There are a couple of things I get squeamish about discussing: sex (why is it anybody’s biz? And my dad reads this!). And any bodily functions: boogers in the nose, farting, bad breath, pooping, etc. Yick. I just don’t like admitting they’re a part of the human experience—especially mine. But, of course, the 40 Days of Rejuvenation are about seeing whatever is going on and just accepting it. How else do you think you could stand inches away from the person on the mat next to you in yoga class, sweat like a mule, and not be completely grossed out?

When I wrote my first article about yoga for Uptown, I mentioned that I had a fear of becoming the “yoga farter”—the person who farts out loud in class but, since it’s yoga, everyone acts like it’s no big deal. But you know every time you see that person you’re thinking, “That’s the girl who farted in yoga.” Okay, maybe you don’t think that, because you’re far more “enlightened and engaged with innermost being,” but I think that in my “still-in-high-school-trying-to-act-superior head.” Anyhoo, I hear from MK who is taking the 40 Days thing too, and he writes to me and says he sees where I’m coming from with the Beano, since he’s finding it difficult to hold a fart for the 90 minute classes. And lemme tell you, the fruit fast ain’t helping. Although the bananas do seem to pull everything back together, if you know what I mean. I’m not trying to sound like that completely creepy guy on the infomercial that’s on at 3 a.m. Know the one I’m talking about? They’re selling something that makes you poop and he gets into an in-depth discussion about it with the “host.” Gross. Just what every insomniac in town needs.

Baron says that Week 4 is about restoration and he encourages us to stay in the moment and relax in all our activities. Giving up the food I normally eat and just sticking with fruit is not as easy as I thought it might be, but it’s not miserable. I started out resistant and skeptical, but have noticed I have more energy in the afternoon, and I’m not eating the little bites of food left on my kids’ plates. If nothing else, the fruit fast is making me think about what I’m eating and conscious of what food I keep in close proximity.

Maybe it’s the lack of French bread and steak talking, but I’m not really sure how the fruit fast and restoration/relaxation are related. I’m sticking to the full 3-day fast and the mindful eating Baron suggests anyway. But I’m not quite ready to relax and give up the Beano…

~ Sheri Joseph