Fasting, A word which we often hear in the 21st century with 100’s of variations. 2021 is when I started looking deep into the science of fasting and making it a part of my routine. here is my take on how to do fasting!

Fasting can be broadly separated into two types Intermediate Fasting and Prolonged Fasting. I have written an in-depth explanation of the benefits of Prolonged fasting in the article 100 hour Fast. Today I wanted to share information and what I learned in search of answers for a Question “Fasting?”

“Why Should I fast? When Should I fast? and How long Should I fast ?”

In short, you should create 

• A daily habit – circadian rhythm fast (Eating with Sun) – 10 to 14hrs, 
• A Monthly habit – Ekadashi fast (Twice a month) – 36hrs
• A Yearly habit – Seasonal Fasting (Thrice a Year) – 36 to 100hrs

But, If you are like me, you would ask WHY? let’s dive deep.

There are 1000’s of research papers and studies on Fasting to understand the benefits of it. Today I want to make it simple and classify them into three divisions.

• the scientific explanation. 
• the astronomical explanation.
• the spiritual explanation.

Scientific Explanation :

 In the study of DNA, there is a concept called junk DNA (Telomeres). The DNA strand that carries no information about our physical body. In fact, for a long time, scientists use this principle to say that God doesn’t exist because if you say God exists and he’s the one who creates life then everything has to be perfect, but this is a mistake. Look, there’s a piece of the DNA and he carries no information. many of these scientists call that as a mistake of God.

scientists were given the 2009 Nobel Prize for discovering that when cells duplicate the DNA duplicates and every time a small piece of the junk DNA is lost.

And every time when it is lost your life is reducing. The size of the junk DNA or the pieces of the junk DNA which are lost determines your duration of life. 

Simply put, the more Telomeres the longer you live. the DNA can replicate and duplicate itself maybe forty to eighty times. At the end the Telomeres are completely lost and it’s gone forever. but what is the purpose of this ? 

Telomeres acts as the casing at the end of our DNA. It protects the information of the DNA from both sides, As soon as it is completely lost you will find that there is fusion or unraveling the characteristics in your death.

So to increase life span we need to focus on two things, one reduce the rate of the cell splitting and second control the change in Telomeres.

After repeated studies, it is observed that to achieve such control you have to reduce the caloric intake. Higher your calorie intake bigger chunk pieces of the telomeres are lost and vice versa. and the type of food also plays a key role the closer to plant power the better.

And in further research it is observed that optimal benefits are obtained by practicing fasting for 36 hours once in two weeks. This helps to control and strengthen Telomeres and such people look younger , stay healthy and live long without diseases. Now you know where all the money is going in Bioresearch, they are trying to find a solution to hack DNA and control telomeres, but let’s focus on natural ways.

Fasting and conscious eating of low calories can be practiced by every individual between the age group of eight and eighty-eight given you are healthy and not pregnant.

Astronomical explanation :

A circadian rhythm is a natural, internal process that regulates the sleep–wake cycle and repeats on each rotation of the Earth roughly every 24 hours in alignment with the Sun and Moon. It can refer to any biological process that displays an endogenous, entrainable oscillation for about 24 hours. ( Simple words Body clock )

 It affects the body’s metabolism, thermoregulation, hormonal cycles, and immune system.

The Sun is our largest source of energy and without it life as we know it would not exist.

Your goal is to align your food habits with the sun through out the day, when our eyes perceive blue light, it tells our brain to shut down the production of our sleep hormone and melatonin. It sets our internal clock to WAKE UP! We need the sun’s bright blue light in the morning to become alert and active. 

we need dark, or at least the absence of blue light, to jump-start our brains, and consequently our skin’s, sleep mode, and recovery. when you fast overnight (you know, because you’re sleeping), your body switches from burning glucose for energy to burning stored fat.

Make breakfast and lunch your biggest meals of the day, and dinner the smallest. Ideally, you should get about 75 percent of your nutrition before 3 p.m.

Me and @priyajampana94 personally have our breakfast after a good workout in the morning, some whole food, Nutritious lunch platter and bowl size of dinner before sunset between 5-6PM

We focus on the quality rather than the quantity, it’s not just about macros ( Carbs, Protein and fats ) but the micros ( vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, Probiotics, fiber ) what matters. Eat with the Sun, be in alignment with nature.

Astronomically we know it’s the moon that affects high tides and low tides in the ocean. Apart from that moon is also influential in creating taste in the crops. The maximum pull of the moon is from Dashami (10th day )to Dwadashi (12th) day of a lunar cycle, which means the maximum pull of the moon and creating high tides is found on Ekadashi (11th day) in sanskrit. 

Now grains and beans have a very unique quality, not only they take lot of water to grow and cook, they retain water in your stomach in your body and not the kind of water that’s flushed out, it’s just held in through out the digestion. 

Think about the havoc that it can create in our bodies. And the more grains we have the more water is retained. And the more pull of the moon, there’s more devastation within. Even according to scientists and doctors. They say that maximum diseases are either initiated or accelerated by having grains on the 11th day.

And we all know that the human body is 65+ percent of water. Now imagine if you’re taking more of food which retains water content in your body. look at the pull that’s caused in the oceans by the moon. Visit a beach on 11th day of moon cycle to observe high and low tides, of course a human body will be impacted for sure and it’s proven.

Ekadashi fast means fasting from grains and beans on the 11th day of a full moon and new moon. which occurs twice a month and 24 times a year. It is recommend to fast from sunset of the 10th day to sunrise of the 12th day which is 36hours !!

We mark our calendars every month twice on ekadasi day to practice 36hours dry or water fast. We read and listen to some spiritual material during the time for cleansing the mind while body in cleansing through ketosis and Autophagy.

As the Earth travels around the Sun over the course of a year and the tilt of its axis points your hemisphere toward or away from the Sun, you experience the change of the Seasons.

It has often been noticed that many people are afflicted with colds, coughs, or digestive problems at the time when the seasons change. Fasting during this time seems to help at a great extent. Usually, if you plan on doing prolonged fasting to improve your immune system and flush out the toxins with Autophagy this is a good time. You can fast for 3 to 5 days.

You could do the spring fast in March when the world ushers in the season of spring, this could be followed in June for summer, then September for fall, and December for winter. A good rule of thumb would be to start the fast during the solstices and the equinoxes. I plan of doing at least twice a year the 100hr fast.

Spiritual Explanation :

In Bhagavadgita, it is said that Ekadashi fast allows you to stay close to Krishna ( God, higher Spirit ) through all your 11 senses. What are the 11 senses? Five knowledge acquiring senses, five working senses and the mind, by total absorption in a service.

But Just by fasting? No You don’t get to God by fasting but the process is, you observe your consciousness so much in the service of Spirit that you put your basic needs of eating and sleeping behind your back.

Upavas meaning staying closer to god, It is more important to be spiritual than ritual.

So the goal is not to create rules. if your body allows, practice dry fast twice a month for 36hours. along with daily circadian rhythm fasting, if not drink water and fast, if not eat nuts, fruits, and so on….

Don’t get fixated on How and What but look for WHY in every area of life. stop looking for perfection work on progression.

Understand not every religious saying is meaningless, during those times people are not educated to understand all these concepts. The wise men have created stories and scriptures around spiritual figures and Gods, so people can benefit through these practices.

Hope I added value and shared what I learned, create these habits, and improve your physical mental and spiritual health.

Stay Healthy and prosperous.

Each one of can make a difference , together we can create change. Come join us in the movement #OneEnergyTogether.