When Linda was asked what she wanted to accomplish during her two-week stay, she told us, " To get my mind, body and spirit working as one, to learn about becoming healthy. and to be a better person for me so I could share that with the person I love the most, my husband."
"I had three physical goals when I came to do the colon and liver cleansing weeks at Cedar Springs Renewal Center. They were to lose weight, to learn to exercise again and to learn to make healthier food choices so my illnesses will decrease." Currently, I have fibromyalgia, arthritis, chronic leukemia, obstructive sleep apnea, depression and obesity."
I have been here two weeks and have lost a total of 11 pounds.
Obesity is a serious health problem and it¹s on the rise in the U.S. and Canada. At least 1/3 of Americans are 20% or more overweight. At any given time 25-50% of adult Americans are on some sort of diet, spending 30 billion dollars a year on diet aids and remedies. Unfortunately, 2/3 of those dieters will put the weight back on in less than 5 years.
There are often many reasons people are not able to lose the weight the way they want to. All of the following conditions may encourage the body to store food as fat as opposed to using it for fuel and energy: lazy metabolism, glandular malfunctions, under active thyroid, overeating, stress eating, liver malfunction, congested colon, poor circulation and lack of energy, body sugar imbalance and sugar craving.
But, basically, the three major causes for obesity are eating too much food, lack of exercise, and poor food choices.
For weight loss to be real and permanent, four essential things must happen:
- Body must be detoxified because toxins are stored in fat cells.
- Hunger must be satisfied with nutrient rich foods.
- Cravings eliminated by giving the body all the nutrients it needs.
- Metabolism must be increased so the body burns extra calories.
The first week cleansing and weight loss program begins on Sunday afternoon 5pm and ends Saturday 10am. The second cleansing week starts on Saturday afternoon and ends on Friday morning. Group sizes will always be kept under 15 people.
Both cleansing weeks help the body get rid of unnecessary fat by detoxing the colon and strengthening the liver which is a major detox organ.
Some of the features of the Cleansing Weight Loss Weeks are:
- Hands on kitchen classes including "How to Juice", "How to make delicious Smoothies” and "Growing Wheatgrass".
- Other classes offered this week are "The Skinny on Fats” and " Rebuilding your Health” .
- Wheatgrass 2 times a day.
- All organic live foods.
- Breathing and stretching classes daily.
- Purposeful Living Classes - refer to "Socratic Dialogue" for description of those classes
- Walking and/or hiking everyday
There are 2 major organs that we focus on during the Cleansing Weight Loss Weeks:
The liver is the key organ responsible for the greatest percentage of our detoxification. Over consumption of alcohol, food additives, prescription drugs, pesticides on our foods, and fatty foods; in addition to water treatment chemicals, industrial chemicals, and exhaust fumes all pollute our bodies and abuse the liver.
About three pints of blood pass through the liver every minute. The liver's functions include extracting nutrients, oxygen, toxins and waste products from the blood. In order to do this, the liver is dependant on a generous supply of nutrients in order for detoxing to take place. That's why it is so important to eat whole live foods including a variety of nuts, vegetables, and specific fruits such as lemons, papayas and strawberries.
The liver manufactures and secretes bile which moves the toxins through the colon. Bile also promotes peristalsis, the involuntary contractions that push wastes through the colon.
Because the liver is interdependent with all the other organs, most health conditions will improve by cleansing the liver.
If you are under the impression that all disease begins in the colon, there is much truth in that. Colon cleansing is a vital part of regaining health, but benefits will be limited unless there is also support for the liver.
Health is promoted in several ways by cleansing the colon:
- Creates a bacteria friendly environment where parasites and yeasts cannot grow.
- Contributes to faster transit of feces so less toxins penetrate the bowel wall and go into the bloodstream.
At Cedar Springs Renewal Center, a person experiences a two-phase Healthy Weight Loss Program.
" I want to go home and try new recipes with whole raw foods.
Wonderful whole live food crackers made in a dehydrator, salads and dressings with raw ingredients, delicious tasting juices. During the three days of juice fasting, I was never hungry. They are very filling and fulfilling."
Phase One is the cleansing stage with all fresh organic foods and juices. During the cleansing weeks at Cedar Springs, participants have fresh organic juice every morning, a green smoothie for lunch plus an abundance of living foods that contain healthy fiber and essential nutrients. Most participants say they do not feel hungry during the cleansing program. A fast means that the body is cleansing and discarding wastes more rapidly than new tissue is being formed, i.e. weight loss. Real weight loss cannot occur until these fat cells are gone. Drinking 6-8 glasses of cleansing teas or purified water a day speeds the flushing of the toxins out of the cells.
Another element of Phase One is helping the lymphatic system with mild aerobic exercise. The lymphatic system, a major part of the body’s immune system, is a network of lymph nodes, ducts, and vessels that transport lymphatic fluid from the tissues to the bloodstream. Lymph nodes are like filters and remove bacteria and toxins from the blood supply. The whole system must be kept flowing in order for toxins to be removed.
"You made exercise fun by dancing and rocking out. The big balls helped tremendously. The bouncing is fun and helped me with my sense of balance. They are wonderful to stretch on and everyday I go a little bit more."
"The classes are very informative especially the Transition Lifestyle and Health Building Diet class. The Purposeful Living class was the biggest help to me. It was like I was looking at myself from the outside in. It opened my eyes to my resentments and gave me clarity to see them in a new way so I could let them go."
Unlike the circulatory system that relies on the heart as a pump, the lymph system relies on body movement to circulate lymph around the body. When you don¹t exercise regularly, the system becomes stagnant and blocked. People are given the opportunity to walk, bounce and stretch on the big balls, move on the mini trampolines or dance everyday.
Exercising in these ways is FUN. And fun is good for the soul. In fact, people say they enjoy these activities so much that it doesn¹t seem like work at all. When exercising in FUN, people are motivated to move their bodies.
Infrared Sauna
At Cedar Springs we recommend using the infrared sauna several times during each cleansing week. The sessions usually take an hour with a 20-30 minute warm-up, 15 minutes of perspiring, followed by a cold shower and then another 10-20 minute session in the sauna.
The infrared rays penetrate the body over 1.5 inches which creates a deep heating effect in the muscle tissues and internal organs without stressing the heart muscle.
After an initial warming up period, the body begins its natural cooling off process of perspiring. Three things are accomplished during this phase:
- Waste products and toxins such as alcohol, nicotine and heavy metals are removed from the cells and excreted through the pores of the skin.
- The skin sheds any old skin cells leaving it glowing and immaculately clean.
- As the body expends energy to produce sweat, the heart beats harder and faster, which has a conditioning effect on the cardiovascular system plus is an effective weight control for people who can't exercise.
The infrared sauna is an hour well spent supporting the natural detoxification systems of the body and relaxing deeply into a comfortable heat.
" The peacefulness of the surroundings is amazing. Every morning we take a walk through the fields where the horses are grazing and down to the creek. The sun comes up early here and when it breaks through the trees and shines on the water it is crystal clear. It's clean air - clean, honest, God's fresh air."
There is greater potential for our wholeness and well being when we make an effort to detox all the aspects of our being; that is, physical, mental and emotional. Everyday we offer a Purposeful Living class which helps people see which beliefs are contributing to their health and which ones are not. In this class we teach basic dialogue skills in order for people to learn more compassionate and effective ways of communicating. Most people would agree that you cannot feel truly light and free if you are holding judgments or resentments against others. The Purposeful Living work supports individuals in letting go of sick beliefs and finding a spiritual purpose.
More transformation takes place in this class than any other class that is offered here. Some people say it is the hidden gem of the Cleansing Weeks and they had no idea what an impact it would have on their life.
Phase Two educates people before they leave Cedar Springs Renewal Center about a Health Building maintenance program that includes the following:
- Healthy eating plans that reduce calories and encourage the consumption of whole living foods.
- Paying attention to the quantity and quality of fats in the diet. The right fats are necessary and should be eaten sparingly. Avocadoes, cold pressed olive oil, flax oil, raw nuts and coconuts are healthy fats and contain essential fatty acids.
- Regular physical activity and a personalized health fitness plan.
- Slow and steady weight loss of about 1-2 pounds per week. Rapid weight loss puts one at risk for other health conditions and regaining weight.
"I would recommend this program to everybody. It's not just for the sick. The cleansing process is good for everyone. It's good for opening yourself up and letting new experiences and ideas come in. Everyone could benefit from it. The incredible love you feel here makes you open your eyes to all the beauty that surrounds you and is inside of you."
At Cedar Springs renewal is the focus. Aside from the fasting and cleansing program we offer a class called Purposeful Living. This class utilizes a form of communication called dialogue to help the participant determine their specific spiritual purpose.
Dialogue comes from the Greek words dia and logos. Dia means through and logos is the mind of God. Think of dialogue as a stream of meaning flowing between two people revealing hidden meanings and, as a result, opportunities for new understandings emerge. Instead of viewing life through some of our old belief systems, we now have a choice to use our spiritual purpose as the lens through which our thinking takes place. Spiritual purpose changes our focus.
When helping people find their spiritual purpose we remind them that it is inscribed in their heart and has always been there. It's the source of their inspiration, the non-physical part of their life.
Spiritual Purpose impacts our lives because it influences our core attitudes towards life which in turn have an influence on the billion of cells in our body.
Dr. Candice Pert has scientifically proven that our emotions affect the body's function through the release or repression of peptides, the carriers of the body's biochemical information.
Research has shown that when emotions are expressed and bio-chemicals are flowing freely then all systems are united and made whole.
A system is healthy or "whole," a word that shares its origin with "holy", when these feedback loops are rapid and unimpeded.
In 1982 I was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) and the oncologist told me, "Your only chance in surviving AML is to have a spontaneous remission." I went home, looked for the definition of spontaneous remission and found this: 1. “Happening or arising without apparent external cause; self-generated”. 2. “Arising from a natural inclination or impulse and not from external incitement”.
I knew then and know now that there were attitudes and/or feeling states that would most likely block me from experiencing a spontaneous remission.
These attitudes included the following:
- Pride
- Defensiveness
- Irritability
- Arrogance
- Anger
- Apathy
- Indifference
- Resentment
- Depression
These feelings did not produce a healing state. The information that my emotions were sending to the cells of my body was charged with negativity and hopelessness. I had to change many of my core beliefs and their underlying attitudes.
At Cedar Springs we support participants in finding their own truth regarding their emotional states and attitudes. Their spiritual purpose then becomes the new lens through which their thinking takes place and, consequently, their attitudes are transformed. Our thoughts become our feelings so it is very important to choose wisely our thoughts and beliefs.
Eventually we begin to see, as Socrates did, that it is not a matter of choosing between right and wrong but rather that one cannot choose the wrong because there is no longer a choice.
For more information and space availability please call 360-826-3599
or eMail us.
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