Now is the perfect moment to rest, to reset your immune system, to reconnect to your gut instinct and the knowingness that is within you.

At this moment in time, the decibel of fear in the news and in communities around the world has necessitated an equal and opposite response: silence. We need to pause and listen. In this theme, we can look to thousands of years of spiritual teachings and health practices that have continued to teach us to return to silence through fasting to uncover the most profound answers.

Fasting creates space unlike anything else in our lives. So much of what we do on a daily basis is wrapped up in our routines, beliefs, fears, and to-do’s around food. Perhaps in a more potent and destructive fashion, our food-related behaviors can be wrapped up in our internal emotional struggles and abusive cycles.

As we peer out on the landscape of today’s pandemic and widespread social unrest sparked by the continued oppression of blacks, women, children, and indigenous peoples, it becomes apparent that our tendency toward emotional abuse and self-destructive behavior is not limited to our personal journeys, but is systemic, and indeed epidemic, within our species.

Once we stop, we have the ability to step in the direction of transformation and see things from a different perspective entirely.

I want to remind you about the regenerative potential of human biology. You and I are healing machines. One of our best access points is fasting.

Whether you’re open to fasting or not, I believe we can all benefit from taking a moment to recognize our body’s incredible ability to adapt.

Fasting has been a part of our spiritual and physical awareness for thousands of years, but one could argue that the need for fasting has never been so great as it is today. Even if your diet is excellent, the food, water, and air you consume is contaminated with chemicals and endocrine disruptors that speed up your body’s rate of injury and disrepair. We are watching a global extinction event from the toxicity we have produced and continue to consume.

Fasting allows you to recoup a deeper reservoir of coping mechanisms at the cellular level to inspire detoxification, recovery of the metabolic system, and to repair pathways that are intrinsic to your physical and emotional wellbeing.

The powerful spiritual and healthful effects of fasting do not diminish the biologic challenges of your first couple fasts.

I always encourage everyone to surround yourself with a care team that is familiar with fasting biology, because the experience is different for every body and every soul. If you do not have an integrative team around you to help you train your body into optimal fasting patterns, you can look to the didactic education and coaches to prepare you with the information you may want to bring to your physician or care team in consideration of your next steps.

This is a collection of my favorite tips and is a peek into the full experience of The Journey of Intrinsic Health, which provides essential knowledge to help you develop a personalized health practice.