It's been a LONG winter baby! And just about everyone I talk to feels the same way, they are ready for winter to be OVER (myself included). But what if this winter was a way of Mother Nature trying to get our attention...in the form of big snow storms, strong winds and cold temperatures. When you think about it Mother Nature seems to keep throwing crazy weather our way. It's almost as if she's saying "wake up, pay attention, it's time to do something...different...better". Maybe it's time we apply that same mind set to our bodies, you know, that beautiful temple that you each live in everyday.....
We've all said it to ourselves that we'll start over tomorrow or Monday, with healthier eating, living, thinking. Have you ever wondered why it's so hard and why we seem to be addicted to feeling like garbage? Hey, you know what they say, "you are what you eat"....right?
Look, I'm not perfect and I'm certainly not asking you to be perfect, but I will ask you to take a look at what you're putting into your body and what it's doing to you.
Your body talks to you EVERYDAY you just have to listen...
What's your body saying to you?
~Do you have sore joints? That could be a sign of inflammation, how much processed sugar or wheat are you eating.
~ Do you have chronic headaches? That could be a food allergy or stressful thoughts.
~ Do you NEED coffee before you can function? There's a good possibility that your adrenal glands are stressed out (that's the part of your body's endocrine system that controls the fight or flight process).
~Do you wake during the night multiple times? That could mean you are eating to much sugar and stressing your liver (your liver stores excess glucose).
~ Do you reach for the chocolate or caffeine around 3 pm? I have one word for you CRAVINGS, you body is looking for something more.
~ Do you experience constipation, bloating or gas after meals? Yikes! I don't think that message from your colon could be any clearer!
~ Have you experienced multiple colds or the flu this winter?
I could go on and on with these types of questions, but if you've answered "yes" to even one of these questions, your body could be sending you a message that it's time for a DETOX. I'm NOT talking about some weird fasting, enema (although go for it, if you're up for it), freak show detox, just a natural whole foods detox that allows your body to use it's own built in cleansing system.
The thing is detoxification is as needed by the body as the air you breathe and YES your body does detox everyday! BUT, let's be honest the toxic load we carry today can be pretty heavy. So, lightening up on the types of food you eat and adding in certain foods and activities can support the body to "cancel, clear and reboot"!
A simple whole foods detox, may not be a magic pill, but it sure can get you back on track and avoid or lessen a whole "hot mess" of physical illnesses and symptoms.
Here are my top 3 detox tips:
1. For 1 meal or up to 7 days, remove or decrease animal meat and processed meat in your diet. For example, instead of a deli sandwich or canned soup for lunch, maybe you could find a recipe for a veggie stir fry. Cook it up on Sunday night and bring it to work for lunch on Monday.
2. As the weather gets warmer head outside for a walk or try a yoga class! Pisst..... guess what, your body removes toxins through the breath, sweat and "internal plumbing" (don't make me say it, you know what I mean). Moving your body in whatever way feels best gets the breath going, the sweat pumping and the bowels moving.
3. Try to take it easy on yourself and begin to notice the thoughts that you have everyday. Our thoughts are vibrations, they send messages to every little cell. So, while you make think that the negative thought you shoot yourself in the mirror doesn't make a difference, it all takes a toll.
Give this a shot, for every negative thought you have programmed yourself to think ("my thighs are fat, my nose is big, I'm having an awful hair day). Try to think a positive thought immediately after (I have legs that are healthy, I have my grandmother's nose and she was beautiful or my hair looks great when I style it a certain way). That way you don't have to even try to make yourself stop thinking the negative stuff, you're just starting to retrain your brain.
If these ideas sound good to you or if you'd like to learn more about detoxing check out the Spring Detox and Yoga Flow Class I am co-hosting at Heartsong Yoga in East Longmeadow on Sunday March 27!
~Happy spring detoxing!
Renee
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