day – for me it’s 64 oz/day.  You can drink some of that as warm/hot water, sipped at 15 minutes intervals to stimulate the lymph glands.

It’s a very holistic program with the yoga, breathing and meditating that lower stress.  I was full, the foods were tasty,  After a week I lost a pound (though that was not my goal) and I feel calmer, more focused and  happy with the thought that toxins are leaving my body.

If you want more details on the ayurvedic herbs before and after the cleanse and more on the Colorado Cleanse – please visit lifespa.com.