What is Detoxification?

Detox, short for detoxification - is the body's natural, ongoing process of neutralizing or eliminating toxins from the body. Toxins are anything that can potentially harm body tissue, including waste products that result from normal cell activity lactic acid and human-made toxins that we are exposed to in our environment, food, and water. 

How does Yoga work in detoxification?

There are three main systems of the body that play a crucial role in the elimination of wastes - circulatory, digestive and lymph. 

The circulatory system pumps blood throughout the body, delivering oxygen to and carrying waste products away from cells. The digestive system processes the food we eat and eliminating anything the body doesn’t need. The lymphatic system collects intracellular fluid from throughout the body and transports it to the lymph nodes where anything harmful can be removed before the lymphatic fluid is returned to the bloodstream. 

It’s a robust system that works well on its own. But in order to let your body perform its natural detoxing function. Yoga is an ideal companion. 

Prayanama (Breath) 

Yogic breathing also plays an important role in promoting detoxification. 

Yogic breathing helps clear out carbon dioxide from the lung tissue, stimulates the organs of digestion and can, over time, retrain the diaphragm to move freely. 

Mind and Body 

In addition to its physical benefits, yoga aids in mental detox as well. 

Doing yoga helps purge toxic thoughts by teaching you to move your awareness away from the chaos of the mind and back to the present moment. 

The Program 

As the title suggests, the 7-Day Detox Yoga Program REALLY meant that I attended the full program in,  yes..! SEVEN days! I think I need an award ~ hahaha! (Just kidding) The pictures you see here were on the last day of my Detox Yoga Program, but I'll just quickly walk through what went on during the week long yoga sessions. This Detox Program at UpdogStudio included an optional 3-Day Juice Cleanse from Fresh Pressed Juices, which I readily agreed to try coz I was quite curious and excited to try Juice Cleansing under an experienced Juice Cleanser and Yoga teacher, Mingli. 

Day 1 :

The Detox Yoga class starts each day at 7am and I start to feel alittle nervous about getting there on time. Im not really used to waking up before sunrise, but to my pleasant surprise.. I love how fresh the air is in the early morning! Class started right after Mingli gave a short introduction on Detoxification purposes and benefits. The class felt like a regular Flow class, except that it had more poses aiming at detoxifying purposes eg. Garudasana (Eagle pose) Room temperature was also left slightly warm, to rise our body temperatures by alittle, yet its not as hot as say, a Bikram class. 

 Day 2 : 

I woke up bright and early, excited for Day 2 of class! Today's class was slightly tougher, with lotsa twists to wring out all the major parts of our bodies. We also did lots of Binds and as Mingli explained, - Binding can be wonderful for the shoulders, as it can allow us to open and hold a pose longer and deeper. Also, by holding a binding pose, it is great for our digestive and nervous systems. For us starting on the Juice Cleanse, we were advised to eat light and try to avoid meat already.

Day 3 :

Day 3! It means Im almost halfway there! But today I feel more nervous as I will be starting on my Juice Cleanse. Im strangely anticipating to not eating, though! My husband already made a side bet that I cannot tahan for the 3 full days without food. You see la. So supportive hor. Class was more gentle to ease us into starting the cleanse and going without food for the first day. Mingli taught us about Puraka (Inhalation), Kumbhaka (Retention of breath) and Rechaka (Exhalation). I also learnt how to work with our 3 Bandhas (Jalandhara – chin lock, Uddiyana – belly lock & Mulabandha – pelvic lock) to seal in the energy of our breath. Interesting .....

(*I'll elaborate on my Juice Cleanse at the end of this post) 

Day 4 :

Wow day 4 already! Im so glad to be doing this Detox program with some familiar faces (like my classmate Phelicia! Hi babe!) but at the same time, Im happy to make new friends in class. Going without food sounds harder than it actually is, but today’s class was on flexibility and fluid intake keeps us supple and makes us more flexible . We also worked on deep stretches to lengthen out our muscles, lubricate our joints and wring out our spine. It felt like having a good massage and I was feeling light and at ease after class. 

Day 5 :

Almost.. almost there! Day 5 marks the end of my Juice Cleanse! But still.. one more day (24 hours) before I attempt to put anything else but juice into my mouth. Detox Yoga was more intense as we are picking up the pace with lots of strengthening poses, - like the side plank variations, Goddess pose and back-strengthener pigeon pose. As its the last day of my Juice Cleanse, Mingli advises us to start with light, soupy meals once the cleanse is over.

Day 6 : 

Second LAST day! Wow did the time just fly by?? I almost couldn't believe that I went through a juice cleanse and doing yoga at 7am everyday! Class was smooth and we flow-ed through the yoga sequence with Detox poses like Binds, Twists and some Balancing poses. Looking forward to the last day of our Detox Yoga Program and Mingli informed us that Channel 5 will be dropping by to film us! Ooooo~ the excitement of the yoga studio being on TV and wat a way to be celebrating the end of a terrific detox week!

Day 7 :

Once again, everyone was bright and waiting to start class with Mingli! We can do it!!

Hellooooooooo Mediacorpppp!!

Going about our usual routine.. hur hur~

Mingli's 3-legged Dog rocks!!

Standing split (in my unicorn teeki hehehe)

Ahhhhhh~ Savasana finally!

And we are done!

THANK YOU MINGLI FOR THE WONDERFUL DETOX JOURNEY!

Group picture, group pictureeeeeee with my fellow yogi pals!

Mediacorp interview session with Mingli 

As part of an upcoming Morning, Singapore program, Mediacorp decides to interview Mingli and know more about Detox Yoga!

And I calefare only~~~~~~~

Can't remember what they asked me! I was sooooo NERVOUS!

They also interviewed my dear friend Cordelia, a regular yogi at Updog Studio and she's a yoga teacher  herself, too! 

And since they wanted to interview a guy too.. obviously we volunteered Mingli's hubby hahaha! Way to go Wei Chui! He attended the whole 7-Dat Detox session to support his wife! (Hint hint : to my hubby)

After all the cameras, interviewing and jokes aside ....

Namaste! It was a fun week!

What a lovely class with my wonderful fellow yogis and teacher!

Do you want to know more about my Juice Cleanse with Fresh Pressed?

Fresh Pressed Juices

Fresh Pressed juices and café was born out of the team's passion for healthy natural food. After a lifetime of walking into fast food joints selling heavily sugared, carbed out, fatty foods, the team dreamed of a place offering an alternative that tasted good and came without the customary side order of guilt. Simply put, delicious fast food that was also healthy. From this dream, the idea was born for a juice bar offering cold pressed juices renowned for their amazing health benefits paired with a health café that Fresh Pressed envision one day being on as many street corners as the guys selling the other stuff are. 

Why Juice Cleanse?

It's important to note that doing a juice cleanse is not about starving yourself, nor should it be seen as a weight loss tool. The Fresh Pressed Juice cleanse provides all the essential nutrients your body needs to stay healthy while also maximizing the removal of toxins and impurities from the body. The live enzymes, vitamins, and minerals found in the juices bind with harmful toxins and carry them out of the body, helping you look and feel great! 

What is in a Juice Cleanse?

Fresh Pressed will provide you 6 bottles of juice a day plus 2 bottles of Alkaline water as well as 1 herbal tea. Each juice type is designed to be taken at a certain part of the day. 

The drinking schedule below should be followed: 

Breakfast Juice

Mid Morning Juice

Lunch Juice

Mid Afternoon Juice

Happy Hour Juice (do not add liquor)

Dinner

Bedtime tea

Others :

The alkaline water should be drank throughout the day in combination with at least an additional litre of regular water. Herbal Tea should be drank before bedtime. 

What should I do before I start Juice Cleansing?

Starting then juice fast properly will give you it the best chance of being most effective. 

From 3 days before, start by reducing the following items in your diet: 

Meat/ Fish / Dairy products

Simple carbs – bread, pasta, rice

Sugar

1 Day before the cleanse, you diet should simply consist of: 

Raw vegetables and fruits,

Vegetable broths and homemade vegetable soups,

Steamed vegetables.

During the Juice Cleanse 

Try to keep to the plan!!!

Haha, I know its NOT EASY. 

Especially if u have family and friends who continue to eat in front of you ... 

(Thanks guys, you know who you are ahhh...!) 

But PERSIST!

You are doing it for yourself. :)

Here's a quick run-through on my Juice Cleanse :

Day 1 : 

Omg I cant believe that Im actually doing this. In all my 32 years of living .. I dun think I have ever been on a juice/liquid fast. (Milk diet when Im a baby not counted) The Detox Class started as normal, but teacher Mingli is going easy on us coz she is prepping us for our Juice Cleanse. Am I going into something tat I will regret???

Day 1 : Lunch Time

I am.. getting .. HUNGRY.

I cannot deny it but drinking juice as opposed to eating a meal feels different although strangely I am not as hungry as I think I would be. Freshpressed juices taste so fresh and quite yummy , and in addition I like that they use glass bottles.

Day 1 : Dinner Time 

Achievement unlocked! 

Not becoz of the juice fast. More like coz I have not fainted out of starvation or hunger .. YET. Getting quite peckish coz my hubby is eating dinner infront of me. (Stupid guy! Purposely one!!) I really like the Mid Afternoon Juice of Spicy tonic: pineapple, apple, ginger, its quite delicious and I contemplate going back to the FreshPressed cafe just to buy more of this.

Day 2 : 

Day 2 : Dinner Time

Lunch passed by quickly coz I decide to sleep the afternoon away. Waking up at 6am every morning is taking a toil (at my midnight sleeping habit) so I took an afternoon nap. Not having regular dinner while the rest of my family eat was 'easy' coz I drank alot of juice to re-compensate the ones I missed while I was sleeping. And I was so feeling so full! Managed to read a book & Yoga Journal before falling asleep. Day 2's juices are made up of mostly vegetables so I felt that I was really missing desserts (or rather, my weekly dark chocolate dose! I need something sweet after dinner!) My Lindt chocolate bar in the fridge seem to be calling my name. I decide to go back to bed. 

Day 3 :

IS IT DAY 3 ALREADYYYY.

I still have my Herbal Tea bag from Day 2 coz I skipped it the night before (fell asleep) but the Icelandic bottle is so enticing.. I even fill it up with normal water coz I like the bottle so much. Detox yoga class was fun as usual and my yogi-mates were saying that they 'purged' so much but Im strangely constipated. I guess its just me. 

Day 3 : Lunch/Dinner Time

Its getting abit difficult right now coz Im out with my (evil) BFFs although I wanted to sleep the day away. We (or rather, they) had a high tea session with me drinking Icelandic water the whole time we were there and then we went Boat Quay and I unabashedly took out my FreshPressed Juice bottle instead of having alcohol! Kudos to the guys at the bar for offering me a glass to drink my juice! I thought it was rather amusing. (But not very fun not to be drunk in a pub) Im actually getting used to having a juice instead of food, so I politely reject offers of food. (And a martini!) 

Then yes.. 3 days is OVER!!!!!!

Its not easy I must say.. but then again ~ ITS NOT THAT DIFFICULT EITHER!

It was easier than I had expected and alot of the tempation actually was the daily coffee that I miss as opposed to the food that I was not consuming. 

After Your Juice Cleanse

Just as you prepared your body transitioning into the cleanse, you should also ease your body out of a juice fast to reap the most benefits of the program.  Remember to slowly ease back into solid food by having soups, green leafy salads and raw or steamed vegetables on your first few days after the cleanse.  You can begin to incorporate meat (if you eat meat) and dairy products into the diet only after Day 3: Please take it slow. You don’t want to overwhelm your body right away after a juice fast. Your body needs a little time to get acclimated and adjusted to the new diet. 

After the Cleanse

Breaking the cleanse properly is as important as the cleanse itself and if done incorrectly can result in more harm than good. The following 2 Day menu should be followed immediately after the cleanse:

Day 1: 
Drink at least 2 liters of water throughout the day

•    Breakfast: 
Juice 
Fruit or vegetable salad with lemon juice dressing 
Herbal Tea

•    Mid-Morning Snack: 
Juice 

Lunch: 
Juice 
Vegetable Soup 
Vegetable salad with lemon juice dressing

•    Mid-Afternoon Snack: Juice or herbal tea

•    Dinner: 
Juice 
Vegetable soup or steamed vegetables or vegetable salads

•    Bedtime Snack: 
Juice or herbal tea 



Day 2: 
Drink at least 2 liters of water throughout the day 

Follow the Day 1 menu but add brown rice at lunch and baked fish for dinner with a baked potato

*all suggestions just a guide

Overall Review : I have ABSOLUTELY no regrets trying out his Detox Yoga + Juice Cleanse week! I have learnt so, so much from my fellow teachers at UpdogStudio and also from FreshPressed! Heading to class at 7am in the morning seemed alittle daunting at first but its amazing how clear-headed and fresh I feel after each class. I learnt so much about Detox yoga poses and also on the correct way to do yogic breathing. It was a fun-filled, Detox program that had me wanting more! In fact I was sad when it was coming to an end, coz I felt such a connection in class and with my fellow yoga students. I guess these are also how friendships form! Thank you Updog Studio and Mingli for the lovely program! xo

The 3 Day Juice Cleanse is actually not as difficult as it sounds like. (i think people get intimidated thinking that they will faint from hunger or something. NOT TRUE.) Not eating food is actually quite easy coz I was kept pretty full from all the juices that I have to drink at regular intervals. The taste of juices were quite easy to 'swallow', and I particularly like the Pineapple, Apple, and Ginger juice. I felt very light at the end of the second day, and had a flat tummy by the third day. Did I lose any weight? Im pretty sure I lost some although I have to be frank and tell u that I dun have weighing machine to begin with. My pants was looser and I felt much lighter after 3 days. But most importantly I had a surge of energy that I had never knew i had! I also kept to my promise of a DIGITAL DETOX where I kept my hp and ipad/laptop away as much possible so I also felt that this was very beneficial to me :)

Lastly, thank you all reading and checking back here! Hope you enjoyed the pics and if u ever have any questions, please feel free to let me know. Take care and will be back soon! xo

“Detox your mind, body, and your contact list.” 

 -SupaNova Slom

Take care, guys! 

Drop me a note if you wish to know more about Juice cleansing!

*Edited to add : Updog Studio will be having a another Detox Program in August, I'll update again with program details when the time comes round!

 Take care, back soon. xo