With a major candy-consuming holiday just around the corner, the beginning of spring officially underway (despite what the groundhogs may say) and bathing suit season looming, there is no better time than now to apply your spring cleaning rituals to your own body.
Just as you wouldn’t allow your house to remain dirty forever (or maybe you would, that’s okay), it’s important that we remember to keep our internal bodies clean too. That’s why it’s perfect to cleanse at the beginning of each season; it’s a great way to release last season’s mistakes and move on with a clean slate. Plus, detoxing helps us lose weight and inches!
Everyone has a different idea about how to cleanse or detox. Some people fast. Others juice. Some try to stay on a strictly whole foods diet (this is the method I prefer). Some people use essential oils, vitamins and minerals to aid the process. Others create their own spiced concoctions. Whatever you choose to do, don’t forget to add physical movement to the mix!
5 Tips for Spring Detox
1. Twist & Fold
Twisting and folding forward are great ways to massage your internal organs and regulate blood flow throughout the body. When we do this, we give our insides a nice shower of new, clean, fresh and fully oxygenated blood to help clean out the old gunk hanging out in our bodies.
2. Breath Awareness
Breathing deeply is another great way to do an internal cleaning. When engaging deep breaths on a regular basis, we’re able to open up the entire body and direct oxygen flow to the farthest extremities. We feel more spacious and open when we breathe fully.
3. Energy Management
Most people find that cleansing gives them more energy! This comes after the inevitable crash that typically happens within the first few days. If you’re used to eating foods that are heavy and hard to digest, your body will respond to a change in diet. Even though it’s a good change, you may feel aches and pains in your joints and muscles as the body slowly releases toxins that have been stored for a long time. Not to worry though – these aches and pains are a good sign that you’re releasing all the bad stuff.
When experiencing the lows of cleansing, keep movement and exercise gentle and supportive. Restorative yoga will help you feel better. When your energy bounces back, add in more physical activity, such as Vinyasa flow yoga, walking, running or whatever activity you prefer to get you sweating.
4. Rest & Digest
Give your digestive system a break by cutting back on the hard-working foods (processed, sugar, dairy, gluten). If your digestive system was a piece of machinery and you kept it running 24/7, it’s eventually going to wear down and break. If you turn it off (or down a notch) every once in a while to clean it up and give it time to rest, it will function at optimal levels for longer.
In today’s video, I offer you 4 of my favorite poses to assist you in cleansing out all your winter gunk. These poses are also great to use on a daily basis when you feel like you have overindulged. Imagine that you’re administering routine maintenance on your digestive machine when practicing these poses.
5. Use support
Support is key to cleansing. Without others to help you along the journey, you’ll be pulled by the temptations to eat what your family and friends are eating. When you know that there are others resisting the temptation with you, you have a little more skin in the game. If possible, get your friends and family on board!
I was inspired to create the video above when I was graciously invited to be a guest expert for an upcoming Spring Renewal 1o-day cleanse program starting April 22. For this program, I provided a 5-minute(ish) flow for the participants to use as part of their cleanse. I’m really excited to take part in this and want to invite you to join me. If you’ve never done a cleanse before, this is the perfect way to start. It’s an online program, so you don’t have to go anywhere! Plus, you get support from hundreds of other cleansers going through the same things as you. I like this program because it’s geared specifically toward busy women on the go.
Register here to join me in the Spring Renewal program (I’ll personally help keep you accountable).
Bonus Tip: Start Where You Are!
And finally, if cleansing is too much to handle right now because you know that your eating habits are way off the mark, I invite you to at least take the first step toward changing your eating habits for good. If you don’t start where you are, you’ll never get to where you want to be. Making big changes in our lives take time and happen gradually. Cheating by skipping steps is not a sustainable long-term solution to health! If cleansing is Step 7 and you’re still on Step 1, then start by cleaning up your diet once a day instead of participating in a full cleanse program.
Now you have all that you need to start cleaning out your body’s closets. How do you plan on spring cleaning your body? Let me know in the comments below!
Note: Please be aware that I only promote programs that I truly believe in. I would never suggest you buy something that I don’t believe in or have participated in myself in the past. As such, if you do choose to buy something that I recommend, it’s safe to assume that I’ll receive a referral fee for your purchase. To do what I love, I need to make sure I can pay the bills! Thanks for your continued support and dedication to living a healthy, balanced life.
Image credit: t r e v y
