By: Sarah Grace Powers – Confluence Daily is your daily news source for women in the know.
Are you ready to renew and refresh your outsides and your insides for Spring?
In my last two posts on Confluence I wrote about how the changing of the seasons—especially the advent of spring or autumn—is an excellent time for a Detox. A Spring Cleanse if you will.
In Ayurvedic Medicine – which is one of the world’s oldest holistic healing systems, developed more that 3,000 years ago in India—it is customary to detox for 2-6 weeks at the beginning of Spring and again at the beginning of Autumn. The Ayurvedic detox involves limiting your diet to specific foods, herbs and spices, and several other practices.
But cleansing and detoxing with the seasons is a practice that spans many cultures, and in modern times it can be particularly helpful after a winter spent consuming heavier foods, which is our natural tendency when it’s cold outside.
And, certainly many of us don’t mind shedding a few extra pounds as we look forward to sun dresses, shorts and bathing suits. A well planned detox can help to do that for the short term, and in the long term it can ‘hit the reset button’ helping you to naturally lean to healthier choices in for foods and beverages.
You can read more on the specifics on how to do a detox in the last two posts HERE and HERE.
In this installment, I’ll share some nourishing routines that will support your health whether you are detoxing or not. Next week, I’ll go deeper into the idea of emotional and spiritual cleansing—which happens naturally when you detox but can be gently assisted with specific practices.
The Nourishing Routines
- Start Your Day with Lemon Water
Lemon is a natural flusher and can break up and dislodge toxins that have accumulated in the body. If it’s cold where you live you might want to make a warm lemon ‘tea’ by squeezing half a lemon into a large cup of hot water. If you can tolerate it, add a pinch of cayenne to your tea for extra detoxifying and for energy. But don’t do this if your stomach is sensitive to hot foods!
Since I live in a place where it’s already warm at this time of year, I’ve just been squeezing my lemon into a glass of cool water, and I’m getting the same effect. So, a personal preference – go with what feels good.
- Dry Brush Your Skin
This is another practice brought to us from India and Ayurvedic medicine. Dry brush skin massage has many more benefits beyond assisting a detox – probably enough for its own post. It will soften your skin, cleanse your lymphatic system, increase your circulation and increase your energy.
Dry brushing is done before showering. It basically sloughs away all of your dead skin cells. To do it you will need either one of those long-handled soft bristle brushes – easily found in the body care section of a natural foods store – or a pair of garshana raw silk gloves.
Starting with your feet and ankles, gently but firmly brush your skin moving upward toward your lymph glands. Continue with your arms moving up to the armpit area and then cover your stomach and back area. Be very gentle with your face.
As we’ve been told again and again, the skin is the largest organ of the body. This dry brush massage technique stimulates the lymphatic system allowing it to remove waste through the skin. This goes a long way to assisting your cleansing process.
Once you’ve thoroughly brushed, step into the shower to wash off all those old dead skin cells! Follow up with a nice lotion to nourish your skin further. Just make sure it is fragrance-free or naturally scented!
- Use Essential Oils
These concentrated plant essences can play a helpful part in your detox plan, plus they can be used to enhance your energy, calm anxiety and much more. Try mixing a few drops into pure almond oil or another favorite carrier oil and massaging it into your body. Or, place 1-5 drops of essential oil in a hot bath along with some epsom salts for a relaxing end to your day.
Some good choices for detoxifying oils include: juniper, angelica, grapefruit, lemon, cypress, rosemary and geranium. Juniper has been reported to quickly reduce water retention. Add just a drop or two to your bath – it is super strong! Some claim that regular bathing with juniper essential oil can help to reduce cellulite.
Lavender oil is one of my go-to favorites for an all-around ‘feel better’ boost. It is both calming and uplifting. You can place a few drops in a diffuser, use in your bath, add to a massage oil, or simply open the bottle and take a whiff.
These routines will increase your well being all year long – not just when you’re on a detox. You may find you want to incorporate them into your life all year long.
Sarah Grace Powers is a Holistic Life Coach and the creator of The Ageless Body Blueprint. She works with women over 40 who want to embrace ageless living and who are ready to release the weight—physical or emotional— that holds them back from achieving their dreams and making their impact in the world. She is a certified herbalist and certified life coach with decades of experience. Download her free report: Five Surprising Mistakes That Sabotage Your Weight Loss Efforts When You’re Over 45.
More by Sarah:
Detoxing with the Season: Helpful Supplements and Herbal Teas
