I never understood doing a cleanse. I tried various juice cleanses—usually a loose interpretation of a recipe combined with what I had immediate access to—always with the subconscious knowledge that it would last less than 24 hours.

So a few months ago, right at the end of the semester, when I was faced with the opportunity to do a juice cleanse, I was surprised to hear myself say yes.  The difference, however, from the previous attempts and my 3-day Juice So Good cleanse was the intention. I had just completed the most difficult semester of my college career, and only had finals between me and graduation. I was seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and more than anything, wanted to leave that emotionally and mentally draining tunnel behind me in my path. Previously, everything about a cleanse sounded miserable; but suddenly, everything about it made sense.

I headed over to the Apple Valley CorePower studio, where the cleanse was kicking off with a detoxifying C2 vinyasa class. We started the practice by writing on a post-it the reverse of the negative track that plays in your head. If you’re one to think I’m not enough, a mantra could instead be I am loved. We then slid the post-its under our mats and let that mantra guide our practice and set the tone for our cleanse.

The next three days and eighteen juices still stand out in my mind. I found cleansing isn’t about deprivation. It’s the conscious process of giving yourself exactly what you need without the sugars, vices, additives, stress, people, thoughts, and stories that are no longer serving you. It’s taking the power away from every external factor and bringing it back to yourself. It’s diminishing those tracks that inspired the mantras on our post-its, and recognizing that negative thoughts only exist because we allow them to.

Sure, it’s only juice—mind you, a main ingredient is love—and it’s only three days of our luckily long lives. But the intention behind this process made it memorable and impactful enough to still inspire a blog post three months later.

Speaking as someone who rarely does this, it’s usually the experiences where we actively put ourselves first that stay with us the longest. I am fascinated by the way our bodies and minds communicate; how reaching new intensity or mindfulness in a workout can lead to similar breakthroughs the next day at work. How going on regular walks can help calm our thoughts when we’re stuck in traffic. And as a result of this cleanse, how bringing only good into our bodies can inspire, motivate, and strengthen us to oust the bad from our daily lives.

So what’s your story? The track that plays over and over that only positivity and self-love is strong enough to silence? What is your vice? What is no longer serving you? And most importantly, what is the reverse? What do you wish you could remind yourself of on a regular basis? What would you infiltrate your body and mind with if given the chance? Do it today.

p.s. the post-it that reads “you deserve life-giving love and support” stills sits on my dashboard.