On November 1, I decided to try and decrease my intake of caffeine and give up coffee for 21 days. The idea initially came to me after reading an article about eating more alkaline foods rather than acidic foods, as diseases like cancer thrive in more acidic bodies; so basically ingesting less red meat, sugar, caffeine and eating more fruits, nuts and veggies. Now anyone that knows me well enough knows that I love coffee. I’m a coffee w/cream or latte with soy milk kinda gal who could drink coffee anytime during the day. I could drink coffee at 6 am or 6 pm and proclaim “coffee doesn’t affect me anymore. I don’t feel anything”. So I figured this wouldn’t be too hard.
First two days were a breeze. I didn’t experience any headaches whatsoever though I was still drinking green and chai tea. (A cup of coffee contains about 100 milligrams of caffeine while a cup of green or black tea has about 30-50 milligrams of caffeine, and herbals less than 10 milligrams). Day 3 rolls around and so did the grogginess and headaches. I also found it difficult to concentrate on what I was doing. The headache didn’t go away until day 5. The dull ache at the base of my head finally subsided after that first full week and that was pretty much the worst of the withdrawal symptoms. I figured the worst was over. I had successfully decreased my caffeine intake.
Second week in and I was longingly looking at my one-cup coffee maker. At the grocery isle I lingered a little longer in front of the tea section not because I was searching for jasmine green tea, but because the aroma of whole and ground coffee beans next to the teas smelled so good! Several times throughout the day I would think “I could really use a cup of coffee.” I wanted to hold the coffee in my hands, I wanted to smell it. I wanted to use my favorite hazelnut creamer. I wanted to wake up and brew coffee – not in my one-cup coffee maker but a whole pot of it! My body had physically already gone through the withdrawals of caffeine from coffee, but my mind, still wanted it, badly!
It was during this process I came to understand that my coffee drinking was indeed a habit, which according to Merriam Webster is defined as a behavior pattern acquired by frequent repetition or physiological exposure. However, beyond the physiology I was attached to coffee. In yoga this is considered a Klesha or an affliction of the mind according to Patanjali’s yoga sutras. There are 5 Kleshas or defective mental patterns that cause suffering. The five being Ignorance, Repulsion, Ego, Attachment, Clinging to Life.
While my body no longer needed it, my mind wanted to perform the action of preparing, pouring and drinking it. Drinking another beverage besides coffee while working at my computer or when meeting up with a friend didn’t seem as interesting. While there are definitely Kleshas much more serious than my coffee habit, this little experiment showed me that drinking my daily cup of Joe was more an attachment than a need for the pick me up associated with caffeine.
Day 22 arrived and I could go and order a cup of coffee. Ah…exactly what I dreamt about so vividly the past 3 weeks. But I didn’t. I didn’t need it. I actually didn’t have my first cup again until day 28 when my mind told me I should have a cup. So I ordered a Misto from Starbucks (half coffee half soy). The experience I drew up in my head was better than the reality. I got the shakes. I noticed on the way home I was driving leaning forward with my hands all too tightly wrapped around the steering wheel and tapping my foot at the red light. With that, I said to myself that I didn’t like how I felt and haven’t had any since. Not to say I won’t ever, but for right now I don’t need it.
Claudine
We have to rescue Claudine and return her to the land of the coffee drinkers. Let us buy her the best bag of coffee that we can