Chaitra Navratri is an important festival for Hindus where we dedicate our worships and prayers to Goddess Durga for nine consecutive days. According to the Hindu Lunar calendar, Navratri also marks the start of the new year. The terms ‘Nav’ and ‘Ratri’ mean nine and night, respectively. Thus we celebrate Navratri for nine days, and each day we worship a particular form of Mother Durga. The nine forms of Goddess Durga that we worship on Navratri are:
- Shailaputri
- Brhamacharini
- Chandraghanta
- Kushmanda
- Skandamata
- Katyayani
- Kaalratri
- Mahagauri
- Siddhidhatri
One of the best parts of Navratri is fasting. We fast not only to please the divine but also to cleanse our body and mind during the nine days of Navratri. Navratri marks the start of a new year and a new season, and it is propitious to fast during this time. Goddess Durga bestows special blessings to those who practice fasting on these days. If you want to increase the level of positivity and tranquillity of your home, you can book online Navratri puja services from Online Temple. Intermittent fasting for nine days is not that hard. There are numerous benefits of fasting that make these nine days worth it.
Benefits of Fastings
Helps in Weight Loss
Since you are fasting, you won’t be consuming a gluten-diet, oily food, or even food consisting of excess carbs and fats. You will only consume foods like fresh fruits, green vegetables, healthy juices, and buttermilk that is best for maintaining a healthy weight.
Detoxify the Body
When you avoid eating an unhealthy diet and only treat your body with vegetarian and healthy food, your body will flush toxins out of your body and strengthen your immune system. Navratri fasting with healthy food minimizes the chances of digestive distress and gets rid of bloating issues.
Increases Sattva
According to Ayurveda, Sattva is the quality of tranquility and positivity in a human’s body. A strong presence of sattva in our bodies makes us feel more peaceful, lighter, and enthusiastic in life. Sattva also adds power to our intention and prayers.
Deeper Meditation
The path of spirituality doesn’t exist without meditation. Fasting calms our minds, removes unnecessary overthinking, and encourages us to consume sattvic food, which helps us plunge into deep meditation.
Improves Heart Health
Intermittent fasting helps bring cholesterol levels under control and eradicates the risk of any such conditions. Fasting helps remove the excess fat stored in the blood and avoids the chances of narrowed arteries, heart attack, and stroke.
Precautions
If you are planning to fast on this coming Chaitra Navratri, then do keep in mind these precautions:
- Check your blood pressure when fasting if you suffer from hypertension or blood pressure problems.
- If you have diabetes, then you should avoid fasting. As fasting can reduce blood sugar levels, your prescribed medicines do the same thing. It will make you feel weaker and dizzy.
- Don’t push your limits while fasting. There is no need for extreme fasting. Consume the food that is allowed on fast in proper amount. If you feel dizzy, weak, or have headaches, don’t hesitate to consume more liquid and fasting foods.
Best Foods to Consume while Fasting
- Eat a variety of fruits that are rich in nutrition and antioxidants.
- Increase your liquid intake during fast. Apart from water, feel free to drink coconut water, fruit juices, and buttermilk.
- For cooking, use rock salt in place of regular salt.
- Avoid heat-generating spices and use more ghee, jeera, and black pepper.
- Cook food using water chestnut flour, buckwheat flour, and sago in place of wheat, rice, and lentils.
Fasting on the days of Navratri offers tons of incredible benefits to our body and mind. If you suffer from any long-term disease or bodily issues, consult an ayurvedic doctor before fasting. If you wish to conduct a special puja in your home from expert pundits, you can book online puja services from our website at reasonable rates.
Also Read: Treat Yourself and Relish Gujiya This Holi