Not a super flexy slender Yoga chick talks "the Power of Fasting”

In less than 10 days, Ramadan will be over and Eid will start. And this year, I decided to fast. I had previously done 3 days of water fasting (only water for three days) but removing food and water during daylight hours is another challenge, especially because I am used to drinking 2-3 liters a day. I am very happy about the results, although I did not manage every day to not drink.

Fasting appears in many places where humans have tried to understand themselves a little better. Different cultures arrived at it in different ways, yet the idea keeps resurfacing. Remove food/ water for a period of time and something shifts. The body and the mind change as the attention shifts.

Religious traditions recognized this long before nutrition science entered the conversation.

During Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to sunset for 29/30 days. The purpose is not punishment or deprivation. It is restraint, reflection and awareness of how easily desire takes the steering wheel. In Judaism, Yom Kippur includes a full day without food or water as a moment for atonement and inner examination. Christians observe fasting during Lent, a period of reflection that encourages simplicity and discipline. In Hindu traditions, days such as Ekadashi are dedicated to fasting as a way to purify body and mind.

The pattern repeats across many traditions. Buddhism includes periods of abstaining from food after midday. Jainism is known for its deep commitment to fasting as a spiritual discipline. The Baháʼí Faith observes a nineteen day fast each year from sunrise to sunset. Even outside formal religion, fasting appears in cultural practices such as Native American vision quests or the cleansing rituals found in Taoism.

When so many traditions repeat the same practice across centuries and continents, curiosity is inevitable. Something must be happening during those empty hours.

One of the first effects is clarity. When digestion quiets down, the body redirects energy. Many people notice a surprising sharpness in the mind. Thoughts feel less cluttered. Attention becomes more precise. In spiritual traditions, this clarity was often linked to prayer, meditation and contemplation.

Fasting also builds discipline. Hunger is one of the most basic impulses we have. Learning to sit with it, even for a few hours, creates a small distance between impulse and action. That gap is powerful. It shows that urges do not always need to be obeyed immediately. Over time this spills into other areas of life. Patience grows as reactivity softens… Test it when you’re cut out in traffic 😏

There is also a strong element of humility. Food is something most of us take for granted. Skipping meals, even temporarily, reminds us how dependent we are on simple nourishment and instant gratifications. Many traditions pair fasting with generosity and gratitude for that reason. Awareness of hunger can awaken empathy for those who live with it daily.

From a physical perspective, fasting allows the digestive system to rest. The body shifts from constant processing of incoming calories to drawing from internal reserves. It’s basically eating itself. In practices like Ayurveda, this pause is seen as a way to rebalance the system and clear accumulated heaviness.

The interesting part is how closely this aligns with principles found in Yoga. Yoga often speaks about moderation and awareness of consumption, not only food but also stimulation, activity and information. When eating pauses for a while, habits become visible. Many people realize how often they reach for food out of boredom, stress or routine rather than genuine hunger. I find myself getting up, opening the fridge, closing it and repeating the same after a few minutes hoping that something changed in the fridge. INSANITY!

Fasting slows the rhythm. Meals no longer structure the entire day. Suddenly there is space to observe how the mind behaves when comfort is temporarily removed.

If you can go without food (and water) for hours, maybe you can try and hold that Yoga pose a little longer before giving up? Maybe you can breathe a little deeper or slower before giving up? You are in charge and there is nothing that you cannot do if you set your mind to it.