{"id":19409,"date":"2018-06-21T12:55:17","date_gmt":"2018-06-21T10:55:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.buchinger-wilhelmi.com\/geschichte-des-heilfastens\/"},"modified":"2022-08-02T14:44:27","modified_gmt":"2022-08-02T12:44:27","slug":"geschichte-des-heilfastens","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.buchinger-wilhelmi.com\/en\/geschichte-des-heilfastens\/","title":{"rendered":"The history of therapeutic fasting"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Dr. Otto Buchinger (1878 \u2013 1966)<\/h3>\n

Dr. Otto Buchinger (1878 \u2013 1966) experienced the self-healing powers of fasting at first hand when he became unable to work as a result of severe rheumatism of the joints and subjected himself to a 19-day fast.<\/p>\n

He was a specialist in internal medicine, a precise observer and scientist. His book \u201cThe Therapeutic Fasting Cure\u201d, published in 1935 and still in print today, was the first systematic description of the physiology of fasting and the diseases that are still listed as indications for fasting today.<\/p>\n

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He also loved nature and was a deeply spiritual person, who saw fasting not as an absence, but as a state of moderation and inward orientation.<\/p>\n

He attached particular importance to spiritual inspiration during fasting through nature, music, prayer and contemplation. He valued aphorisms and coined the phrase, \u201cDuring fasting, the body thrives, but the soul hungers\u201d. To counter this, people who fast should be given \u201cspiritual food\u201d, which he described as \u201cdietetics for the soul\u201d.<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/12″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”5\/12″ css=”.vc_custom_1529578903959{background-image: url(https:\/\/www.buchinger-wilhelmi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/otto-buchinger-i-titelbild-buchinger-klinik-3000×2000.1498209095-1.jpg?id=16411) !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”90px”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content”][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1531924217139{background-image: url(https:\/\/www.buchinger-wilhelmi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/2.4.4.Geschichte-des-Heilfastens_Spiritualitaet.jpg?id=17073) !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}” offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm”][vc_empty_space height=”250px”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=”yes”][vc_column width=”6\/12″ css=”.vc_custom_1529579170420{background-image: url(https:\/\/www.buchinger-wilhelmi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/2.4.4.Geschichte-des-Heilfastens_Spiritualitaet.jpg?id=17073) !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/12″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”5\/12″ css=”.vc_custom_1531922187627{background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}” el_class=”mobilespace”][vc_column_text]\n

Spirituality and fasting<\/h3>\n

Spirituality starts with having time \u2013 you have time when you fast. Spirituality also means letting things happen. During fasting, our body draws on the nutrients stored within it without us influencing this process actively. Spirituality means being in the here and now, and accepting what comes. Silence is part of the spiritual dimension of fasting as a way of accessing our inner peace.<\/p>\n

We discourage idle chat, telling superficial stories, and judging others. This is promoted by the special feeling of calm that pervades our body during fasting. The process of generating energy from eating and processing food \u2013 along with the syntheses it involves, the transport of nutrients, the production of juices and gastrointestinal movements \u2013 no longer determines our daily rhythms, but takes a back seat. Often, we are suffused with a sense of harmony and even happiness.<\/p>\n

All behavioural patterns are interrupted during fasting: It is like taking a quantum leap to a new time and space.<\/p>\n

The spiritual challenge is accepting this space and having the confidence to let it happen. Then the spiritual dimension can unfold.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”90px”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content”][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1659444249679{background-image: url(https:\/\/www.buchinger-wilhelmi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/BWM-177225.jpg?id=59853) !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}” offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm”][vc_empty_space height=”350px”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=”yes”][vc_column width=”6\/12″ el_class=”mobilespace”][vc_column_text]\n

The Buchinger Wilhelmi programme today<\/h3>\n

Today, the Buchinger Wilhelmi programme is still based on the three traditional dimensions of fasting:<\/p>\n