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10 Tips for Fasting Healthfully and Spiritually
During the month of Ramadan, Muslims abstain from food, drink, and other sensual pleasures during daylight hours. The fasting month is also about spiritual cleansing and introspection, a time to re-energize the God connection. And it's a reminder of the plight of the poor--which hopefully pushes Muslims to do more charitable work.
But fasting isn't exclusive to Muslims (or Ramadan, for that matter) Most faiths prescribe some sort of fast. And done the right way, fasting is a wonderful way for us to cleanse ourselves physically, mentally, and spiritually. Are you interested embarking on a fast? Then check out these tips to guide you to a more healthful and spiritual fast.
Text by Hesham Hassaballa
1. Get into the mental and spiritual groove for fasting.
Fasting is way more than just going without food and drink (that's called a crash diet). At its best, it is a spiritual and physical cleansing and a declaration of independence from the shackles of earthly life. If you want to embark on a spiritual fast, you need mental readiness to forgo the normal things that define your life. Begin by thinking about the fast before it actually happens, why you are doing it, and what you want to achieve. Then you can be ready on Day One.
2. Slowly Eliminate Favorite Foods/Drinks
How hard can it be to forgo food and drink for a day? More than you know. For me, the first few days of Ramadan are spent in a somnolent stupor as I withdraw from caffeine. And an abrupt food/drink/nicotine withdrawal can take away from the spiritual benefit of fasting. Thus, try cutting back those things on which you are dependent for a week or two before you plan to fast. Start drinking decaf coffee, cut back on sweets, and cut down on cigarettes (if that's your vice).
3. Try to Always Have a Pre-Fast Meal
When Muslims fast during Ramadan from sunrise to sunset, it's strongly encouraged to have the suhoor, or pre-dawn meal. It helps give the fasting person strength and energy to go through the day without any nourishment. I'm not advising that you should wake up and gorge yourself before you begin fasting. But eat something. And if you choose to begin your fast at sunrise, it's also a wonderful, calm, quiet time of day to reflect on what you're about to do. (And don't forget a healthy post-fast meal (called the iftar by Muslims--and don't overeat when you break the fast.)
4. Drink Plenty of Fluids Pre- and Post-Fast
Muslims will be fasting for long, hot days now that Ramadan is moving into the summer months. So it is of the utmost importance that one stay fully hydrated. If you plan on fasting, fluids should be consumed regularly before and after the fast--and slowly. (Chugging water after breaking a fast can make you feel sick.) If you can't get up for a full meal before beginning your fast, try to drink some water. Proper fluid consumption pre- and post-fast is always important--whether or not it's summertime when you fast.
5. Avoid Strenuous Physical Activity
Fasting within the routines of a normal day can be testing. You're challenged to complete your tasks without that food or coffee break. It is always important to pace yourself throughout the day, and if strenuous activity can be avoided, then do so. In many Middle Eastern countries, work and school days are shortened during Ramadan. But many of us need to do our work while we fast. So try and make it physically easier on yourself so that you have enough energy to strive for that spiritual connection.
6. Start with a Partial Fast, if Need Be
The fast of Ramadan is a complete fast: no food, no drink, no intimate relations, no cigarettes, etc., from dawn to dusk (after which these things are allowed until the next day's dawn) for 30 days. Other faiths prescribe 24-hour fasts. All these fasts are meant to bring our focus back to a higher state of being, to remind us to be thankful, and to help cleanse ourselves of bad habits. But if a Ramadan-type fast is too much for you, then just fast for a day or two and gradually eliminate fluids. But trust me: Though it seems tough, fasting is not really that hard.
7. Fasting Is Not for Everyone
Some of us are not meant to fast at certain times, or ever. For Muslims, if a person is ill, he or she does not have to fast but must make up the day later. There are other times a Muslim should not fast (traveling, pregnancy, nursing, etc.). And you shouldn't fast if it comes to the point where it will harm your health. Sure, fasting is a wonderful way of inner spiritual cleansing. But there are other things we can do if we can't fast, such as feed the poor. Meditation, reading scripture, reciting prayers, doing acts of charity--all these acts help turn up our spiritual dial.
8. Learn What You Can Do Without
One thing Muslims learn during Ramadan is how many things we can learn to do without, such as that cup of coffee. In this way, fasting can be a great opportunity to reevaluate your daily routine and see if there is anything harmful that you can take away permanently. This works spiritually as well. We can use fasting to eliminate (or lessen) the things that inhibit us from attaining a God-connection or a general sense of spiritual well-being. Do you spend a lot of time watching television or surfing the web? See if you can do without so much of it.
9. It's Not a Diet Plan
The Prophet Muhammad once said, "He whose fasting does not prevent him from doing evil, God does not have any need that he quits having his food and his drink." This highlights the essence of the Ramadan fast: to improve one's spiritual self (and become God-conscious). For anyone fasting, the purpose should be to become a better person, to recharge one's spirit. Try to avoid conflict with other people; try to improve your character; try to find your own connection to a higher power. Otherwise all you are doing is an extreme diet.
10. Keep Up the Spirit of Your Fast
Fasting in Ramadan is an amazing spiritual exercise. When we're fasting, we're in a spiritual zone. But once our fast ends, it's all too easy to lose what we have gained. So try to keep the spirit of your fast alive throughout the year. If you got rid of bad habits, don't go back to them. If you've just ended a lengthy fast, try to keep fasting a few days every month. Keep up whatever spiritual practices you did (as much as you can) during your fast. Let us not be angels during our fasting days and devils the day after our fast is finished.
During the month of Ramadan, Muslims abstain from food, drink, and other sensual pleasures during daylight hours. The fasting month is also about spiritual cleansing and introspection, a time to re-energize the God connection. And it's a reminder of the plight of the poor--which hopefully pushes Muslims to do more charitable work.
But fasting isn't exclusive to Muslims (or Ramadan, for that matter) Most faiths prescribe some sort of fast. And done the right way, fasting is a wonderful way for us to cleanse ourselves physically, mentally, and spiritually. Are you interested embarking on a fast? Then check out these tips to guide you to a more healthful and spiritual fast.
Text by Hesham Hassaballa
1. Get into the mental and spiritual groove for fasting.
Fasting is way more than just going without food and drink (that's called a crash diet). At its best, it is a spiritual and physical cleansing and a declaration of independence from the shackles of earthly life. If you want to embark on a spiritual fast, you need mental readiness to forgo the normal things that define your life. Begin by thinking about the fast before it actually happens, why you are doing it, and what you want to achieve. Then you can be ready on Day One.
2. Slowly Eliminate Favorite Foods/Drinks
How hard can it be to forgo food and drink for a day? More than you know. For me, the first few days of Ramadan are spent in a somnolent stupor as I withdraw from caffeine. And an abrupt food/drink/nicotine withdrawal can take away from the spiritual benefit of fasting. Thus, try cutting back those things on which you are dependent for a week or two before you plan to fast. Start drinking decaf coffee, cut back on sweets, and cut down on cigarettes (if that's your vice).
3. Try to Always Have a Pre-Fast Meal
When Muslims fast during Ramadan from sunrise to sunset, it's strongly encouraged to have the suhoor, or pre-dawn meal. It helps give the fasting person strength and energy to go through the day without any nourishment. I'm not advising that you should wake up and gorge yourself before you begin fasting. But eat something. And if you choose to begin your fast at sunrise, it's also a wonderful, calm, quiet time of day to reflect on what you're about to do. (And don't forget a healthy post-fast meal (called the iftar by Muslims--and don't overeat when you break the fast.)
4. Drink Plenty of Fluids Pre- and Post-Fast
Muslims will be fasting for long, hot days now that Ramadan is moving into the summer months. So it is of the utmost importance that one stay fully hydrated. If you plan on fasting, fluids should be consumed regularly before and after the fast--and slowly. (Chugging water after breaking a fast can make you feel sick.) If you can't get up for a full meal before beginning your fast, try to drink some water. Proper fluid consumption pre- and post-fast is always important--whether or not it's summertime when you fast.
5. Avoid Strenuous Physical Activity
Fasting within the routines of a normal day can be testing. You're challenged to complete your tasks without that food or coffee break. It is always important to pace yourself throughout the day, and if strenuous activity can be avoided, then do so. In many Middle Eastern countries, work and school days are shortened during Ramadan. But many of us need to do our work while we fast. So try and make it physically easier on yourself so that you have enough energy to strive for that spiritual connection.
6. Start with a Partial Fast, if Need Be
The fast of Ramadan is a complete fast: no food, no drink, no intimate relations, no cigarettes, etc., from dawn to dusk (after which these things are allowed until the next day's dawn) for 30 days. Other faiths prescribe 24-hour fasts. All these fasts are meant to bring our focus back to a higher state of being, to remind us to be thankful, and to help cleanse ourselves of bad habits. But if a Ramadan-type fast is too much for you, then just fast for a day or two and gradually eliminate fluids. But trust me: Though it seems tough, fasting is not really that hard.
7. Fasting Is Not for Everyone
Some of us are not meant to fast at certain times, or ever. For Muslims, if a person is ill, he or she does not have to fast but must make up the day later. There are other times a Muslim should not fast (traveling, pregnancy, nursing, etc.). And you shouldn't fast if it comes to the point where it will harm your health. Sure, fasting is a wonderful way of inner spiritual cleansing. But there are other things we can do if we can't fast, such as feed the poor. Meditation, reading scripture, reciting prayers, doing acts of charity--all these acts help turn up our spiritual dial.
8. Learn What You Can Do Without
One thing Muslims learn during Ramadan is how many things we can learn to do without, such as that cup of coffee. In this way, fasting can be a great opportunity to reevaluate your daily routine and see if there is anything harmful that you can take away permanently. This works spiritually as well. We can use fasting to eliminate (or lessen) the things that inhibit us from attaining a God-connection or a general sense of spiritual well-being. Do you spend a lot of time watching television or surfing the web? See if you can do without so much of it.
9. It's Not a Diet Plan
The Prophet Muhammad once said, "He whose fasting does not prevent him from doing evil, God does not have any need that he quits having his food and his drink." This highlights the essence of the Ramadan fast: to improve one's spiritual self (and become God-conscious). For anyone fasting, the purpose should be to become a better person, to recharge one's spirit. Try to avoid conflict with other people; try to improve your character; try to find your own connection to a higher power. Otherwise all you are doing is an extreme diet.
10. Keep Up the Spirit of Your Fast
Fasting in Ramadan is an amazing spiritual exercise. When we're fasting, we're in a spiritual zone. But once our fast ends, it's all too easy to lose what we have gained. So try to keep the spirit of your fast alive throughout the year. If you got rid of bad habits, don't go back to them. If you've just ended a lengthy fast, try to keep fasting a few days every month. Keep up whatever spiritual practices you did (as much as you can) during your fast. Let us not be angels during our fasting days and devils the day after our fast is finished.
So, do you fast? Is it taught in your religion? How important to you is it? How do you fast?
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