Learn how to Fast for better physical health and mental wellbeing.
Fasting is gaining rapid popularity in North America & Europe, with people choosing various fasts for athletic fitness, weight loss, balancing hormones, and managing chronic health conditions.
Unfortunately due to the pervasiveness of diet culture and excessive focus on physical appearance, a large majority of people use fasts incorrectly. This can lead to simple side effects like not being able to sustain fasting, to more serious issues like negative body image, disordered eating, gut dysbiosis, and malnutrition.
The ancient Indian science of Ayurveda teaches us to live healthfully through wellness and illness prevention. Read on to understand why Fasting is an integral part of an Ayurvedic lifestyle, and can sustainably be used to achieve a healthy and balanced relationship with food. When used correctly, Ayurvedic fasting is an effective method to achieve optimal physical & mental health.
Why choose Fasting?
Contrary to popular belief, Ayurvedic fasts are not undertaken for weight loss or the purpose of giving up “bad” foods. The primary purpose of Fasting is to develop control over one’s physical body. Ancient Indian scholars believed that one can’t truly follow a higher spiritual path if we are constantly swayed by the whims of our physical body. By learning to avoid excessive indulgence in physical pleasures – those of eating, consuming intoxicants (alcohol and other psychoactive substances), excessive sexual engagement, and a materialistic lifestyle – one can work towards spiritual growth with more ease.
At a more practical level, Fasting allows your digestive system to have a break and undergo a gentle reboot. Fasting methods like Intermittent Fasting are not typically recommended in Ayurveda. Instead, the judicious consumption of specific foods is advised. Fasting is also seen as an opportunity to occupy our mind with beneficial pursuits like reading, meditating, and mindfulness tasks.
The beauty of Ayurvedic Fasting methods are that there are numerous variations which make it easy for beginners . As one gains experience in fasting, more rigorous Vrats or Fasts can be undertaken. Most Upvaas based Fasts encourage participants to consume specific foods to help maintain steady energy levels, and avoid binge eating at the end of the fasting period. To learn more about the different types of Vrats you can choose from, scroll to the bottom to read How to Fast.
Once you have decided to try Fasting, ensure you have some spiritual or emotional self care goal to observe during your Fast as well. Some common practices during Fasts include reading scriptures or spiritual books, listening to spiritual talks, participating in Kirtans & spiritual discussions, meditating, or performing acts of seva (community service). An Ayurvedic Fast is incomplete if it only focuses on abstinence from food, without indulgence in a spiritual or emotional growth activity.
What are the types of Ayurvedic Fasts?
Ayurvedic Fasts can broadly be divided into Upvaas & Vrat.
Upvaas refers to Fasts that are regularly undertaken on specific days of the Lunar calendar. Followers of this system of Fasting tend to observe Upvaas or Fasting on specific day(s) of each Lunar cycle. Typical Fasting days are Chaturthi (4th day), Ekadashi (11th day), Dwadashi (12th day), Trayodashi (13th day), Amavasya (no moon day), and Purnima (full moon day) during both the waxing and waning cycle of the moon.
Vrat, on the other hand is undertaken as a part of a specific spiritual resolution. This may be periodic or one-off in manner. Followers of Vrat Fasts typically observe these to achieve a spiritual outcome, and they may involve abstinence from meat, alcohol, certain favored foods (similar to the avoidance of preferred foods/activities during Lent by Catholics), sexual intimacy, and even talking & other social interaction.
When to Fast?
If you’re working with a Ayurvedic physician or practitioner, your fasting schedule may be based on your specific health needs. For those looking to use Fasting for general wellness, specific days of the lunar calendar are recommended. The most common day of Ayurveda-based fasting is Ekadashi (11th day of each lunar cycle, during the waxing & waning phase of the moon).
One can also pick any day(s) of the Georgian calendar (every Tuesday or every other Thursday), and start fasting on just those days. The days you choose don’t matter as much as setting an intention and doing your best to follow it.
What are the types of Ayurvedic Fasts?
Since Upvaas Fasts are typically easy to undertake, it is recommend to those just starting out on their Fasting journeys. By committing to a specific food & spiritual diet, for just 2 days a month, one can ease into this method of elevating one’s will power & spirituality. If you’re ready to take on more of a challenge, plan for 1 or 2 days a week that you will observe one of the below Fasts, in addition to the recommended Ekadashi (11th day of each lunar cycle).
Those new to Fasting may wish to begin with a simple elimination of all grains, beans, & lentils on the day of the Fast. This will give the digestive system a break from processing these hard-to-digest foods, and allow for a gentle cleanse. Other methods of dietary elimination for increasing level of Fasting intensity are:
– Only consuming liquids (milk, yogurt, and juices)
– Only consuming fruit & vegetable juices (no dairy)
– Only sipping water (only recommended for advanced practitioners)
– No oral intake (only recommended for expert practitioners)
It is important to remember that during Fasting days, practitioners are advised to spend a good part of their waking hours on inward-focused activities like meditation and mindfulness.
Below is a list of common types of Ayurvedic Fasts or Upvaas.
Ekaharopvas: Eating only one type of food at each meal. For example, you could consume fruit in the morning, and milk in the evening.
Rasopvas: Consuming only liquid foods like fruit and vegetable juices. Milk is typically prohibited.
Falopvas: Consuming only fruits and vegetables. For those with digestive difficulties (gassiness, bloating, inconsistent bowel movements), vegetables should be cooked.
Dughdopvas: Consuming only milk, and no other food, no more than 4 to 5 times during the day.
Regular observants of specific Upvaas days (Ekadashi, Dwadashi etc) may have other guidelines such as not consuming any grains, beans, legumes etc.
It is helpful to mark your preferred fasting days on a calendar and ensure you have the chosen foods available at home. Pre-planning also enables one to schedule time for spiritual & emotional enrichment during Fasting days. As you start following the positive intentions of structured Fasting, this ancient practice will become pleasurable & something you look forward to.
