Happy (early) green drink Sunday! Yup – I’m already ahead of the week and almost through my weekend making that statement. Are you ready for a detox for your mind, body and soul? You don’t have to wait for Sunday.
I have a loose tradition of making green drinks every Sunday morning for the whole family. (I say loose because I don’t do it every week but I do it more often than I don’t). Sometimes I make smoothies, sometimes I juice.
I don’t do it with the intent of detoxing. I do it simply to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
If you’ve never known differently, I would imagine that the idea of a detox for your mind, body and soul sounds like a great idea!
It is. However, why would you ever need to detox? It is popular, so therefore it should be done?
I live in a great city that offers so many healthy options for restaurants and grocery shopping. Also, as a result there are several small businesses that advertise detox bowls, detox smoothies, detox juices, detox this and detox that, but have you ever just thought about why?
WHAT DOES DETOX MEAN?
Detox defined means: a process or period of time in which one abstains from or rids the body of toxic or unhealthy substances.
Detoxing also goes so far as to reference ” . . . a period of medical treatment, usually including counseling, during which a person is helped to overcome physical and psychological dependence on alcohol or drugs. . .”
So detoxing can be quite a process, it isn’t always just as simple as a Sunday green drink tradition.
Our bodies are always dealing with toxic substances, so are our minds. Even our spirit, our soul.
Toxins just permeate the air, our foods, the clothes we wear, the homes we live in and the beds we sleep in. Toxic information infiltrates our social media, our conversations and our thoughts.
You would think that we’d need to detox regularly!
Humans ingest about 5 grams of plastic per week. They drink an average of 9.5 alcoholic drinks per week. Over 80% of Americans eat fast food daily, and fast foods comes with a lot of toxic ingredients.
We also are exposed to toxins in perfumes, plastic bottles and containers, cleaning products, air fresheners, furniture, makeup, fabric softeners, non-stick cookware, bug sprays, canned foods, TV and game consoles . . . and guys, the list just keeps going!
TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY AND IT TAKES CARE OF YOU
The good news is, we have awesome bodies designed to get rid of these awful things that hurt us, and they’re designed to do this naturally!
Our lungs, kidneys, liver, and large intestines are our bodies natural way of getting rid of toxins.
Here’s the kicker guys! If you live a balanced lifestyle that includes a good night of sleep, sunshine, fresh air, water, proper nutrition, exercise, meditation and moderation in all things . . .
Guess what?
. . . You’re helping your body do what it is meant to do on a regular basis on it’s own!
This is how you live a lifestyle of detoxification, or prevention from toxic build up. This is balance8life.
SO . . . IS DETOXING BAD THEN?
There are a lot of intense detox methods that can actually be harmful for our bodies.
Some things that are marketed as liver and kidney cleansers can actually strain the organs they are intended to help.
“If you’re thinking about a detox, think instead about the underlying problem,” Dr. Nancy Reau MD advises. “If you just want to be more healthy, good diet choices and exercise are best. And some symptoms, such as weight gain or fatigue, should be evaluated for causes that can be addressed.” ~ The Truth About Toxins.
Staying healthy is a very important part of a balanced lifestyle, and doing things that help our bodies stay healthy is essential. As I mentioned above, balancing all 8 methods of health is how you keep from ever needing to do some drastic detox to your body.
A detox for your mind, body and soul doesn’t have to be thought of as a yearly New Years resolution.
Your body can actually remain in a detoxed state of being when you take care of it properly.
A legitimately needed detox should be determined by a doctor and that is out of my expertise.
However, eating (or drinking) healthy foods that are labeled as a “detox” is safe and good for you.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DETOX AND DAILY HEALTH
I met a woman who was asking me for advice for her toddler who had a lot of trouble having consistent bowl movements.
As I began asking her what she was feeding him, it quickly became apparent to me that there was no fiber in his diet.
I suggested she add fruit to her sons diet. Her mouth dropped and she stared at me and said, “bad idea! fruit gives him diarrhea. He simply cannot handle fruit.”
Fruit became a detox for this child not because fruit is a detox, but because he was unhealthy. His body wasn’t used to a healthy, balanced diet that included things his little body needed to function at peak performance.
This is the same with adults who eat poorly, and then one day decide to have a green drink, or go through a juice cleanse. They may be in the bathroom more than usual.
This reaction is because the diet is imbalanced and the body is missing vital nutrients to function properly, and is reacting to the sudden change in nutrients.
This does not necessarily mean bad (or good) things are happening. This just means there is a lack of proper nutrition and the body has to go through a process of balancing out before it can regulate again.
If you take care of your body, there is no need to do a classic “detox” where you go to drastic measures to rid your body of toxins.
Instead, feed it healthy and treat it well. All the time.
DETOX SIDE EFFECTS
The side effects of detoxing are headaches, cravings, digestive problems, fatigue, nausea, etc.
Detoxing is a big deal to a lot of people, and for a lot of people it truly is very important.
Let me just remind you once more:
You don’t have to regularly detox your mind, body and soul if you live a healthy lifestyle and eat a healthy, balanced diet.
Instead of a yearly green juice cleanse, incorporate something like I have done, a green drink Sunday. Do this regularly as part of a healthy diet and your body will thank you.
You won't have side effects if you're already maintaining a balanced, healthy lifestyle.
ACCIDENTAL MIND DETOX
Monday morning I went to make an Instagram post and realized I had started to make a Green Drink Sunday post and literally forgot, midway through.
I set my phone down and didn’t even look at it for hours! It was great!
Green juice detox is a fantastic way to turbo boost your body with an assortment of essential vitamins and minerals. But have you thought about putting any time into detoxing your mind?
Our bodies are naturally made to detox on their own when we take care of them properly, but our minds are a whole different ballgame.
We can’t just eat right for our minds to function properly. We also have to make sure we’re feeding our mind with good information.
For the average person, phones have become permanent extensions of our bodies.
Phones hold all our private information, the good, the bad, the ugly. And without them, most people have serious separation anxiety.
A mind detox has side effects, too.
If I try to set my phone down for an hour during the week when the kids are gone at school, or my boyfriend is at work, I struggle.
At first, my mind goes into a scramble mode of not being able to focus on any one particular thing – almost as if it’s got a peculiar case of personal ADD.
We’re all so used to instant information, we don’t know how to slow our minds down.
I have children who struggle with ADD and when I started learning about how to help them deal with ADD naturally, I found that anything electronic (TV, gaming, computers, phones, etc.) should never be a part of their day. Period.
Well that is a complicated situation in todays society. No electronics equals being left behind.
So how do we detox our minds, set our anxiety at ease and truly allow our minds to slow down and detox from the constant need to always have instant information?
LET YOUR MIND BREATHE
Detoxing your mind from the constant information overload take conscious effort (sometimes).
Sometimes it’s almost like telling yourself to breathe, intentionally. You have to remind yourself that people survived without a permanent metal attachment decades. You can still survive without it today.
When the quiet sets, and I allow myself to be okay with the disconnect, my imagination kicks in and that’s when art happens.
That is also when my mind is given time to process my self. A lot of introspection and self evaluation time kicks in and things get a little better; clarity brings new perspectives to life.
A detox for your mind, body and soul includes introspective evaluation.
Evaluating your self is not selfish. Or – it shouldn’t be. It’s a time to think about all of the things you’re giving to others. Or all of the things you should be giving to others.
We all give off vibes that communicate many things to those around us.
How are you silently communicating to those around you? Have you ever thought about it? It can simply be a look. Body language. The lack of, or the presence of, a smile.
If you’re constantly on social media, checking emails or taking in other info that is flooding into your mind at 100mph, your personal evaluation time gets toxic and effects your vibes, your attitude, and effects how you treat those around you.
We give gifts of kindness as well as uncaring, impatient gifts when we don’t care for anybody but our own self.
This happens when our internal evaluations become toxic and self centered vs. self evaluative and introspective in a way that looks to bless others.
Become aware of who you are and what you communicate to everybody in your vibe frequency.
Take some time to detox your mind and your body this week. Set a goal to lower your screen time. Hand write something and memorize it; a saying, a prayer, a Bible verse, a mantra . . . anything positive and up lifting. Something to remind yourself that you are amazing and there’s no reason not to share your amazing self to someone who needs a smile.
WAYS YOU CAN DETOX YOUR BODY
Green drinks, as I mentioned, are an amazing way to give your body an immune boost, as well as help to rid your body of other toxic waste that might be hanging out.
Juicing is my favorite way to feel vitamin and mineral charged on a Sunday morning. If you do not have a juicer, green smoothies work, too.
Juicing is also a way to energize and minimize fatigue naturally.
There are an abundant amount of vitamins and minerals that are hidden within dark, leafy green vegetables.
When you make a juice or drink with these foods, you’re getting chlorophyll, which helps control inflammation, increases red blood cells, and more.
You’re also getting vitamins A, C, E, K, antioxidants, and calcium. Plus, your heart, will thank you.
One drawback is you are taking out all of the fiber (if your juicing). So be sure that you’re also eating your veggies, too.
Other ways to detox your body is exercising as well as drinking plenty of water, getting plenty of rest, getting out in the sun, fresh air, and staying on top of a healthy diet for continued, balanced nutrition.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT. LITERALLY.
Believe it or not, our brains need proper foods to work at peak performance, too.
A detox for your mind, body and soul is only effective if you eat to live, not to live to eat.
When you eat to live, your focus is on eating the foods that keep your bodily functions working at peak performance.
When you eat to live it also keeps your mind, your emotions, and your self-control in check. As a result, you can better control bad emotional eating habits and avoid late night cravings.
“Food as medicine should become a mantra of living.” Detox Your Brain by Center for Healing Neurology
Here’s a couple (non-scientific) basic examples.
Take someone you know that has been out partying all night long, most likely made bad food choices and had little to no sleep. In the morning, how likely are they to be bright eyed and bushy tailed? Are they going to be kind? Happy? Patient?
Not likely.
Let’s create another scenario. Your aunt, who’s had a full night of sleep, woke up and went running. She had a great breakfast before 9am. She will probably be full of energy, have a big smile on her face, and be a lot more patient.
The point is, what we put into our bodies and how we treat them also makes a huge impact on our brains. In turn, this effects how we act.
KEEP TOXIC INFO OUT FOR THE ULTIMATE MIND DETOX
I know that you know that we all know, that this is a thing. The social media onslaught of toxic information.
A detox for your mind, body and soul means giving the mind just as much attention as our body and spirit.
Did you know that there is such a thing as internet addiction disorder? And a legit gaming disorder?
“Problematic social media use, also known as social media addiction or social media overuse, is a proposed form of psychological or behavioral dependence on social media platforms, also known as Internet addiction disorder, and other forms of digital media overuse.”
“Video game addiction, also known as gaming disorder or internet gaming disorder, . . . results in significant impairment to an individual’s ability to function in various life domains over a prolonged period of time.
“Such disorders can be diagnosed when an individual engages in gaming activities at the cost of fulfilling daily responsibilities or pursuing other interests without regard for the negative consequences.” – Internet Addiction Disorder
Not only are there actual acronyms for legitimate social media, internet and gaming disorders, but now we have a problem that we didn’t have before the mid 2000’s.
The (easy?) solution is to put down the phone, computer, gaming consul, iPad, iPod, (wow, there’s a lot of devices).
It just isn’t easy. Let’s be real. It ain’t easy.
I get anxiety when I put my phone down sometimes. I have asked myself why several times. My first thought is, someone special to me might need help and I may not be able to get to them in time and I’ll feel so guilty . . .
Funny thing is, I survived in the 80’s and 90’s and early 2000’s without a phone.
Experiment and test yourself. Give yourself a timer and turn your phone off for a set amount of time. Allow your mind to imagine and think without social media and the constant scrolling feeding your brain junk.
By setting your phone down for 1-2 days a week, it can result in a lower, total weekly screen time.
I choose to set my phone down on Saturdays and Sundays. Those are my creative days and I do much better not having my phone on me.
Try it.
Can you survive without it for a few hours in your day or a couple days a week? Let me know in the comments below, how you are managing the world of social media and internet addiction.
A DETOX FOR YOUR SOUL
The soul. Last but definitely not least.
A detox for your mind, body and soul cannot be complete without giving the soul equal attention.
Give your spirit a rest by getting away from it all and take some quiet time out in nature.
This is not just taking a break from social media and other media sources. This includes other people, and all other artificial stimuli.
Get out in nature and breathe.
Meditate on the goodness in your life, the things you’re thankful for, the people you are thankful for, and the life that you have.
I’m not talking about focusing on the things you hate about your life. I mean simply focusing on the fact that you have life!
There are a lot more things to be grateful and thankful for in our lives than we give credit to.
Somehow, the negative things always seem to sneak up into the center of our focus points and we forget that our focus has the ability to go in other directions.
Train your mind to focus elsewhere.
Give your spirit and your soul a detox by remembering to be grateful.
LETS CONNECT
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