Spring Clean Yourself!

The spring equinox is just a day away.  No matter what the weather, are you ready for some spring cleaning?  Yes, it's good to clean up the house, the garage, and the garden, but what about you?!  How about a little self spring clean this year?


There are detoxification plans out there - on the internet, in magazines, at your health club.  Some use a bunch of supplements that are filled with who knows what.  We've got good, healthy food with all the nutrients we need available to us with no expensive pre-packaged powders or pills. Detoxifying is a method of freeing your body and your mind of the things that no longer serve your health and well-being.  The problem is with all of the input our bodies and minds tolerate in a day, it is hard to know which things are no longer serving our health and wellness.  This is why we do the spring clean!

Detoxifying is an excellent way to solve the mysteries of all those symptoms you no longer want to tolerate.  Some of the mysteries you might need to solve:  Why am I so bloated and gassy?  Why can't I sleep?  Why don't I feel full?  Why can't I focus?  Why do I feel so much anxiety each day?  Why am I so irritable?  Why do I always seem to get sick?  Why do my skin/hair/fingernails appear so depleted? Why do I have no energy?  Why do I have trouble going to the bathroom?  Why am I always on a mood swing roller coaster?


When I do a detox my goal is to clear out my system and then notice what changes.  If I give up caffeine does my sleep improve?  If I eliminate sugar do my cravings and mood swings throughout the day decrease?  When I limit my intake of wheat and gluten, do my bloating and digestive issues decrease?  If I stop watching the news does my anxiety go down?  When I journal before bed, does it help me get to sleep?  If I decrease screen time, do I make time for family and feel more connected? This is what we need to know!

So here's what you can do food-wise:  eliminate one food group at a time.  Suspicious characters are - caffeine, sugar, wheat, dairy, soy, trans-fats, artificial colors and flavors (includes sweeteners), and meat.  See what happens when you give up a food group for a week or so.  Make sure it is eliminated by reading food labels.  Or, do a full detoxification week.  With this, you will need a plan.  Check out the WholeLiving detoxification plans or contact someone like me who has experience doing detoxifications and guiding others through them.  The idea is to spend some time clearing everything out and then bring in one thing at a time afterward to see if that one thing is a culprit.  Then, make a plan to decrease or completely eliminate the food that no longer serves your good health - for GOOD!

Do the same with activities and people that are not serving your well-being.  Eliminate or decrease and see what the result is.  Ways to do this are to stop watching or reading the news for a week. Eliminate or decrease any screen time at all for a week.  Reduce the toxic patterns of your thoughts by writing them down and leaving them on the paper.  Meditate, relax, visualize....make space for what you really need in life!

It's like a spring clean of the closet.  You get rid of those old clothes you never wear, organize and make room for what you want.  You don't go hunt down the old stuff and put them back in the closet!  Same with the detox.  Once you discover a food or activity that really isn't making your mind or body feel its best, don't bring it back in!  Or, at least, limit how often you indulge, knowing there will be consequences, but those consequences will be short term.

Try one thing or many things for just a week and see how it goes!