San Franshakti Yoga & Ayurveda in San Francisco with Kate Lumsden: Update from Blake & my May Manifesto

So I know lots of you are wondering how Blake's cleanse went, and I can tell you honestly, he rocked it! He was up for every yoga class even when he only had four hours sleep because he had to work late. He stuck to kitchari for the whole seven days (plus our special breakfast grain bowl) and even enjoyed having it after the cleanse! He said his favorite things were that a) he got to eat as much as he wanted at any one sitting and b) that it was all so structured that he didn't have to think- he could relax instead. He says he thinks he'll do it again sometime and doesn't want to put conditions on it because he thinks it's hard for the "right" circumstance to come up for him, but that it's still important to do it. Oh, and he also enjoyed the oil massage; he says he wants to do that even now after the cleanse.

Me? I had a total ball in case you're curious. Eating most meals with Blake in a mindful way felt nourishing on a whole different level. I loved cooking for both of us and talking about what vegetables we wanted each day. I loved that we were both mindful of only talking about pleasant things at meals, and I loved that I could share my yoga world with him for a little bit (He thinks shadow yogis are pretty cool now). It made everything about the cleanse infinitely more enjoyable and the after effects were much easier to integrate because there was this energy of mindfulness running through our whole apartment. That's not to say we've stuck to everything from the cleanse, but elements are still there, which is great.

For me, this was my first time doing a cleanse led by someone other than myself- can you believe it?! Let me tell you: It was freaking fabulous! Having someone you trust hold that space for you is priceless. And doing it in a big group- so powerful! I had taken the time to simplify my schedule during the week of the cleanse to open up to reflection, and had some lasting realizations. To try to keep them in my front of my consciousness, I've made this little"manifesto" if you will (see above). I find I'm often inspired by similar things I see others post, and hope this does the same for you.

Below are a couple photos that I thought you all might enjoy...

Thanks for all the good vibes you put out for Blake; it was great to receive emails from so many of you expressing your support and asking how it went. :)

Even if you're just visiting my blog for the first time, I want to say thanks-

I love having each and every one of you here as part of this greater Ayurvedic family!