MEDICAL DISCLAIMER
This cleanse is an educational wellness program and is not medical treatment. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. It is intended for generally healthy adults. If you are pregnant, nursing, diabetic, have a history of eating disorders, chronic illness, are taking medications, or have any medical or psychiatric condition, consult your physician or a licensed healthcare provider before participating. Participation is entirely voluntary. If you experience severe or concerning symptoms, discontinue the cleanse and seek medical care. By choosing to participate, you acknowledge that you are responsible for your own health decisions and outcomes.
🌊 WEEK 2: COLON PREPARATION
Action Items This Week
✔️ Choose 3-4 of the items from the fibrous foods list below to add to your grocery shopping.
✔️ Try to include a vegetable, legume, or whole grain at every meal
✔️ Keep hydrating, especially starting the day with water
✔️ Experiment with Psyllium Husk
✔️ Experiment with Flaxseed
✔️ Experiment with Triphala
✔️. Reduce Processed Foods
What Goes In, Must Come Out
When we cleanse, we are mostly focused on what we put into the body. But for an effective cleanse, it’s just as important to consider how waste gets out.
This week we will focus on helping your colon get ready for the cleanse. We will begin colon-helping habits that continue throughout the next four weeks and throughout the ten-day cleanse. Hopefully you continue some of them beyond the cleanse!
Before describing the recommended actions, it’s good to contextualize why colon optimization is important.
Why Help the Colon first?
If you’re going to do a cleanse, it’s a bit like sweeping up a bunch of dirt around your house. Sweeping is great, but if you don’t have a dustpan — a way to move the dirt you accumulated out to the garbage — eventually it is likely to circulate again.
The same goes with our digestive tract. If we are helping along the release of waste, we want to make sure there is a good exit plan to get it out of the body. That’s where the colon gets involved. This week’s suggestions help the colon operate at its best, with regular bowel movements. Increased hydration, fiber and strategic supplements aid elimination.
Pragmatically, if your colon isn’t primed before the cleanse, you may experience more headaches, nausea, sluggishness, or that heavy “detox” feeling — rather than the clearer, more energized state a cleanse can support.
So give yourself a head start on feeling good by caring for your colon. By the time you get to the cleanse, it will go a lot smoother.
Let’s Talk About Waste
Waste is known as ama in Ayurveda (the ancient Indian health system that influenced Dr. Stone in his formation of Polarity Therapy).
Ama refers to the heavy residue that forms when digestion and metabolism are incomplete. It develops when digestive fire (agni) is weak or overloaded — often due to:
overeating
incompatible food combinations
irregular eating
chronic stress
foods that are difficult to digest.
Ama is described as sticky, heavy, cloudy, and obstructive. It can accumulate in the gastrointestinal tract and move through the body’s channels of transport (srotas) — including the digestive tract, circulatory system, lymphatic pathways, respiratory passages, and elimination routes — interfering with normal physiological function.
Clinically, this pattern shows up as heaviness, lethargy, brain fog, a coated tongue, sluggish bowels, joint stiffness, and a general sense of dullness or congestion.
When digestion is burdened and elimination slows, we feel it. So we will start this week to improve elimination and over the coming weeks, leading up to the cleanse, continue to help digestion.
For a deeper dive, check out our article that contextualizes ama from a scientific perspective: click here.
What’s involved in helping the colon?
We want to help the colon do its work through a few simple supports:
Fibrous Foods
Provide structure and bulk so material can move consistently through the intestines.Hydration
Helps soften stool and allows it to move more easily through the colon.Natural Fiber Supplements
Flaxseed and psyllium husk add additional fiber to your regular food intake and can improve bowel regularity when food alone isn’t enough.Triphala
A traditional Ayurvedic herbal blend used for centuries to support healthy bowel tone and digestive balance. It gently encourages peristalsis (the wave-like movement of the intestines) and supports regular elimination. It is generally milder than stimulant laxatives such as senna.Movement and Exercise
Stimulate intestinal motility and support lymphatic flow. Walking alone can make a noticeable difference.
Food First: Your Primary Tool
☑️ Choose 3-4 of the fibrous foods from the list above to add to your grocery shopping.
☑️ Try to include a vegetable, legume, or whole grain at every meal
“Let food be thy medicine.” — Hippocrates
Food is your number one intervention to help the colon. Before herbs and supplements, try shifting your food to include more fiber. You’re not expected to overhaul your entire diet in one week. That usually backfires. So begin this week making some manageable changes. If you can only improve one meal out of three, do that. Next week, maybe it becomes two meals. Start with what feels realistic and build from there.
Fiber:
Provides bulk
Stabilizes blood sugar
Feeds beneficial gut bacteria
Supports consistent elimination
Helps bind certain wastes for removal
Specific Changes You Can Make This Week
Choose brown rice instead of white.
Choose whole grains instead of refined (white) flour.
Try other grains: bulgur, barley, quinoa, bran cereals, oatmeal, whole-wheat pasta, popcorn
Add legumes — black beans, lentils, chickpeas, split peas, baked beans, lima beans, mung beans.
Add seeds & nuts — chia, ground flax, hemp, pumpkin, almonds, sunflower, pistachio.
Increase leafy greens — spinach, kale, arugula, collard, Swiss chard. Try at least a handful a day.
Increase vegetables overall — broccoli, brussels sprouts, raw carrots, cabbage, artichokes, acorn/butternut squash, green peas, potatoes and sweet potatoes (with skin)
Incrase fibrous fruits: passion fruit, avocado, guava, raspberries, blackberries, pears (with skin), apples (with skin), dried figs, dates, prunes, bananas, oranges.
It’s easy to read this list and nod your head yes and then not really absorb what’s involved. So please take a look back at the list more slowly now. Take in each line, and imagine yourself adding in those foods. Try to get a sense of your energy if you were to take in more of these fibrous foods. Make a note of 3-4 of these items you would like to add to your next grocery list. Perhaps try 3 things you know you like and try 1 thing that you normally wouldn’t get, or have never tried.
A Quick Note on Fiber
Not all fiber works the same way. There are two main types, and they support elimination in slightly different ways.
Soluble fiber dissolves in water and forms a gel-like substance. It helps soften stool, stabilize blood sugar, and nourish beneficial gut bacteria. Because it absorbs water, it can be especially helpful if stool is dry or hard.
→ You’ll find soluble fiber in oats, beans, lentils, chia seeds, ground flaxseed, and psyllium.
Insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water. It adds bulk and helps move material through the intestines more efficiently. It can be especially helpful when bowel movements are small, infrequent, or sluggish.
→ You’ll find insoluble fiber in whole grains (like brown rice and whole wheat), leafy greens, broccoli, cabbage, and vegetable skins.
Most whole plant foods contain a mix of both.
If stool is dry → more soluble fiber and hydration.
If stool is slow or infrequent → more insoluble fiber and movement.
Hydration - Already Underway
☑️ Keep hydrating, especially staring the day with water
It’s important to remember to hydrate — fiber works best with water. If you followed the suggestions for Week 1, you already have been hydrating. Keep it going! Aim for steady intake across the day rather than large amounts all at once.
As a reminder, we recommend:
Keeping water nearby and hydrating throughout the day.
Buy yourself a nice tumbler to accompany you on this cleanse. Sometimes accoutrements help!
Start the day with water (ideally, warm lemon water). Warm water gently stimulates digestion and bowel motility. Lemon can help stimulate digestive secretions and bile flow first thing in the morning.
Hydration in the evening (without drinking so much that it disrupts sleep) can support deeper rest. In Polarity terms, water tends to cool and calm a rajasic, overstimulated mind.
How Does Water Help?
Water plays a direct role in elimination. In order to create poop, the colon reabsorbs water. If you’re underhydrated, stool becomes drier and harder to pass.
Adequate hydration:
Softens stool
Supports bowel motility (natural movement)
Helps fiber work properly
Assists bile-bound waste in moving out
Water also supports circulation (blood flow) and lymphatic flow (moving the lymph that is essential for your immune system to operate properly) . Interstitial fluid — the fluid around your cells — depends on hydration to remain dynamic. When hydrated, nutrient exchange and waste removal are more efficient.
Gentle Supplemental Supports
☑️ Experiment with Psyllium Husk
☑️ Experiment with Flaxseed
☑️ Experiment with Triphala
Food and water are the first priority for helping the colon, but people often benefit from supplemental assistance as well.
In additional to fiber benefits, both psyllium husk and flaxseed tend to suppress appetite and give a feeling of satiety. These are best used in the morning at least 30-60 minutes prior to lunch. Take with at least 8 oz of water to avoid obstruction. They both also help lower cholesterol, particularly psyllium husk.
How to use:
Psyllium Husk
Psyllium is a concentrated soluble fiber. It absorbs water and forms a gel that adds bulk and supports bowel movement. Since Psyllium absorbs water and expands, it increases the stool volume and helps trigger bowel movement. If you’re constipated, try Psyllium Husk before Flax.
Start with 1 teaspoon in a full glass of water. Drink immediately before it thickens.
Follow with another glass of water.
Use once daily at roughly the same time every day.
Flaxseed
Ground flaxseed is a whole food that provides both soluble and insoluble fiber. It helps add bulk to stool and also contains natural oils that can soften and lubricate the colon slightly. It is a key ingredient in Polarity tea!
Flax is gentle and can be used daily.
How to use:
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed in warm water or a smoothie in the morning.
Increase gradually if needed.
Always pair with water.
Best for mild sluggishness or dry stool.
Do not start flax and psyllium at the same time. Try one for several days and then the other; then assess.
Triphala
Triphala is a traditional Ayurvedic herbal blend used for centuries to support bowel tone and digestive balance.
It works differently than fiber — it supports the natural rhythm of elimination rather than simply adding bulk.
A reliable source is Banyan Botanicals.
How to use:
500–1000 mg before bed with warm water.
Reducing Processed Foods
☑️ Reduce Processed Foods
Notice your instinct when grocery shopping to reach for processed snacks or foods with long ingredient lists, preservatives, artificial flavorings, or additives. Spend more time in the fresh produce section instead.
If you drink artificially sweetened sodas, substitute sparkling water this week. Later in the cleanse, carbonated beverages will be reduced further. For now, remove artificial sweeteners and chemical additives.
If you eat packaged breakfast pastries or highly sweetened cereals, replace one of those mornings with plain oatmeal.
Choose:
Steel-cut or rolled oats
Add berries, nuts, or seeds
Use a small amount of maple syrup instead of refined white sugar
Maple syrup is still sugar, but it is less processed and tends to produce a slower rise in blood sugar than refined white sugar.
Other substitutions:
White bread → whole grain bread
White pasta → brown rice or quinoa
Chips → nuts or vegetables
Snack bars → fruit and nuts
Sugary coffee drinks → plain coffee with milk
Highly refined carbohydrates spike blood sugar quickly and increase metabolic stress. Whole foods digest more slowly and provide steadier energy.
Don’t try to overhaul your entire diet at once right now. That’s not sustainable. Keep most of your diet stable. Just remove a few of these stressors listed, and notice how you feel.
A Final Thought: Colon Hydrotherapy
Some people, either before beginning the cleanse or while it is underway, choose to consult a Colon Hydrotherapist. This is a gentle procedure that aims to cleanse and hydrate the large intestine by flushing out accumulated waste and supporting bowel regularity. Dr. Stone advocated for colonics as one supportive method to enhance digestive health and assist the body’s natural elimination processes. You might consider researching qualified colon hydrotherapy practitioners in your area to schedule an appointment in the weeks leading up to the cleanse or during its early stages.