Article Tags: integrative medicine | NEW Medicine | detox | lifestyle
Whole Self Detox with Elson Haas, MD
When I did my first 10-day juice cleanse in 1975, my personal and medical life changed forever. I dropped 20 pounds, and my allergies cleared on the third day; my energy and spirit also soared. I changed what I ate after that and how I lived. I started to take care of myself at many levels. The inspiration led me to use detox and cleansing in my practice and share what I have learned in my books and teaching venues as The Detox Doc.
Detoxification is the missing link in Western nutrition
After 40+ years of guiding Seasonal Cleansing programs, I have been motivated to think about this important healing process and expand what I believe is an important step in the world of Nutrition and Detox. I realize that when illness is present, it usually involves factors on the emotional, mental, and spiritual levels as well as the physical, which relates to how we live and the direction or path of our life. I think of health challenges as evolutionary, as a chance to listen within to messages, and change and grow in our lives.
Being a practicing integrative family physician for more than 50 years now, I understand that not all patients want to embrace that philosophy when they’re ill. After all, medicines are so easy and quick to help with headaches, back pain or allergies. Getting to the bottom of things isn’t always the easiest path, but not looking for the real causes of illness can disconnect us from our deeper truths.
This larger view of the cleansing/detox process is not without precedent. Many spiritual traditions have periods of fasting such as Lent and Ramadan, or in the Native American vision quest. In general, the role of fasting as purification is ancient and widespread. Even the idea of Spring cleaning has been around for centuries
Along with a detoxifying and cleansing diet, it’s important for people to work on balancing their emotions, as we have the stories and pains from our life, and these can be addressed and to healed. Likewise, we have stories and thoughts that our minds continually repeat. Looking at our emotional patterns, and connecting with our spirit, will help lighten us and bring us closer to our higher path.
I embrace working with our thoughts and feelings and taking time to go deeper, using visualization and meditation to make a meaningful connection. I practice what I call Peace Medicine that has evolved from the Hippocratic oath that all doctors state at graduation, “First, do no harm.” This is an important message for our world now—because when we find peace within that can influence peace in the world.
Learn more at wholeselfdetox.com
Conflicts and an “attack and conquer” approach happen not only in medicine (we fight disease and kill germs as examples), but in politics, agriculture and food production, and of course, actual war between countries and aggression between individuals.
For those of us in the US and in many countries around the world, it’s a tumultuous time of conflict. So, it’s helpful to embrace more peace within. My suggestion is that we keep our daily practices going and embrace the detox process on all levels of our being. Connecting our mind and heart with our body and spirit. Having a daily practice of yoga, qigong, meditation etc., is important for maintaining our good health.
An interesting point to consider is that when we take a break from some of the potentially undermining daily habits, like sugar, caffeine and alcohol—we naturally engage the connection between the emotional, mental and physical energies. Trying to change habits or lose weight always brings up emotional issues and often a mental story or resistance that goes along with that. Yet, I see real healing happening in people when they take these breaks from substance use and abuse. There’s more peace in the body as well as more clarity and energy, especially after we get through the sometimes uncomfortable transition that may occur in the first few days. Typically, once we get through the initial transition, people report feeling more balanced and energized.
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Dr. Haas will offer 3 live webinars during the course:
Saturday, April 26th – Opening
An introduction to the course and the Physical and Emotional modules plus live Q&A session.
Saturday, May 5th – Midpoint
Review of the Physical and Emotional modules, introduces the Mental and Spiritual modules, plus Q&A
Saturday, May 24th – Completion and Beyond
Review of the Mental and Spiritual modules, Q&A, plus ideas about how to integrate what you have learned into your life going forward
The webinars will be at 10:30 am PST and will be recorded for review, or if participants can’t attend live.
The course also includes a recorded webinar for each of the four modules, many unique and useful resources created by Dr. Haas, guided visualizations with Tara West and guest interviews with several health luminaries.
Learn more at wholeselfdetox.com
What Past Attendees have shared about the Whole Self Detox course
This course has been a profound experience for me. I feel like cobwebs have dissipated from all the realms — physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual — and I’m experiencing more focus, clarity and stamina. Long buried issues, especially from my childhood, have come up from the hidden places into the light. As I embrace and let go, a lightness and freedom allow my authentic self to come forward in new ways. With gratitude & thanks,
Paula C
What a great class with a lot of valuable resources! I’ve found this all very beneficial for my health.
Lloyd M
This detox workshop has been an eye-opening experience; I have thoroughly enjoyed and benefitted from your weekly educational talk, slides, sharing of your own experiences, the interviews from some of your colleagues, Tara’s guided meditations, and your wisdom, guidance and support for all of us who participated. I have more clarity, lost a few pounds and feel re-energized to pursue a more expressive creative path.
Warm Regards and Gratitude,
Felicity K
I experienced the profound changes others did, including clearer skin and greatly lessening hip arthritis. I was shocked at how much the diet changed me – and how bad (even my relatively healthy) diet was.
Thank you!
Ken R