What is a Misogi? According to Depth Not Width, “Misogi is an ancient Japanese Shinto practice of water purification. Traditionally, it involves standing under an icy waterfall or bathing in a freezing river to wash away spiritual impurities and ego.
In modern wellness and self-help, the concept has evolved into the “Misogi Challenge”: a highly difficult, year-defining personal challenge meant to expand your capabilities, build resilience, and break self-limiting beliefs.
I first learned about Misogi when I read Michael Easter’s book, The Comfort Crisis. I liked the idea of this, and in some ways, have done this many times in my life; most notably, running a marathon, and also traveling the country with my dogs, interviewing kids about their health. He says that there are only two rules: it has to be challenging enough that you have a good chance of failing, and you can’t die. Misogi can be wildly different. One woman’s misogi was eating sushi, something that took her a long time to do. Others are extreme. It’s just challenging for you.
I decided last summer that my first misogi was to go camping completely unplugged from electronics for 2 nights and 3 days. It was challenging at first, and then so relaxing. It was an eye-opening experience.
I have been thinking about this year’s misogi for a few months now, and nothing quite spoke to me. Unpopulated areas and dark skies with stars and planets lighting the sky have been drawing me. I found someplace that would suit for this dark sky adventure, but after a lot of thought, it felt more like a vacation than a misogi.
That’s when I decided. My 2-week challenge was to eat 40 grams of dietary fiber per day and consume at least 50 grams of protein. Perhaps not very exciting. This may not sound that challenging to you, but I eat a very healthy diet, and it was challenging for me.
I made it for 7 days. I don’t track my food intake normally, but if I were to guess, I would think that I normally consume 25-30 grams of fiber per day. Those extra grams of fiber day after day proved not to be sustainable for me. I was so full all the time. I tried, and I didn’t die, so it was a success.
I am still doing my unpopulated dark skies trip during a new moon in September, and I will hike, lie under the millions of stars, and unplug again. Perhaps this will be another misogi, or perhaps I simply won’t label it.
