The Healing Power of a Solstice Water Fast

As many of you know, I recently returned from a two-week journey to the tropics where I completed a water fast.

I’ve always found it is easiest to fast during the peak of the solar year’s yang, the height of summer. Transitioning from eating solid foods into sipping juice, my body heat drops significantly as metabolic activity and digestive processes slow down. Winter is simply too cold for me to complete this, and at this point in the summer, quite frankly it is just too hot to have much of an appetite!

For the first time, I chose to complete my fast away from home and set my intention to 10–14 days. This was deliberate—meant to help me explore the kinds of challenges that might arise when hosting a retreat in a remote setting.[1]

goals and context

To illustrate the power of fasting as a healing modality, I need to be honest with you about why I fasted—and what it healed.

As many of you remember, NWA was ravaged by tornados last May 2024. Even now, many of our homes and places of work are still being repaired. Because of the sheer volume of damage, contractors were delayed in addressing much of the damage. This left me exposed to fiberglass dust multiple days a week for the entirety of last summer. The microscopic glass particles lingered in the air and, with every breath, they rubbed my skin raw, making it red and inflamed.

After about two weeks went by, a small, open abrasion appeared at the base of my septum. It was painful and unrelenting—due to the continued exposure, it would not heal. By the end of the summer, my skin barrier had weakened in that area so much that opportunistic pathogens invaded, leaving me with a rash around my nose and mouth.

Most of you know that I am not anti-western medicine, but pro-integration. Each medicine has an appropriate time to be used. I started with internal and topical Chinese herbs from the apothecary, which definitely helped, but only partially. I stacked my herbs with a topical steroid. This too was only partially effective. I stacked antibiotics. This last addition did the trick, but then as soon as I stopped the antibiotics, the rash slowly returned.

Finally, I knew the only chance I had was a water fast.

the fast

juice transition (days 1-3)

The first three days of fasting were extremely pleasant because, well, juice is delicious! Easing into a water fast with juice helps soften what could be a jarring metabolic shift from using glucose to ketones as fuel. Without titrating down the glucose, those first days are pretty awful with lots of headaches, fatigue, and brain fog. Definitely to be avoided!

Through the juice days, I felt super energized. I had enough mental stamina to work on my translation of the Dao De Jing and physical vigor to take walks around the property. Being in a tropical location afforded access to fresh, organic juices sourced right from the ecohotel’s grounds. In such oppressive heat and humidity, the fresh, cool juice was a delightful reprieve.

By day 3, I felt cool, light, and spiritually awake from the deep dive into Daoist philosophy. My mind was calm and serene. My body was wanting juice less and less and beginning to crave the quiet clarity of water.

(a lesson in hydration logistics)

At this point, it makes sense to tell you about a pretty significant lesson I learned—choose a location that has ample, flowing, high-quality, potable water. In fact, make that the fundamental priority in determining a location to water fast.

Prior to booking, I asked our host if the tap water was potable, making it clear that I do not drink from plastic (too many endocrine disruptors and microplastics). In response, the manager of the ecohotel kindly offered to install a filter so we would be able to drink. Excited and touched, I agreed to this solution. Looking back, I realize I underestimated just how important easy access to high-quality water would be.

There are various ways to filter water, and each has its own advantages. You can run water through fabric to decrease turbidity, but this will not take care of bacteria and other pathogens. You can use clay, sand, carbon, reverse osmosis—all of these are technically ways to filter water. In our case, we had a clay bowl resting inside of a water dispenser. I was fairly familiar, theoretically, with this method and thought it would be fine. After one sip, however, I knew it tasted a little bit off. I started using my GRAYL as an additional protection and was fine with this from days 1–3.[2]

water fasting (days 4-6)

Day 4 was a more difficult transition than I would have liked. I had mental energy, but little physical strength. I found myself struggling to filter water through the GRAYL (a deceptively physically intensive process, even when not fasting!). Tired, I reluctantly decided to trust the water filter and drank 2 liters in the evening. That night, I was awake and nauseated for many hours. In hindsight, this was the point where my 10–14-day goal became infeasible.

The morning of day 5, I awoke in a stupor. My stomach was in quite a bit of pain and I was not optimally hydrated. By noon, I decided to order a coconut and drank its contents to get me back on my feet. Thankfully, this did the trick and the rest of day 5 proceeded without any further stomach upset.

Fully recovered on day 6, I completed my meditation and breathwork sessions facing the ocean, read, and indulged in some restorative, yin yoga. Toward the evening, I noticed a feeling of hunger and a desire to eat. This is usually my signal that my body is about ready to break fast.

breaking fast (day 7)

Day 7, I awoke feeling refreshed and rejuvenated after a full week of fantastic sleep (minus the one night). Upon waking, I again intuited that it was time to break the fast and felt at peace with the decision. My body felt restored, healed, and ready to refeed. My mind felt relaxed and quiet. My spirit felt unhurried.

Late afternoon marked a full 7 days. At this point, I prepared some fresh papaya with lime. I’m telling you—eating fresh papaya with a squeeze of lime or lemon is a sublime experience, only to be had in regions where papaya is grown. The tang of the lime and lemon enlivens the delicate, sweetness of the papaya and adds just the right amount of brightness. That first bite was pure bliss.

While I had originally intended to fast for 10–14 days, I attuned to my intuition and broke early. Intentions are great, but reality and our inner knowing always have the final say. Be yielding and flexible, and always listen to your body.

results

Day 1 of fasting, I discontinued all of my Chinese herbs and western medications. After 48 hours—no lie—all signs of inflammation had faded from my skin. I didn’t even wash my face with anything but water during the days of fasting, and everything stayed perfectly clear.

Although the rash cleared quickly on the surface, I knew that there were deeper, internal healing processes that were taking place. Autophagy and apoptosis processes were still upregulating and clearing out all of the cells that had been damaged. Biofilms that housed latent pathogens were still weakening, allowing my T-cells and B-cells to finally take out the root problem. The emotional pain of hosting a pathogen that felt stronger than me in such a visible way needed time to soothe. Fasting is a healing that cannot be rushed.

Finally, upon waking on day 7, I instinctively knew that the root of my skin concerns had been healed. I broke fast on Sunday, 7/22 and now, 2 weeks later, the pathogen has not returned.

Let us emphasize this point—neither antibiotics, topical creams, nor herbs were able to fully clear my pathogenic invasion. A 7-day course of fasting did.

In addition to my skin improvements, this fast gave me a significant reduction in pain and stiffness. The deepening of mental and emotional peace I experienced during the fast has persisted. The spiritual insights and clarity from fasting have been woven into the refinements of my Dao De Jing translation, greatly benefitting the transmission of the text.

Fasting requires dedicated time and intense discipline. It requires positive thinking and a growth mindset. It will challenge you psychologically and physically. It is demanding, but, in the end, the healing you receive is unparalleled.

chinese medicine and fasting

Fasting has long been revered for its healing potential. Even the Chinese medicine ancients knew this, advocating the Daoist practice of fúqì (服氣)—consuming qi, a practice that is similar to water fasting, though some primary texts suggest that fúqì is a fasting practice that doesn’t even include water.

While searching the classics for references to fúqì, I came across and translated this passage on longevity from the 4th century CE, written by Chinese medical physician and Daoist master Ge Hong in the 抱朴子 (Bào Pǔ Zǐ):

天地晝離而夜合，一歲三百六十交，而精氣和合者有四，故能生育萬物，不知窮極。

人能則之，可以長存。

次有服氣得其道，則邪氣不得入。

治身之本要也。

The sky and the earth during the day separate, and at night, unite. Each year has 360 exchanges (days) and, of the harmonious unions of Jing and Qi, there are four. Like this, [sky and earth] can generate the swarm of things, knowing no exhaustive end.

In the instance where people emulate this, they can achieve enduring existence.

Next, there is consuming qi (fúqì 服氣) to obtain the Dao, in which case pernicious Qi (disease) is unable to enter.

This is the foundation in curing the body.

While Ge Hong advocates living in harmony with natural rhythms to promote longevity, fasting is the ultimate foundation in curing the body.

Daoism and Chinese medicine are not the only ancient systems that promote fasting as a method of purification. Spiritual and healing traditions from a vast array of cultures are all aligned here. In our current state of overabundance and excess, we have forgotten the virtue of asceticism.

I hope through my journey and recollection, you gained some wisdom and perhaps inspiration to explore your own body’s capacity to heal. Fasting is truly one of the most powerful healing tools, but it must be wielded carefully, respectfully, and flexibly. Our bodies know how to heal—we just have to listen.[3]

notes:

[1] I am considering leading a short fasting retreat in 2026 or 2027. If you are interested in this offering, please complete this survey.

[2] Here in the US, we are fortunate to have comprehensive water treatment. The Clean Water Act ensures our waterways aren’t excessively polluted and the Safe Water Drinking Act requires municipalities adopt strict water treatment standards to ensure the water that comes from our tap is potable. We pay mere fractions of cents for potable tap water (compare this to the $6-9 paid for the relatively less regulated bottled water full of microplastics and endocrine disruptors… but this is for another post!!) and, while it is not a perfect system, most households in the US reap the benefits of these environmental protections. Thank you, Environmental Protection Agency!!

[3] While fasting has profound healing potential, long fasts like this one are not appropriate for everyone. I have years of experience with various styles of fasting, and this account is my experience—not a recommendation. Long fasts should only be undertaken with appropriate medical supervision. This post is a personal account and not a substitute for medical advice.