Detoxification of Your Body and Mind
Apr 02, 2024
THE BAD NEWS…We live in a toxic world, surrounded by chemicals and pollutants (properly called toxicants, but most people refer to them as toxins). No one can know the long term and cumulative effects of these exposures because no one has studied them – in essence, WE are the experiment. From “forever chemicals” to microplastics to glyphosate, we are the constantly exposed in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat and what we choose to put on our bodies and in our homes. Adding to this, our bodies do not differentiate physical from mental/emotional toxins, which also cause stress and inflammation in the body. Stress, negative thought patterns, fear of what the future might bring…all of these affect our physiology in a detrimental way.
THE GOOD NEWS…There are solutions to help us become cleaner and be healthier. Habits and lifestyle changes that can significantly reduce our toxic exposures – how our bodies hold onto and process these toxins, whether they are physical or emotional. This month, the head of our Holistic Therapy Department, Heather Goodwin, and I are sharing a few of our favorite tips to help you develop some new routines to lead a cleaner, healthier and happier life.
The Physical Part:
At Heights of Health, we always discuss the beautifully intertwined mind, body and spirit. In this article we are separating the mind and the body for clarity, but our overarching intention is that through detoxing one aspect, the other will benefit, as well. However, by addressing both aspects, the results can be compounded. All that said, here are some of my simple recommendations for detoxing your body at home:
Dry Skin Brushing: This simple exercise is a great way to do a bit of daily detox. You simply use a natural bristle bush to remove the outer layer of skin before bathing. It takes just a couple of minutes and stimulates the lymphatic and circulatory systems and helps the body release toxins through its largest organ, the skin. Remember to always rub the brush toward the heart. Here is a good video describing how to Dry Skin Brush. We sell some great natural brushes at the clinic that are made for this.
Castor Oil Packs: This is an age-old technique to help detox the liver and intestines. Castor oil helps soothe, soften and reduce inflammation in the tissues, supporting detox. We love our re-usable packs that you can purchase in-clinic or HERE, at a discount.
Detox Foot Pads: Did you know that the largest pores in your body are on your feet? Hence, the feet are a great way to detox! We love our Detox Foot Pads because you simply affix them to your feet while you sleep (or for at least 3 hours) and, voila, they pull all kinds of junk out through your feet.
The Emotional Part:
Most people are not aware that they tell themselves the same stories over and over, day after day. Most of these repeated stories are negative or, quite honestly, are downright lies. Our minds actually get hardwired to not only believe these stories, but to generate emotions and behaviors that reflect these thoughts that, in turn, becomes our life. The key to changing what shows up in your reality is to start with what is happening in the mind. We will call this a “mind detox”. A mind detox requires focused, consistent and purposeful creation of new stories, hence different hardwiring and, ultimately, a different life.
I have three mind detox practices that I do daily that keep me aware of my negative stories and empower me to reframe them so that I can generate new positive emotions and build new habituated behaviors. Each of the below three exercises is accompanied by a printable handout and instructional video.
The Vibrant Flow is a powerful meditation incorporating all five of the Trivibrance™ signature oils. The use of the oils is optional. The exercise will still do its job, despite. The Vibrant Flow is based on holding each of the fingers, repeating a specific mantra for each finger and using the breath for a certain count before moving to the next finger. This combination moves the body into a parasympathetic (relax and renew) nervous system mode and creates new positive neural pathways.
Vibrant Affirmations combines the practice of affirmations/intention setting, the use of the TriVibrance oils and some constructs adapted from neurolinguistic programming or NLP. I called this positive brainwashing. Do this every day for at least one minute and you will be certain to detox the negativity out of the mind and rewrite your stories.
Scientific studies demonstrate that intentionally altering one’s emotional state through heart focus modifies neurological activity in the brain. It also increases heart-brain (feeling and thought) synchronization. In this mode, the body’s systems function with a high degree of efficiency and harmony and natural regenerative (detox) processes are facilitated.
