The author of many hundreds of YouTube videos on health and nutrition based in part on his personal experience. He started the Regénére movement in France, to help people towards a more natural approach to health and well-being.


Thierry-Casasnovas.jpg

Thierry Casasnovas

Choosing life

<h4>
 In part 2 of this interview,
 THIERRY CASASNOVAS continues his
 advocacy for life. He shares his own journey with
 CELINE FRÉSARD, the stages of his
 rebirth after being left for dead by doctors, and the consciousness he
 has derived from this profound experience. He speaks about the role of
 food in our lives, and how to fill the void.
</h4>
<hr />
<h5 style="text-align: center">
 It is the path of revelation and awakening. 
 This revelation on the mental, 
 physical and spiritual levels is essential. 
 Once a person has experienced it, 
 everything is possible.
</h5>
<hr />

 Q: At the end of part 1, you told us about the turning point, the
 trigger, a kind of explosive transformation that leads to never seeing
 the world the same way again. You were talking about revelation.


 <img
 class="img-float-left has-img-center-in-mobile lazyload"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/THIERRY_CASASNOVAS_0b1dbb662e.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T05:42:18.979Z"
 alt="THIERRY-CASASNOVAS"
 />I am someone who respects God, but I am not religious. Religion
 appropriates spirituality, by making people believe that there is no
 spirituality outside it, but if someone tells me that they have
 encountered life, I answer, “You have the same spiritual experience as I
 do.” Even if I use Christian terms to express it, we follow the same
 spiritual path of encounter and wonder towards life. Using a more
 Asiatic approach, it is the path of revelation and awakening. This
 revelation on the mental, physical and spiritual levels is essential.
 Once a person has experienced it, everything is possible.


 For example, after months and months in hospital, the only refuge I
 found was with my parents. I had nowhere else to go. After seeing
 several doctors march past, who could not do anything for me, they
 understood that I was dying, they took me in. You can imagine their
 panic seeing their child dying at 33. It was a disaster.


 The morning I was supposed to go to the hospital again, I knew I was
 leaving to die. I was going into palliative care because the doctors
 didn’t want me to die at my parents’ home. That’s when I experienced
 this turning point you mentioned.


 My father came to my room to tell me that my things were being prepared
 for my departure and I looked at him and told him, “I’m not going to the
 hospital. You’re going to take care of me and I know I’m going to live.”
 What captivated me at the time was that he didn’t even hesitate for a
 second, but simply replied, “Okay, that’s fine.”


 Later, I asked him what made him accept such a radical choice, when I
 was apparently dying, and my only chance of surviving a little longer
 was the hospital. He replied, “I looked into your eyes and there was a
 flame in them that I hadn’t seen in months.”


 <img
 class="has-img-center lazyload w-100 h-auto"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/choosing_life2_156cb9a588.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T05:43:01.397Z"
 alt="choosing-life2"
 />


 The flame was present. And the funny thing is that my mother was so
 panicked and emotional – she’s a mother – that she didn’t see it, and
 she called me crazy. So my father held her by the arm and said, “Look,
 now pack your bags and leave, because I have to take care of him and I
 can’t take care of you at the same time. We’ll give you news. Go on a
 trip, and I’ll take care of my son. I need to be one hundred percent
 with him.”


 I was in agony, I was physically dying, but the very moment there was
 this change in me, I was alive again. The future had taken over.


 The revelation of life in me has taken months, even years, to make its
 way, because I am still improving in relation to my state of health and
 vitality. At the age of 45 I have not yet reached my optimum. But within
 a few months without treatment, the tuberculosis that was eating away at
 my lungs had gone – I no longer had any tubercular lesions, the
 hepatitis that was eating away at my liver had disappeared, and so had
 the pancreatitis. I started to gain weight and energy; I started to walk
 and run. I was no longer at risk of cardiac arrest. I was getting better
 and better.


 It is this round trip between what is happening on the spiritual, mental
 and physical levels that is so fascinating.


 Q: So even totally exhausted people can come back to life?


 Yes, but first they must go through this turning point, they must regain
 confidence in their life processes. Then, even if they are extremely
 tired, they will live. However, like me with my father in my story, they
 need someone to support them. We need each other.


 The relationship to health and care has been professionalized,
 medicalized and reserved for a caste of accredited professionals. In
 what I present here, however, in the path to life, we discover that the
 care given to the body, which is relatively simple, comes above all from
 the intention of the other. That is, anyone who intends good for someone
 else will be the best caregiver they can dream of. My father had no
 medical expertise.

<hr />
<h5 style="text-align: center">
 My father, without any knowledge, 
 had only one thing, the most powerful tool: love. 
 Not some light New Age niceness and kindness, 
 but the most powerful transformative force.
</h5>
<hr />

 I had been living in hospital corridors for years. Doctors with ten,
 twelve and fifteen years of experience, great specialists, analyzed me
 in all directions, and passed cameras through all my orifices. I was
 literally tortured by these examinations. Even with all these
 techniques, they couldn’t do anything to stop me from dying.


 My father, without any knowledge, had only one thing, the most powerful
 tool: love. Not some light New Age niceness and kindness, but the most
 powerful transformative force. With this love, my father cured me with
 very simple things. He massaged me, fed me good food, spent time talking
 to me, offered me presence, and took care of me. Thanks to all this, my
 father allowed me to live. Without him I would never have made it. Of
 course there were also friends who prayed and meditated for me, who
 surrounded me with their presence, their motivation and their support.
 All this together nourished life in me.


 Now, all my work is a plea to let people know that each of us is the
 best caregiver in the world. We don’t need any particular skills, just
 the desire to care for others.


 In the Bible, there is an absolutely fabulous passage. Jesus, followed
 by a huge crowd, enters a house to heal the sick. A man arrives, carried
 on a stretcher, who is unable to get near Jesus. His friends climb on
 the roof, remove the tiles and lower the stretcher with ropes just in
 front of Jesus. Can you imagine the determination of these people? For
 me this message is sumptuous. They destroy the roof so that their friend
 can reach the source of life. They do not neglect anything; they give
 everything so that their friend can come back to life.


 This is really the message: the inner transformation, then the strength
 of the people around us to help in a practical way. I was at the point
 where I couldn’t even cut my food, where I was totally disabled in a
 chair. I had to be put to bed, helped to get up, and washed. Obviously,
 alone I would have died. So, first comes the inner change and next the
 neighbor.

<hr />
<h5 style="text-align: center">
 Relationships are concrete and tangible, 
 where you touch the other person, 
 you have them in front of you, you look into their eyes, 
 you hear the sound of their voice, 
 you feel the warmth of their body, 
 and all the energy they give off.
</h5>
<hr />

 Q: In your first videos, you said that we all have a God-shaped
 hollow inside. It brings me back to the question of what we eat and
 why we eat. Today we no longer really eat to eat; we eat things we
 don’t want without being hungry. This no longer corresponds at all to
 a natural need. Can you tell us about our relationship to food?


 We talk indiscriminately about food and diet, whereas in fact we should
 distinguish between them. The food we eat, our diet, provides our body
 with the nutrients it needs to function properly: fats, carbohydrates,
 proteins, minerals, vitamins, trace elements, antioxidant factors etc.
 We therefore need enough quality food in sufficient quantity. We know
 all too well the problems caused by a lack of nutrition for the body.


 But food is much more than that. Researchers have quantified the
 relationship between food and diet. According to them, our diet does not
 represent more than 30% of our food. And what is our food? The food we
 eat is what we take from outside that will bring physical
 nutrients to the body. On the other hand, food as nourishment is
 everything we receive from the outside, in the true sense of the word,
 which nourishes our being. The problem is that we bring nourishment back
 to food, because we only consider ourselves in our bodily form, as a
 body. The bankruptcy of religion that has led to a bankruptcy of
 spirituality means that here in Europe we live in a secular society that
 prohibits all forms of spirituality. And human beings do not only have
 physical needs.


 For me, it is obvious that we are more than a body, so we have other
 needs. Today, our way of life does not take into account the fundamental
 and vital needs of the human being, not to mention spiritual needs and
 our relationships with others, for example.


 We constantly talk about relationships on Facebook, but it’s making fun
 of the world. Relationships are not created by typing on a keyboard!
 Relationships are concrete and tangible, where you touch the other
 person, you have them in front of you, you look into their eyes, you
 hear the sound of their voice, you feel the warmth of their body, and
 all the energy they give off. That’s a relationship! A relationship is
 not just about sending each other a little text message from time to
 time. Our being is not adequately nourished by that type of exchange. As
 our vital needs are not met, we desperately seek to meet them, and since
 the most accessible thing is food, we compensate for all the emptiness
 in our life by eating.


 <img
 class="has-img-center lazyload w-100 h-auto"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/choosing_life3_3f8e9aadab.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T05:43:42.273Z"
 alt="choosing-life3"
 />


 This means that we end up with obese bodies desperately in search of
 food. It’s like saying, “For my body to work properly, I need to eat
 apples,” and in front of you there’s a field full of fruit, but not
 apples. You then test all the fruit to discover that they are not
 apples. You go on eating but you never find your apple, you never find
 exactly what nourishes you and satisfies your hunger. So you become
 obese eating all the other fruits while still starving.


 It is one of the characteristics of our time – physically obese and
 spiritually hungry. Inside, we are hollow, we are desperate. For me,
 despair in our societies is the greatest. We are trying to compensate,
 but the good news is that we’ll never make it. We can eat, eat, eat, and
 we will continue to remain hungry. Then, one day, in weary desperation,
 we may say to ourselves, “Okay, I want to find a food source that
 satisfies me.” This is the real spiritual process; searching for true
 food, the bread of life, the bread that gives life.


 And in this process of revering life, of feeling wonder at the beauty of
 life, I too went in search of life, to find this food and stop being a
 hungry person who is never full. It is one of the wonders I have
 discovered.


 Q: For you, what is the best way to fill this void?


 It’s a full-body dive inside. Christian spirituality is often associated
 with religion, and I can testify from my own experience that one can
 live a true Christian spirituality without being religious. In
 everything I read, including the Bible, I see that the truth, life, God
 … everything is within us.


 And since it’s within us, we have to dive inside. I want to meet this
 life, meet this presence, because when I meet it, I have direct
 experience. And the direct experience does not need religious dogma or
 ceremony; it is pure. That’s what I am looking for and that’s what I
 encourage you to do. Dive inside.


<hr />

<h5 style="text-align: center">
 And since it’s within us, we have to dive inside. 
 I want to meet this life, meet this presence, 
 because when I meet it, I have direct experience. 
 That’s what I am looking for and that’s 
 what I encourage you to do. Dive inside.
</h5>

<hr />


 To come back to the Bible, which I often quote, I have several friends
 who have been interested in the Hebrew version, because Hebrew is very
 refined in terms of subtleties. And when Abraham, the great patriarch of
 all monotheistic religions, receives God’s message, God says to him,
 “Lekh lekha” (pronounce ler lera), which means in Hebrew, “Turn
 inwards. Go inside yourself.” Isn’t that what all oriental meditative
 practices offer?


 So why oppose spiritual practices when the religious texts say to go
 inside yourself? Go to life. And the moment you meet life, that day you
 are enlightened. Then there is no more religion, no more culture, no
 more separation. You love your neighbor as yourself; you experience the
 direct encounter with the other, with the living. This is what I aspire
 to, because divisions are sources of discord, violence and separation.


 To be continued. In the third part of this interview, Thierry
 Casasnovas speaks about his experience of fasting and the practical
 aspects of fasting.

<hr />
<h4 style="text-align: center">Interviewed by&nbsp;CELINE FRÉSARD</h4>
<hr />

Choosing life - part 2

<h4>
 In part 3 of this interview,
 THIERRY CASASNOVAS continues his
 advocacy for life. He shares his own journey with
 CELINE FRÉSARD, and the role of
 fasting in the healing process.
 </h4>
 
 Q: Can we move to a subject that is very dear to you – fasting? Can
 you tell us about your experience of fasting and its role in the
 body’s regeneration process?
 
 
 TC: In fact, this topic is a
 continuation of what we have just been speaking about, because the
 approach I propose is:
 
 
 1. Realization of life itself 
 2. Observation of life itself 
 3. Worship of life in itself
 
 
 We discover it, we understand it, and we love it.
 
 
 Now, you don’t love something without respecting its needs. So you start
 honoring and serving life, which means respecting the vital needs of
 your body. And in this context, fasting is magnificent.
 
 
 Fasting is a complete turn around from modern, secular science, which
 asks us to do this analysis, take this remedy, have this operation, and
 so on. In fasting, we sweep it all away. It’s science for dummies,
 healing for dummies. There is nothing to understand, nothing to buy,
 nothing to do. You do nothing and let it all happen.
 
 
 Fasting is an experience in which you realize that your outwardly
 oriented hyperactivity deprives you of all the life that is within
 yourself. Fasting is doing nothing on the external physical level.
 
 
 Normally, fasting means abstaining from food, sometimes even abstaining
 from liquid, abstaining from frenetic activity, and remaining quietly at
 rest. The law of homeostasis tells us that any living system returns
 spontaneously to a state of equilibrium, and it returns to balance all
 the more spontaneously if we are at rest. Fasting is the experience of
 rest, therefore the optimal experience of the development of life
 itself. It is an extraordinary moment when you can drop everything and
 observe life spreading inside yourself. You have nothing to do, so you
 remain quiet, and all of a sudden the fire that was dying out in you
 grows and strengthens. Imagine that possibility, if each of us realized
 it!
 
 <hr />
 <h5 style="text-align: center">
 Fasting is an experience in which you realize 
 that your outwardly oriented hyperactivity 
 deprives you of all the life that is within yourself.
 </h5>
 
 
 We start with a lot of fire, we have this very important flame, we are
 young and we have energy. Then as life progresses, the flame begins to
 decline. At some point, we open our eyes and ‘Ooh la la’ we see that it
 has really diminished. So we stop, let it grow again, and return to
 life. Can you imagine what a healthy lifestyle that is? It is beautiful.
 Every time you see your flame go down slightly, you know what you have
 to do. Stop. Fasting is a perfect way to achieve this. It is the fastest
 way to let life flow through you when you need it.
 
 
 But a lot happens in the body. Things we don’t understand. It is
 necessary to simply cross them with the conviction and certainty that
 everything that happens during fasting goes in one direction only –
 towards life. Everything that happens is good. Absolutely nothing can
 happen in our body that does not go in the direction of life. It’s
 impossible because life is moving towards life.
 
 
 So fasting is the maximum experience of deploying the life force in
 oneself. Moreover, in this process of introspection, there is a physical
 and a spiritual dimension. It comes back to Lekh lekha. In fasting, even
 on the spiritual level, what must happen happens.
 
 
 Q: You present fasting as a return to life, but there are certain
 uncomfortable stages and moments when you feel weak, when you question
 yourself. It can create fear and anxiety. Can you explain to us what’s
 going on?
 
 
 TC: I work from the conviction that
 the fasting process is moving towards life. Let’s take a concrete
 example: this summer I injured myself. I received a heavy load on my leg
 that cut my skin right down to the tendon. Today my skin has
 reconstituted itself. It is all pink. This I call life. But to get
 there, I had to go through the healing process, with a phase where the
 scar was nasty and painful; it was a necessary step.
 
 
 <img
 class="has-img-center lazyload w-100 h-auto"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/fasting2_a6769fd36e.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T08:16:31.594Z"
 alt="fasting2"
 />
 
 
 Life goes towards life, and to achieve this it uses its own paths of
 regeneration. Sometimes we understand them, sometimes we don’t. It is
 important to study them, because there is indeed no reason to suffer
 just for the sake of suffering, and we can learn to relieve the body to
 the maximum in order to facilitate this path. But it is still necessary
 to go through the process.
 
 
 For example, when I hurt my leg and the wound was purulent, and not at
 all pretty, if I had opened the wound so as not to see that, I would
 have blocked the repair process from happening naturally. I supported my
 body by putting Aloe vera on the wound to soften and accelerate healing,
 and honey because it is a wonderful adjuvant for healing, but I could
 not prevent the wound stage. We can relieve and support healing, and we
 can promote the cleansing of the body, because it is important to help
 it remove the waste it has accumulated, but there will be some
 uncomfortable moments.
 
 
 Imagine you are driving on the highway and your fuel gauge lights up.
 You have two options. First, you can take a hammer and destroy the
 dashboard so that you no longer see the fuel gauge. The equivalent is
 often done when the body shows symptoms: we go to the doctor and come
 out with products that treat symptoms, without solving the underlying
 problem, which seems to be of no interest to anyone. We suppress the
 body’s signals: if we have inflammation, we take anti-inflammatory
 drugs; if we have a fever, we take medicine to reduce the fever; if we
 have pain, we take a painkiller. It is not complicated to cut off the
 functioning of the nervous system to eliminate pain, but did we solve
 the underlying problem that caused the pain?
 
 
 In the second option, you see your gauge light up, you’re in a hurry,
 you really don’t want to stop because it’s raining and cold, but you
 stop anyway to refuel. The healing process is similar – we stop and
 refuel. It’s not always unpleasant, but it can be. The body has a lot of
 waste to dispose of, so it shows symptoms. And we have learned to run
 away from the symptoms all our lives.
 
 
 Discomfort or pain is a normal signal from the living that indicates we
 have reached our limit. We have to slow down. Sometimes we are confused
 by what happens in the body during the cleaning and regenerative
 processes, but whatever happens, the only thing to remember is that it
 goes in the direction of life. This is the nature of the living. At the
 beginning we need to repeat it to ourselves: “The body is moving towards
 life.” I try to support, help and accompany people through the process,
 especially when it is unpleasant, to make it easier.
 
 
 Q: So if we can get through the inconvenience of cleaning, what we
 call detoxification, we get to something else.
 
 
 TC: Yes. This is what I call
 crossing the veil. The first is the fear of symptoms. This is what we
 are hooked on in today’s medicine. We are so afraid to feel, to be
 sensitive, and so afraid to suffer even a little, so as soon as we see a
 symptom approaching we run to the doctor and take medicine. In doing so,
 we may take a step back and not cross the veil. At some point, however,
 we have to cross it. And this requires conviction, commitment,
 determination, trust and tranquility. And this tranquility and
 conviction can only be based on one thing – the knowledge of the living.
 We can only cross the veil when we know why we are crossing it. Often
 it’s not much, though we make a big deal out of it.
 
 
 For example, if you have a liver problem and you fast, the liver will
 produce bile when it cleans itself, and you will probably vomit it up.
 One of my associates had hepatitis B that spoiled his life, and he had
 been in treatment for many years. While fasting, he vomited for three
 days, but it wasn’t a disaster because after those three days his liver
 was healed.
 
 
 So turning around every time a symptom appears is not living. We stay in
 a warm hell, while we are asked to go through that mirror and access
 life. Life awaits us on the other side, it awaits us in complete
 confidence in its power – a confidence that allows us to cross the
 illusion of symptoms and truly begin to live.
 
 To be continued
 <hr />
 <h4 style="text-align: center">Interviewed by CELINE FRÉSARD</h4>
 <hr />

Choosing life - part 3

<h4>
 In the final part of this interview,
 THIERRY CASASNOVAS continues his
 advocacy for life. He shares his own journey with
 CELINE FRÉSARD, and the role of
 fasting in the healing process.
 </h4>
 
 <img
 class="img-float-right has-img-center-in-mobile lazyload"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/THIERRY_CASASNOVAS_1_12c98e45f7.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T12:19:34.028Z"
 alt="THIERRY-CASASNOVAS" />Q: To help us overcome the fears you mentioned earlier, that can be
 generated in us by certain reactions in our bodies, could you tell us
 about the stages of fasting and the main symptoms that can
 occur?
 
 
 TC: The first principle is: by
 fasting one becomes a fasting specialist. That is, the knowledge of
 fasting comes through experience, gradually recognizing symptomatic
 expressions.
 
 
 The second principle is: the limit of what is acceptable is set by the
 person for themself.
 
 
 The good news is that once the body is cleansed, the reactions stop. For
 example, I am used to fasting, so I can do it for days while continuing
 my activities, and no one will realize that I am operating without water
 and food. I don’t have any painful manifestations like joint pain,
 because the cleaning work has already been done.
 
 
 But let’s say you are fasting for the first time. You may feel tired,
 have a headache, a rash of pimples, or other symptoms. At some point you
 may say to yourself, “No, this is too much, I’m stopping.” You will
 resume your normal food intake but feel bad that you couldn’t continue.
 In fact, stopping is not so bad, because the next time you will go a
 little further. This is how the knowledge is gradually built. For me,
 the key words are listening, feeling and progressiveness.
 
 
 There is no problem in stopping a fast because you consider the symptoms
 to be too severe. When you get back to it, your body will immediately
 take you back to where you stopped. It tells you: “You stopped and I’ll
 take you back.” It will put you back in front of the same kinds of
 symptoms until you have gone through the fear stage, and until you have
 given your body enough time to clean itself up. So the process will be
 done, and progressiveness, listening, gentleness, kindness are the keys.
 
 
 Q: Can you tell us about some physiological processes associated with
 fasting, such as hormesis, autophagy, and the important brain protein,
 Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)?
 
 
 TC: The law of hormesis is the
 second magnificent law of life. I told you about the first, the law of
 homeostasis, which says that any system spontaneously returns to a state
 of equilibrium and will return to it all the more spontaneously if it is
 placed in a state of rest.
 
 
 The law of hormesis defines what rest is. It is the proper use of the
 organism, in other words, when we do not exceed our body’s ability to
 adapt to any situation. It is a totally individual factor, because the
 upper limit is different for everyone, and this happens in every area of
 our lives. The law of hormesis tells us: every time we utilize our body
 without exceeding the adaptive capacity of the individual, the body
 improves its functioning. Rest is not about leaving your body alone in a
 dusty corner, it is about utilizing it within the limits of its adaptive
 capacity. And the law of hormesis tells us that when we extend our body
 and being as a whole to the limit of what we can tolerate, this is where
 the gain will be maximum. In these situations, BDNF, which promotes the
 growth of neural tissue, is released in response to eustress. Overall it
 makes you smarter and livelier, by increasing neural pathways.
 
 
 <img
 class="has-img-center lazyload w-100 h-auto"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/choosinglife4_2_643aa7a9bf.jpeg?updated_at=2023-04-05T12:20:47.624Z"
 alt="choosinglife4-2"
 />
 
 
 We are therefore designed to be regularly subjected to adaptive demands,
 to stresses that stimulate our body’s adaptive capacity. The problem
 comes in today’s society, in which we find ourselves in situations that
 are beyond our ability to adapt. We are often in situations of chronic
 anxiety, and when we return home we have only one desire, to sink into
 absolute comfort, and that is atrophy. The right measure is neither in
 going beyond our limits or into atrophy, but in between, with adapted
 challenges that push us to the limit of our adaptive capacity without
 defeating us. This is the law of hormesis that guides any improvement in
 our functioning. And it is super important.
 
 
 This is reflected physically and morally. If not challenged, our muscles
 atrophy. It is automatic. If not challenged regularly in other ways
 also, within our limits, we automatically regress.
 
 
 Q: What about autophagy?
 
 
 TC: Autophagy is one of the wonders
 of fasting that illustrates the laws of homeostasis and hormesis. When
 we stop eating, healthy body tissues feed at the expense of degenerative
 tissues. In times of food scarcity, the healthiest parts of us will feed
 and let the most degenerate parts starve to death. It is a regulatory
 process in which what is not functional will disappear, allowing for
 renewal. Even if a part of us dies, the constant cell renewal will
 create new cells and tissues that will be healthy. So the process of
 autophagy is the normal renewal of the organism, where the healthy feeds
 at the expense of the unhealthy. It is the evacuation of waste, the
 elimination, renewal and permanent rejuvenation of the organism that
 takes place particularly during periods of rest and fasting. This is
 when autophagy is at its peak.
 
 
 Q: The body gets rid of its own toxins, waste and tumors?
 
 
 TC: Exactly. Waste is what cannot be
 used by the body, so it will be disposed of by the body. On the other
 hand, the body feeds on its fats and, since food resources are limited
 while we are fasting, the energy from these fats will be directed to the
 healthiest cells so that they replicate themselves, and the unhealthy
 cells will simply die.
 
 
 Q: So should we wait until we are sick before we start fasting?
 
 
 TC: As I understand it, disease is
 the signal that we have overtaken the body’s adaptive mechanisms. So the
 intelligent solution would be to feed the adaptive systems so that we do
 not get sick.
 
 
 Unfortunately, for many of us, our culture does not invite us to
 consider our lifestyle in this way. Sometimes we have to fall sick in
 order to change our habits. It doesn’t have to be this way, but it is
 often a powerful motivation.
 
 
 However, supporting a healthy lifestyle can begin at an early age, and I
 am very happy when parents contact me and tell me that they have
 understood the importance of feeding their children well.
 
 
 Q: You mean everyone can fast, including children and the
 elderly?
 
 
 TC: Anyone can fast, as long as it
 is freely chosen; otherwise it is food deprivation and abuse. Children
 often spontaneously feel the need, especially when they are sick, so you
 can tell them, “Look, there’s a chance you’re not hungry and that’s
 normal. This is what’s going on in your body, so it is not the time to
 eat.” This will give them a knowledge that will accompany them
 throughout their life – to listen to their bodies’ natural needs.
 
 
 The main thing is to listen to yourself and respect yourself. When it
 gets too difficult, just stop. It is all about feeling. For some it will
 be a few hours and for others a few weeks. It depends on the person. The
 best rule to make sure you don’t make mistakes is to go slowly and
 gradually. If you can’t swim, you don’t jump into a big pool without a
 float, or you risk drowning. You start by going into the small pool
 where you can touch the bottom, and then you experiment slowly. With
 fasting it’s the same. If you’ve never fasted, start by delaying the
 first meal. For example, you may wait one hour before eating breakfast,
 then another, and eventually you end up not eating until noon. You have
 done what is called an intermittent fast and that is perfect.
 
 
 Gradually, you will delay lunch and make only one meal a day. And the
 day you feel really comfortable with that, you’ll be fasting till the
 evening and you’ll have done 24 hours of fasting. This is how, by
 progressing slowly, you get to know your body with peace of mind, to
 discover its reactions, how it works, and then you are a winner.
 
 
 At this point you have experience, and you have built knowledge that no
 longer depends on an external authority but on what is happening inside.
 You are free. You feel a total freedom, because you have met life.
 
 <hr />
 <h4 style="text-align: center">Interviewed by CELINE FRÉSARD</h4>
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Thierry Casasnovas

The author of many hundreds of YouTube videos on health and nutrition based in part on his personal experience. He started the Regénére movement in France, to help people towards a more natural approach to health and well-being.

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