I remember my first juicing experience . I was an actress at the time and my friend Rob had this juicer in the cast house. Every day he would wake up and make himself a carrot or vegetable juice. I was intrigued and flirted with the idea of making juices myself. Occasionally he would invite me to have some of his. At the end of the summer, as we were leaving summer stock, he gave me a gift: The JUICING FOR LIFE book by Cheri Calborn. I was very touched and thought- now I need to buy a juicer. Lucky for me, when I came home to my VERY SMALL apartment in NYC my housemate Marc had also gotten into juicing. There we were, Marc and I, in a 3x5 kitchen in Manhattan, in winter, juicing anything we could get our hands on.

About a year later I moved into another apartment and ya now what that meant… I actually had to buy my own juicer. I bought the Braun model and she and I were very intimate. I juiced EVERY DAY, sometimes 2-4 times a day. I read that JUICING FOR LIFE book cover to cover. ANY physical symptom I had, they had a juice remedy: Pineapple for the throat, ginger for circulation, dark leafy greens for immune building.

It's important to add that this love affair with my juicer happened BEFORE I became a health counselor. I didn't know a thing about cooking or healing with foods.

A few months later I booked another acting job. This time a national tour. I packed my bags AND my juicer . Can you imagine what the hotel maids thought? They would clean my room and there would be carrot pulp in the sink and garbage pail. I was hooked! I wouldn't say I was a raw foodist because my other staples were toast, a can of lite soup, Italian food and chocolate cake. Great food combining right?

Shortly after returning from tour I decided to make a career move and met my friend Joshua Rosenthal, founder or THE INSTITUTE FOR INTEGRATIVE NUTRITION. It wasn't IIN at the time. It was a macrobiotic center. I went to work for him and he offered to train me as a health counselor.

Being that my first formal food education was in macrobiotics, I was about to learn to COOK, flame and all . I attended cooking classes 2x's a week. I learned about whole grains, seaweed, the difference between root and green veggies, condiments, proteins, yin and yang, the 5 element theory and more. Man, I was being stretched. Juicing was a lot of cooking for me. My rebellious feminine side couldn't believe I had found the kitchen and was actually cooking. But how could I stop? My health was improving day to day. No more PMS, digestive issues or knee problems. And the biggest "let go" was my identity. For years, I had struggled with binge eating and now that too was gone.

But what was I? A raw foodist? A macrobiotic? A whole foodie? Juicing and cleansing helped me feel confident about my body, my immune system definitely got stronger and my joints felt better. But it wasn't the whole picture. Learning to cook food, eat regular meals and tune into the seasons balanced my cravings and helped me find peace with my relationship to food and my body. My eating experience was changing me in deeper ways than I had ever imagined.

That's why I developed the 21 day cleanse AND The Fruition Women's Health Program.

To be honest they are really the same thing. The 21 day cleanse is an opportunity to focus on eliminating the "excess" in one sweeping motion, but what about the follow up? That's why the FWH program exists.

Eating raw food is one type of cleanse or eating regime. Eating cooked food another. Most people think of cleansing as a fast or an extreme experience. I have found that the simpler we make cleansing the easier it is to feel great EVERY DAY of our lives.

Think about it. If you stop eating at 7:00pm every night and don't eat again until 7:00am isn't that a cleanse?

This week I had a conversation with an old timer at Fruition. She called to talk to me about some hesitations she was having about cleansing this year .

I decided to challenge her. I said, "What would you like to cleanse this year?" Again her mind went straight to food and the NO her body was saying about doing a secondary food cleanse. I said "Maybe this year it's about primary food more than secondary food. Maybe this year instead of asking yourself what to cleanse, ask your self what would create liberation inside of yourself. Would eating chocolate and wine give YOU a sense of FREEDOM!"

She laughed. I could tell she was also puzzled.

Here's the point. Our mind gets stuck on what cleansing or eating well should look like. We think there are all these rules. If each one of us is truly present and honest with ourselves when we hold the question,"WHAT IS CLEANSING FOR ME NOW?" we would come up with different answers at different times in our lives.

Looking at my truth this year, here's what I came up with given my current health and life goals. I'm not doing a (secondary) food cleanse this year. My focus is on a building diet. I need lots of sleep so my cleansing plan is to be in bed by 9:00pm. I have ritual and mediation time carved into my day for at least an hour. My massages are booked & my down time planned. Very different from the last few years when I did the Master Cleanse and Gall Bladder flush for 10 days. But that's what I needed THEN.

This is my INVITATION to you:

Whether your are joining us for the formal cleanse or not – what is something in your life (primary or secondary food) you want to LET GO OF? But remember when you let go of something add in something to replace it.

Sugar? Dairy? Chocolate? Caffeine? Over eating? Late night eating? A belief you have about food or about life? A pattern in your life? Over scheduling yourself? Under scheduling yourself? (A cleanse for you might be to be more social).

It's all a cleanse, all a "let go." At different times in our lives we will need different things. We are all different; our constitutions, our circumstances, our health concerns, our health goals and over all who we are.

This is a good time for each reader to ask this question. There will be over 100 people in the Fruition Community focusing on cleansing in the next 21 days. Psychically tune into that energy and ask yourself- where do I want to grow? This cleanse and the FWH community is here to support you - to create a new relationship to food and your body FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!

(excerpt from The Fruition Health 21 Day Cleanse e-book)
* Which will be on sale soon- Stay Tuned!

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THE FWH 21 DAY SPRING CLEANSE
Taught by Darshana Weill. Founder of Fruition Health

San Francisco is SOLD OUT!
We still have spots in our virtual cleanse and in the Santa Cruz cleanse.

Click HERE for more details or to register.
Questions? I'm totally available- email me directly at darshana@fruitionhealth.com

If you know that cleaning your insides helps you feel great and look great don't miss this workshop! Make sure to reserve your spot because this cleanse fills up fast ….

Looking forward to it!

COMPLIMENT YOUR CLEANSE, OR JUST INDULGE, WITH THE FOLLOWING TWO WORKSHOPS TAUGHT BY FRIENDS OF FRUITION

Where and When?
Sunday April 20
1-4pm
Yoga Tree Valencia
San Francisco , CA
The investment for your health: $45
Call THE YOGA TREE 415- 701- YOGA or visit www.yogatreesf.com

Join Learning To Listen's collective of teachers (I'm one of the teachers!) for our 2nd Annual Solstice.

Last year we had a blast. You can check out pictures here. http://www.learningtolisten.info/pages/calendar/pastretreats.html

The retreat will feature: yoga, meditation, food awareness, a hands on cooking class, Tai Chi, and bodywork.

The weekend will be filled with play, discovery, and community. Each day will begin with meditation and yoga. Throughout each day there will be a food awareness class and plenty of free time for relaxing and enjoying living consciously. Later in the afternoon there will be a second asana & meditation practice. You can see the full schedule at http://www.learningtolisten.info/pdf/SSR2008schedule.pdf and check out the location. http://www.ventureretreat.org/index.html

We look forward to sharing this time together.  

Retreat Dates: June 20th – 22nd, 2008
Investment to your health: $400 (Includes all classes, lodging, and food.)

For anyone that signs up for a for the retreat through Fruition Health I am offering a free mini consultation during the retreat to help you integrate your experience.  

Space is limited to 14 Participants

TO REGISTER contact Jonathan at retreats@learningtolisten.info. 

AND STAY TUNED

THE FALL FRUITION WOMEN'S HEALTH RETREAT
Cooking, Yoga, Meditation, Sharing, Swimming, Hot tubing, Hiking and More!
WITH HEALTHY WOMEN!

DATES: Possibly September 19-21, 2008- We are wrapping up the details. I hope to know more by next week

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Fruition Women's Health is a holistic approach to wellness that includes:

• Nutritional education to help you understand and clear up health concerns
• Skilled counseling that supports you to work through emotional blocks in your personal relationship to food &
• Inspiring coaching to transform your ideas into practical action steps

Both in person and phone health counseling programs available. Find out more at www.fruitionhealth.com

Contact us for your FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION. During your free initial session, we will review your health history in detail and discuss your goals. Then we will work together to design a program that focuses on your specific health goals.

Click HERE to tell us more about you and your health or email info@fruitionhealth.com to set up your free consultation.

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