The cherry blossom trees burst into bloom last week signifying that Spring has finally arrived in San Francisco! Spring is a time of birth, growth and detox. The few months of sun and showers freshens and revitalizes the soul for the abundance and energy of Summer. What better time to clear out and freshen up emotional, mental and physical baggage?
Mental Cleanse: Stress comes in so many forms now days. Whether it’s work, dirty laundry, a lengthy to-do list or tight jeans, we put undo stress on ourselves. If you were to strip away all your outside environmental stressors you’d still find a pile of guilt, anxious and worrisome thoughts and behaviors. How can we stay sane in a chaotic hyper speed world of stress? Take a few moments every day to mentally clear house.
How-To: Sit, stand or lay down for five minutes. Unplug from technology and force yourself to watch your thoughts. Take 10 deep breaths with awareness of the flow of air in and out of the lungs. Feel the air fill your lungs and then empty out completely. Put your hands on your ribs if it helps. By watching the breath we take our focus away from our thoughts and allow them to quiet peacefully.
Repeat a mantra with your inhale and exhale like, “I am peaceful” or “I am grateful.” Also, ask yourself, what am I going to think next? This simple question usually stops even the most anxious stream of mental chatter. Mary from GoodLifeZen teaches us all how to find stillness.
Emotional Cleanse: Transitioning from down coat weather to bikini season puts many of us on edge. Perhaps a few pounds wiggled their way into your jeans between decadent holiday parties. No worries mate, today is a new day. Decide once in for all to make friends with your mirror.
How-To: Stand in your full length mirror, look at yourself in the eyes and say “I accept myself unconditionally.” Or, create your own empowering mantra! Repeat this self affirmation every morning for an instant self esteem boost before you strut out the door. Stacey knows 5 steps to lift us up when we are emotionally down
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Physical Cleanse: I like to call this getting the cobwebs out. Whether you are sore from a grueling TRX class or tight from sleeping in the wrong position, our muscles and the fascia that encase them need to stretch and breath daily. Vigorous movement of any kind followed by stretching sends vital lymph, blood and oxygen to your smallest nooks and crannies.
How-To: Follow a simple series of morning stretches to hit the major muscle groups like the hamstrings and quadriceps. Then take it to the next level by indulging in deeper, longer stretches of the supporting muscle groups like the hip rotators, calves, and chest. Awaken the random spots too. These are the real gems: inner thighs, toes, fingers, neck, and sides of the torso. Notice how taking the time to unclog tense areas invigorates you?!
Internal Cleanse: Detox diets are definitely en vogue this season. Fasting, juicing, colon hydrotherapy, herbal remedies and infrared sauna’s, are just a few of the ways celebs and health nuts alike try to rid the body of toxins. Excess bad fat, processed sugar, alcohol, cigarettes, heavy metals, pesticides, you name it, it’s sitting in your cells. Extreme methods like The Master Cleanse, fasting for days on end and downing diuretics cause more harm then good. You can flush your system with ease.
How-To: Here are a few ideas you can try alone or mix and match for added detox.
-Sip ginger tea twice a day.
-Drink a green smoothie as one of your meals for a week.
-Take a 20 min sauna at your gym every day for a week.
-Add the top ten detoxify foods to your nutrition plan.
-Swear off caffeine for two weeks.
-Eat only raw foods for a week.
-Take typical food allergens (ie. nuts, wheat, soy, dairy, meat) out of your diet for a week.
After any kind of detox take note of how you feel when you start falling back into poorer eating habits. You’ll quickly discover what foods agree with your body.
Environmental Cleanse: Our home and outdoor environments harbor subconscious stressors and unseen chemical toxins. Cluttered rooms, smog, and house hold cleaners are just a few health sapping thieves. A minimalist, organized furniture layout coupled with an eco citrus all purpose cleanser can breed flowing energy (chi) into the most chaotic lifestyle. As a nomad myself, minimalist living and feng shui are my forte.
How-To: Swap carcinogenic chemical laden house hold cleaners for the green alternative. Clear as much clutter as humanly possible. This not only clears stagnant chi energy, but creates space for new things in all aspects of your life. Start with your closet and bag up what you haven’t worn in six months. Fix broken fixtures, paint dingy walls, and air out the space by opening all windows for half a day. Blast fun and inspiring music to bring in the good vibes. Learn 5 minimalist actions in 5 mins. from my blogger buddy David.
I could go on forever, but I’d like to hear from you. What are a few of the ways you spring clean mentally, physically, emotionally or all of the above.
This weekend I have my first hour long infrared sauna session booked! I’ll give you my two sense through pictures and video. Up on Monday!
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Amber, first of all I LOVE the new layout – it’s beautiful.
Second of all I’ve definitely been in need of a spiritual/mental/physical cleansing so this post was so well timed. I’m definitely going to take some of this advice, today!
Ilana- glad you like the new design. It’s been in the works for a long time now. I have finally had the time and money to go ad less.
Another great article Amber. Especially your comments on the internal cleansing. Had a friend jump on board a short time ago, so I did a little research…why do they have to include lavatory photography of their “success”? It just doesn’t make sense. But the mild dietary changes you suggest above? Now that makes sense. Thanks again.
Garret- yes it’s a little scary how extreme some people are willing to go. I try to eat super clean, anti-inflammatory, detoxing foods most of the time so I don’t do any in depth cleansing. For those who eat junk, drink and smoke incorporating more of these simple ideas would do a world of good. So glad you enjoyed my ideas!
Have you tried a more rigorous cleanse before?
Amber! The new layout is beautiful, and absolutely in tune with your content. Perhaps you’ve done a little spring cleaning yourself?
I’ve been done with caffeine for 2 weeks now, and waking up and feeling that flow of energy without any ‘drag’ to it is unreal. I’ll be keeping this up.
Great article, great links. I’ve got some more reading to do.
Cameron- no caffeine is soooo hard for me right now. Mon-fri I’m up at 6am to teach clients. It’s my only crutch at the moment. I remember a 6 month period I went without it. Sublime! So glad you like the layout. And yes! It’s been a few months of detox and spring cleaning on my end. A fresh start for EpicSelf. I have a lot planned as usual!
What a beautiful site design!
I’m working on breaking the caffeine habit — again! I’m one of those people who stops it every so often, but I always up going back. It’s a crutch for me, but an important one.
Thursday Bram- I know it’s such a crutch for me at the moment as well. I tried chicory root tea this weekend which is supposed to be a good substitute without the caffeine. It was doable.
Hey amber, I have fallen terribly behind on reading your articles (oops, sorry) but I couldn’t have caught up at a better time. I have been feeling really gross and yucky lately and I have been feeling that I need some sort of detox/fast/cleanse for my diet and or body. Than I came across this article and I am inspired with all kinds of motivation and great ideas so thanks! Once again, super helpful.
Michelle- I’m so glad this post came at a good time for you. You feel so good after even a week of detoxing. Hope all is well
. Are you still in SF?
Everything is pretty good. I am actually not in SF anymore. I moved back down to orange county. I wanted to pursue dance more in the LA area. Of course though since I moved I have been so busy with finding enough work to pay the bills I don’t have much time left for dance. That’s where I am at right now.
Michelle- Back in LA eh? I know how it is relocating and having to scramble for work. No bueno! How is LA treating you? I’m looking to possibly head south for the winter as well. San Diego is calling my name! I’m not sure I could live in LA. Keep me updated girly and best of luck on the job front.
I am actually not living in LA. I couldn’t live in LA either. I live in Orange County which is a happy middle ground between LA and San Diego (its also geographically located in the middle of LA and San Diego). I have the conveniences of living near a major city but in a neighborhood that suits my personality much better. Sunshine and blue skies the majority of the year doesn’t hurt either : )
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