The first day of spring inspires cleansing or a detox of your mind and body. We give up the stimulants in an attempt to take control of our health, eat healthy fresh food and start moving our body. It’s a wonderful opportunity to reset your health.
Last week I shared some pretty simple spring cleanse tips that reset your diet and digestive system. This week it’s all about your body and environment, after all, what we apply on our skin or breathe in counts.
image via pinterest
Exfoliate your Skin
This will shed dead skin cells, soften and promote healthy circulation. Use a dry natural brush. Brush from your feet up, hands in, neck down towards your heart.
Brush while your skin is dry before you shower every day.
Brush in circular motions until your skin is slightly pink.
Make your own delicious, softening and antibacterial body scrub. Blend the following ingredients in a bowl: 2 cups of salts (finely ground natural sea salt or Himalayan salt. You could also use sugar) with 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil or jojoba oil and the zest of one fresh lemon / lime or 20 drops of lavender essential oil.
Sweat it all out
In the Ancient world and the Modern Era bathing in thermal springs, hot and cold water and sweating it all out was deemed therapeutic. The healing virtues of water and relaxing in saunas has been well documented to detox your mind and body of toxins.
Improve your blood circulation especially with a sauna followed by a cold shower or bath. Repeat this process 3 times for an extra boost.
Saunas stimulate fat loss similar to mild exercise. Skin cleansing with a sauna-induced sweat followed by a shower cleanses your skin far more thoroughly than just taking a shower. Relax your body. The heat and humidity of the sauna and bath diffuses the pain and relaxes tired muscles. Relax your mind. A sauna or bath is a place to calm and relax.
Be mindful of breathing
Oxygenation is the number one fuel/energy for the body.
Every tissue within the body requires oxygen to function. The respiratory system, which includes air passages, pulmonary vessels, the lungs, and breathing muscles, provides oxygenated blood to the body tissues and removes waste gases. Become mindful of breathing by breathing with the belly. Nasal (mouth closed), diaphragmatic breathing rather than mouth breathing with a very shallow chest. What are you breathing in? Chemicals in your environment found in cleaning products, synthetic candles, artificial perfumes, cigarettes or room sprays?
Remove rugs and carpets if you are allergic to dust. Nature has very powerful tools to clean the air. The natural negative ionization and UV waves from sunlight work wonders at cleaning the air. Open the blinds to let in some rays. Open the windows and doors and let the ozone and negative ions help to remove toxins from your home and office.
Make a date with nature
Walk amongst trees. Plants breathe out the oxygen we breathe in. We breathe out the carbon dioxide they breathe in. They are our partners in life. Bathe in sunlight and feast on visual green goodness.
Make time for stillness
Create healing and homoeostasis in the body by being present or still. When the body is under stress whether the stress is induced by chemicals, nutritional deficiencies, thermal imbalances, emotional or electromagnetic stress we stimulate the sympathetic nervous system to produce the fight or flight response. In this state all blood flow shunts away from the digestive system to the extremities. The body’s main goal is survival, not healing and repair, energy production or reproduction. For this reason it is important to get into stillness or be in the now. This stimulates parasympathetic nervous system, which is involved in healing and repair of the body.
Declutter
Anything we keep around our house or office environment that doesn’t add value to our lives can make us feel like life is out of control especially when we are surrounded by more things that we can manage.
This is called clutter, an energy zapper and a time waster especially when we can’t find the things we are looking for. Decluttering is all about making room in our homes and lives for the things that matter.
Enjoy the fruits of your “spring cleansing” labour.
Nothing feels as good as feeling “clean and healthy”.
