Slow Fast

---

There’s nothing that says vacation more than starting each morning with a couple cups of fresh organic coffee. That I put it directly up my bum might be considered by some to be a complete waste, but I assure you, a daily colonic is the best use of coffee I’ve ever made.

I came to Koh Samui and joined a growing number of people who use this tropical island as a getaway vacation. For those of us who came to the Dharma Healing Center, we use the time to get away from food. Not that we give up the wonders of discovery. Au contraire, my journey inward was full of surprises.

To begin with, long before I had even considered a seven-day fast, I’d begun noticing my relationship with food. Most prominent among them, the grumpy moods that came on when I’d not eaten. “Worms,” Hillary Hitt, the Center’s director said when I mentioned this observation. “I call it ‘parasite behavior.’ I see it all the time.”

Normally such a pronouncement would come as a surprise, but she’d already briefed me and five others on all the amazing things that come out of a colon when the conditions are right. Put simply, foul sewage doesn’t start at the toilet bowl. It begins inside us and nearly all of us carry around heaps of it, no matter how healthy we think we might be or how satisfying that last dump might have been. Frankly, we’re all full of shit and a seven-day ‘elimination fast’ is just the beginning of letting it all go.

The program began with a thorough orientation on what to expect. First: the ‘cleansing reactions’ including mood swings, headaches, lethargy and sleeplessness that come on when the body begins releasing the toxins it has stored in fatty tissue. Then there was the more fundamental: How to insert a plastic tube and control the flow of incoming colonic fluid. And the herbs: a mix of bitter powders, bentonite clay and psyllium husk all designed to help kill and remove parasites and old poo. Along the way she showed us a bit of ‘colonic yoga’ or how to move the fluid into all corners of the colon by rolling, twisting, squatting, standing and getting upside down.

It all seemed a bit much at first but after a couple days, we all got into the rhythm. I began mornings with 7am yoga on the lawn where I shared teaching with Katherin, a Shivananda yoga teacher from Germany. Then it was off to our separate bungalows to “do our own thing” with our coffee/water concoctions then back again around ten or 11 for a class. Hillary has spent eleven years doing colonic cleansings and she filled my week with information about nutrition, reflexology, iridology, meditation and even an afternoon ‘cooking’ raw food. I relaxed with an herbal steam and several Thai massages. Aside from the thrice-daily herbs, I drank two coconuts a day, a bowl or two of vegetable broth and all the herb tea I wanted. Evenings also had classes and then finished with a second caffeine-free colonic.

Now for the graphic bit: I’ve you’d prefer not to read the details, then skip down to the asterisked paragraph. If not, continue on. Okay, ready? First, day one started with cleaning out the relatively new waste but finished with cleaning out some relatively old. Picture a thick felt of matted and partially digested hair, slimy and brown, bearing the tell-tale concentric rings of the folds in the colon. My inner pipe, if you will, was likely covered with a half inch of this nastiness, the whole two foot length of it. From a plumbing perspective, that doesn’t leave much room for the daily flow. Alas, the body responds by enlarging the colon, a response that probably everyone has to some extent. “Ahh,” I thought when I considered this, “that explains the hardness around the periphery of my abdominal cavity. My colon is constricted with layers of this crud.” Sure enough. For the next three days, more or less each time after a colonic, out came more felt. Over the week, I estimate I left behind a kilo of the stuff. Curious as I am about all things body, I investigated rather closely, aided by a flashlight and a stick, pulling things apart as they appeared. It was a bit like a treasure hunt. Red dots, slime and mucus, black tarry bits and then on day four, the mixture changed to include translucent white material. While I was still unsure of what it was, I confirmed Hillary’s diagnosis on day six. One full worm was about eight inches long and along every inch, it had tentacles or root-like appendages, presumably to help hold it in place. I’d been seeing similar bits for days as its friends and neighbors had died and fallen apart.
Of course I promptly reported my findings to my fellow fasters when we got together to ‘talk shit.’

*All of us became quite chummy, nodding sympathetically at the discomfort of moving 1.5 liters of water around our guts, sharing wide-eyed surprises of wonder and roaring laughs as Marina showed us pictures from her porcelain TV. “My husband,” she said in Brazillian accented English. “He is going to want to know all about it.” At least in this digital age she didn’t have to get the film developed.

While most people stay for seven days, people do go longer and if I had it to do over, I’d plan on taking two weeks, just to have the time after the fast to enjoy the afterglow. That said, Hillary encouraged me to stay another day, and I accepted her offer. But after eight days, while I would have liked to go on, I decided to break the fast and continue my journey to see my friend Stephen in Khao Sok National Park. Besides, Hillary says, you never get it all in a week or even in one fast. And for her, it has taken years. She’s been fasting and doing colonics for probably more than a dozen years and told the group that two years ago she finally let go of a blockage in her left side.

In spite of initially wrinkling my nose at the thought of coming to Thailand and not eating, this was one of the best journey’s I’ve taken. Along the way I got to poke and prod into my belly and remove a lot of the hardness I’ve carried for years. By day eight my yoga practice felt amazingly energized and I felt a sense of lightness. I even fell easily into a twisting pose I have struggled with for years. What I thought was a hip restriction seems to have disappeared, at least for now. It may have been my gut, but as we all know, when it comes to the body, it’s all connected.

One of the benefits of a steady yoga practice is that it helps us let go. Issues that once bothered us begin to seem less important. And so it goes with the colon. In the esoteric sense, this particular organ houses some of our base issues and instincts. It’s where we hold on to the past and by cleaning it out, we literally let go of things we’ve held onto for a long, long time. And much as I might want all the crud gone in one week, this go slow approach will no doubt have more long lasting effects. After all, colonics are like life, it’s important to enjoy the journey.

I wasn’t the only person who felt such monumental changes. A 61-year-old Vietnam-Veteran told me his 10-day fast was one of the most valuable experiences he’d ever had. He’s long lived a pretty healthy lifestyle, but when he combined his fast with a session of hypnotherapy, he released some emotional baggage as well. There are a hundred similar stories. People who get off their diabetes meds, others who ease their arthritis or heal other chronic maladies. Some people might consider such results miracles and if getting in touch with the body and allowing it the chance to heal itself is a miracle, so be it. In a way, it is. Because fasting helps us get off the food addictions, eliminated the toxins and let go of other issues that keep us from connecting with the supporting life force that is there, waiting for us, in every moment.

I can honestly say that just based on the material I left behind, I let go of a lot. And I quite look forward to the next time I get to spend time with Hillary and the rest of the ever-changing family at the Dharma Healing Center. For more information, check it out for yourself at www.dharmahealingintl.com.

---

Comments

[yukon dave]

hey john
hey john i was at lamai beach many years ago and mostly what I remember was the decadence... there were the constant offers of sex (for cash of course.).. i had no idea at the time about the whole sex tourism thing and it was quite an eye opener... it sounds like your experience was quite different... are you really "not shitting" us about the worms... that's freaky, glad you're enjoying yourself so much.. quest starts next weekend and I'll be thinking about you, although I won't be on the trail myself this year, it sounds like it will be a great alaskan vs german run. dave c

[Phillip Potter]

This sound like something I need to do. Any idea about were is the states I can find the info on this, or were to go. Thanks again for another wonderful insight to a different place in this world (physical and spiritual). I need and miss your guidance. Thanks again!

[Don]

Colonics
Easiest place near US for colonics is Tijuana -- however! be warned -- my local health food guy says that you can get seriously dehydrated from colonics - don't know if this is true, but if so, it is life threatening.