Detoxing body, mind, soul and home.
There's so many toxins around these days I feel I could write a book on that alone. Rather than give the actual toxins too much air play I've decide to focus less on the problems in writing this post up and more on solutions.
A detoxing of mind body spirit and environment. A good old spring clean, and it really couldn't be a better time to start to do this rebirthing if you haven't already, where it's out with the old bits and pieces that no longer serve us, and in with the new bright, fulfilling, life enhancing segments that do. This just happens to be an exceptionally good time to get rid of any negative juju as it's just after spring equinox which was March 20th this year, and before the next full moon which just happens to be a wonderful blue moon on March 31st. This, lovely people is the perfect time to detox and set your intentions for manifestation.
When I realised that there were so many toxins around the first thing I did many years ago was to detox, then establish how to minimise toxic risk factors. Even though I considered myself very healthy in what I consumed there was still a fair bit of work to do. I continue with these rituals to this day and beyond, some need done daily, some weekly, some monthly etc...
Detoxing body:
Oil pulling: You do this in the morning on an empty stomach, basically by taking a couple of teaspoons of coconut oil and swishing it around your mouth and in-between your teeth for 20 minutes, then rinsing your mouth out with cold water a couple of times. Thereafter you spit it in the loo, not in the sink and brush your teeth. This helps to remove toxins from your mouth, whitens your teeth, helps with freshening your breath and is said to help pull/remove toxins and viruses from the body. It has also been known to be good for hangovers because of this. My dentist was amazed at the difference this made to my swollen gums when I was ill and nothing else worked and we were equally astonished when the receding gums reversed!
Having half a grapefruit and boiling water with lemon in the morning helps to cleanse and kick start your system into action. There are certain medications like statins etc... that interact with grapefruit just make sure that you check this out beforehand. To find out more about those medications click here - Drugs that interact with grapefruit.
Stay well hydrated...Drink filtered water and herbal teas throughout the day. You need to do this to help flush toxins out the system and that along with a good fibre intake (30g a day for adults) helps with softening stools and elimination which can contribute to a healthy digestive system which can have a positive knock on effect on all over health and energy levels. Everyone is slightly different with their activity levels but a general rule of thumb is no less than around 8 x 8oz glasses per day and you may need more if it is a hot day and again you'll probably need more if you are doing extra exercise. If you don't like plain water add some cucumber, mint, lemon, lime, strawberries, pomegranate etc...
Add a fresh homemade juice into your daily fluid intake routine, here is a good detoxing recipe for two (400mls or 16oz). This is also really soothing and inflammatory on your digestive tract if you have IBS or an upset tummy...
Half an apple
Small carrot
Two leaves of Romanian lettuce
Eight cucumber slices
Stick of celery
Bunch of mint
Bunch of parsley
2-4 tsp barley grass
Squeeze of lime
Drizzle of virgin olive oil
Tsp apple cider vinegar
Fill up with filtered water
Meals: At mealtimes ideally your plate should be at least half full of vegetables or salad including a variety of colours. A quarter of a plate carbs such as black rice, red rice, brown rice, sweet potatoes, polenta, quinoa white potatoes etc...Then the other quarter containing your protein which could be low mercury fish, wild salmon (please see post on fish). Grass fed organic red meats such as beef, pork, buffalo and free range organic chicken, eggs. I generally have fish 2-3 nights, chicken 2 nights, vegetarian 1 night and red meat 1 night. Some vegan protein choices are beans, lentils, quinoa, chickpeas, hemp powder, barley grass powder, spinach, kale, nuts, seeds etc...
From outside in:
Bath-time routine is a great time for detoxing mind, body and spirit as you can also add your favourite meditation track into the mix. It’s not great to do all this detoxing and then light up paraffin candles with strong artificial colours and fragrance though. Try some of my eco friendly candles.
Around every 1-2 weeks I also do an armpit detox which also helps to remove toxins and involves adding 2tsp of cider vinegar to 2 tsp of green clay and putting under my arms for 20 minutes before rinsing off and having my bath. Don’t use any metal bowls or spoons for doing this as clay draws out metals.
Body brushing: The core value of body brushing is to help stimulate the lymphatic system which helps to get rid of toxins. Other benefits fo dry skin body brushing is that it helps with digestion, flush out kidneys, to diminish cellulite, it aids dead skin cell removal, leaving your skin smoother and regenerated, it also helps to improve circulation and make you feel more energised. Just use your brush and stroke it upwards towards your heart, when doing the stomach do it in a circular clockwise direction. If you have sensitive skin with your ME or other conditions you can use your hand or a sponge until the sensitivety dies down.
After your dry skin brushing continue with your detox bath and shower routine: Put a cup of epsom salts in your 'warm' bath 2-3 times a week this helps to detox your system, ease sore muscles, helps to lower blood pressure, can alleviate headaches and symptoms of stress. Finish up with a nice cold shower down which will give you an extra rejuvenating boost.
Below are some photos of some of the organic detox products I make such as the lemon, grapefruit, seaweed exfoliating soap, luscious organic orange and cinnamon body scrub, and jar of epsom salts which you can purchase at my Etsy shop here...https://www.etsy.com/shop/ButterflybeesOrganic
Remember everything you put on your body goes into your bloodstream, approximately 60-70%. Choosing as natural as you can with your skincare products and personal hygiene can really make a difference. I'll write more about this and some solutions in another post .
Detoxing Home:
Detoxing your immediate environment can have a positive impact on your mind body and soul. Clearing away clutter is great as if things are not in order then it takes up more energy to find stuff. Have you ever noticed if things are really messy how it can make your head feel jumbled, especially if it is like that in your bedroom. So if you need to have a clear out of things that are no longer useful or beautiful around you then give them away to charity or sell them, you never know, what might not be of use to you anymore might be just what someone else is looking for!
Air quality ~ This is a biggy actually. Most of us like our house to smell nice and fresh but often those plug ins, pot pourri and strong artificial air fresheners and candles are full of toxic chemicals that can have a detrimental effect on our breathing, can cause headaches, fuzzy head, nausea and I've even heard of people suffer palpitations with some of the substances in these products. Try some of my candles in an oil burner or diffuser with your favourite essential oil. Or alternatively try beeswax candles which actually help purify the air and remove toxins from the air. They emit negative ions which reduce the effect of the positive ions that are produced from electromagnetic radiation sources such as mobiles, computers and other electrical equipment. They are specifically helpful for those who suffer from asthma, seasonal allergies etc... I found these lovely beeswax candles from this company on ebay and I loved how they wrapped my package up too. Himalayan salt lamps are great too as they also counteract the positive ions that can affect our health.
For spraying in rooms and on fabrics try my lovely spray room fresheners made with organic pure flower waters and organic essential oils you can find them and their therapeutic descriptions in my etsy shop just click on picture. The lavender one is really good to spray just before sleep in your room or the children’s room as it aids a restful nights sleep. I'm going to be doing more of a selection of these, but for now if I don't have the fragrance you'd like just ask as I have a multitude of essential oils here in my treasure chest and would be delighted to do a bespoke fragrance of your choice.
Cleaning:
Cleaning products can be really harsh and can affect your health. It’s great to just use good old fashioned bicarbonate of soda for fridge, baths, sinks and toilet, then disinfect surfaces with white vinegar, nothing fancy or expensive needed here. Every so often maybe once every two weeks or once a month (definitely doesn’t need done as often these days as I no longer have three sons to clean up after) I use some hydrogen peroxide (3% food grade) diluted with 50% water and spray it in and around toilet and on surfaces, taps etc....
I use a steam cleaner for the floor and for the oven, again this is much easier, quicker and cheaper and so much more natural, as all those nasty chemicals used to really effect my breathing and neurological symptoms, you can add a few drops of lemon essential oil to the water in your steam cleaner to emit a nice fragrance. Cleaning and maintaining wood surfaces I use soapy water then when its dry I simply apply coconut oil.
Cooking equipment:
Cooking with cast iron or ceramic pans and stainless steel pots rather than toxic teflon or even aluminium reduces toxicity further, and those pots and pans last a lot longer than the teflon ones which chip and go into your food...Yuk not good! I don't have a microwave, I did when they first came out but rarely used it, maybe for heating up something now and then but one day when I saw the plastic melt off into the food I was heating up I got rid of it, and haven't had one for a decade and a half now. I always felt suspicious about them. I use glass containers for storage and freezing rather than plastic which can leach into products and disrupt the endocrine system. I have my plastic BPA free jug for filtering my water but I don't leave it in that I store it in a glass decanter.
Washing clothes and dishes:
For this I use either wash nuts or occasionally and for whites I use ecover non bio as I don't think the wash nuts work as well on whites. I can buy a pack of wash nuts on ebay for £7:99 and they last for nine months! These are originally from India and are actually berries and not nuts for those who may be worried if they have a nut allergy. They create suds which wash clothes they are anti bacterial too, all you do is pop 6 of them in a small cotton bag and put in the drum of your washing machine, they can be used again about four times and then just put them on the compost heap. I Know people who have been sick and got migraines with the smell of some of the washing powders and fabric softeners. I've even had people in my house sit on the couch and I swear I can still smell their washing powder scent emanating from the fabric weeks later! I wonder how we manage to know who we are attracted to anymore by that 'animal instinctual scent' as it's all masked up with over~powering Persil or Ariel etc... Ecocover do great natural washing up liquids and dishwashing tablets too.
Detoxing mind and soul:
Keeping a check on yourself and what direction your thoughts and beliefs are taking you in. This is just really about becoming more and more aware of what is constructive, and keeping conscious of what is destructive, and realigning with your souls desire through changing behaviours and actions if need be. The Emotional Freedom techniques I've used on myself and others have been wonderfully transformative for this as we don't deny or judge the shadows, but acknowledge things and if anything needs to be purged and set free then that's what happens. And just as destructive thoughts can become the intruders which can keep you chained to a dark path if you let them, so can energy vampires or toxic people. These people can have very cunning masks on and often aren't easy to identify at first with their charming seductive techniques. However you'll know the feeling as they suck you dry and then skip away off into the sunset feeling all refreshed and revived after feeding off your vibrant energy. Be careful of who you surround yourself with in your private life. I found the more I tapped into and learned to trust my instincts the quicker I was able to avoid this type of interaction. If you are an empath and soak up other energies that aren't serving you for your highest good there are ways to protect yourself which I will discuss in another post for when you are out and about etc...
Mindfulness, daily spiritual practice such as yoga, tia chi, gratitude, spending time in nature, reading inspiring stories, using writing to get your feelings out, journaling, dancing, singing, chanting, drumming, playing an instrument, having a massage, having a reflexology treatment, spending time alone, spending time with people who truly listen, love and support can all help.