Spring Clean Your Mind and Body
Spring is coming! This is time of year is associated with cleansing, renewal and potential new growth. Your house isn't the only thing needing a "cleanse", why not spring-clean your mind and body?
Below are 10 ways to detox both mind and body to ready ourselves to help you enjoy life as the new season begins.
1. Give yourself a timeout: Take a few minutes each day to pray, meditate and reflect on your life. Being grateful for everything, both the good and the bad, can change your perspective and the way your handle your life’s situation. Meditation is a powerful way to calm your mind and reduce anxiety.
2. Go outside: Take a walk outside in the fresh air or just playing with your kids in the grass. You’ll get some much-needed, mood-boosting Vitamin D from spending time outdoors.
3. Grow a friendship: Nurturing friendships is an integral part of our happiness. Studies have proven that people with strong friendships live a longer life.
4. Rest: Sleep is something people undervalue and don’t get enough of. Getting enough sleep is a key to a happy life and affects both mind and body. Feeling overtired and lethargic can lead to consuming sugary foods and caffeine to keep you going. If you work out regularly, your body needs sleep to recover, heal and rebuild.
5. Release negativity: Happiness doesn’t just happen. Most people have to make the effort and choose to be happy. It’s helpful to remember that you have the power to control your thoughts, not the other way around. Unplug from the negative - be more selective of what you see, what you read, what you hear and who you hang with. Choose to surround yourself with uplifting people.
6. Flush the system with water: Drinking water is a perfect way to cleanse and hydrate the system. Minor drops in hydration increases fatigue and lack of concentration. Water flushes out fat, improves energy and digestion, gives your skin a better appearance and leaves you feeling refreshed. It is recommended at least 2 litres of water should be drank a day.
7. Exercise: Great for both mind and body. As the evenings get longer – go outside for a walk/run, go back to the gym, and participate in your favourite sport. Sweating at least once a day encourages glowing skin, a healthier heart and think of the endorphin release! You can feel the benefits even when you only do 30 minutes of exercise a day.
8. Declutter: Your living space is a reflection of you. Cleaning your space will allow you the ability to open your heart and mind in order to detox emotional crud you may have been sweeping under the rug all winter. The less clutter around you means less clutter in your mind.
9. Drink homemade juices: This is a time for vegetable juices or broths, as the enzymes in fresh vegetable juices provide extra nutrients that help your body eliminate toxins. Leafy green vegetables are particularly cleansing, especially those that are bitter such as dandelion, endive, parsley, beet, kale, chard, mustard greens, spinach, endive, bok choy, and arugula.
10. Expel a fear. This can be a big challenge for some, but it’s all about taking baby steps. Ask yourself, what is one fear that is holding me back? What would your life be like if you no longer had this fear? What would you be able to do that you cannot do right now? Get present in the now, create awareness around your fear, commit to facing it and start taking action daily towards overcoming it.
