Healthy eating is often dictated by a conflicting set of rules depending upon the source. The insatiable desire for a quick fix to health and weight loss sends most people from one extreme to another in their diets and hence, their lives. Deprivation is usually the common thread in most diets, and traditional fasting takes that concept to the extreme. On the other hand, the perception of feasting is that of pure gluttony. Cultural norms tell us that deprivation is good and feasting is bad. But what if feasting and fasting were equally healthy for you?
Edward Bauman, M.Ed., Ph.D., founder and Executive Director of Bauman College Holistic Nutrition and Culinary Arts says you don’t need to choose between the two, and that both can be equally healthy. Bauman, a healer, teacher and nutritionist for forty years is a groundbreaking leader in the field of whole foods nutrition and holistic health. He believes eating for health is about balance, not about extremity.
Bauman has found a balance point between feasting and fasting, and much of it comes down to your attitude and relationship with food. Bauman states, “Many people are paralyzed about eating, thinking there’s only one good choice. But there are hundreds of choices that are good. Consuming fresh and natural food is always a good choice. Highly processed food filled with chemicals is a bad choice.” While you don’t need an expert telling you this, sometimes it’s important to get back to basics and relearn what your intuitive self already knows.
Nothing is wrong with feasting as long as you change your perception of it. In fact, every meal should be a feast. Food is beautiful, flavorful and sensuous. If you take the time to be present, enjoy your meal with others and eat mindfully, you’ll have an emotionally rewarding experience that is a feast for the body, mind and spirit. This is all good.
On the other hand, there are times when your body and your life need cleansing. Bauman’s Vitality Fasting Retreats help people bring their attention to the present moment, taking their experience with food to a whole new level. Usually held at a serene natural setting such as Stillheart Institute in the Woodside, CA hills, this is not your typical fast where you starve your brain and body. You actually get to eat! During the retreat, participants consume mineral rich teas, organic fruit and vegetable juices, mineral broth made with cooked vegetables, herbs and spices, and a food powder called “Vital Scoop” that Bauman produces and sells. Sounds more like a feast than a fast!
Bauman says, “When you empty and cleanse the body, the mind rejoices.” Bauman’s unique approach to fasting opens people up on a multitude of levels while they de-stress and detoxify. He creates a gentle and quiet environment that allows people to go deep within their soul and make positive changes in their life. During his retreats, lifelong friendships are formed, deep childhood patterns are revealed and corrected, and people leave lighter, happier and healthier. It may be called a fast, but the retreat is truly a feast of love, life and relationships. As Bauman says, “Just drinking juice doesn’t help when you’ve had a trauma, but being loved while you’re drinking juice will definitely help.”
Here are a few of Ed Bauman’s tips for healthy eating:
• Always have enough to eat; don’t deprive yourself.
• Eat slowly and mindfully; use all your senses.
• Eat in a quiet place, where you can hear and focus on food and conversation.
• Know when to stop eating.
• Say grace or thanks after the meal to reflect upon the goodness of all you’ve consumed.
• Surround yourself with positive and healthy people.
• Don’t go to extremes in your diet or your life—keep a balance.
Bauman’s next Vitality Fasting Retreat will take place at Stillheart Institute Aug 14-20, 2010.
Whether feasting or fasting, if done mindfully and balanced, both will reveal a healthier and happier inner and outer self.
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