Spring is here and with it comes the desire to cleanse and renew. Through nutrition, movement and mindfulness practices we can flush out the staleness from colder months and find gentle rejuvenation. Read on for tips on welcoming in the spring from 3 health and wellness practitioners.
NUTRITION AND WELLNESS- From the perspective of a Nutritional Therapist (me!)
Spring is a time for cleansing and renewal and by adding a few simple practices into your daily routine you will be on your way to a detoxed, rejuvenated you-no brutal colon cleanses required!
Here are 10 simple ways to detox daily:
1. ADD THIS INTO YOUR DAILY ROUTINE– start your morning off with a warm glass of filtered water, a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of cayenne pepper.
2. SWEAT IT OUT!!! Daily sweating is a great way to help your body clear out those toxic materials. Some things you can do are HITT exercises, sweaty yoga, or use an infrared sauna.
3. STIMULATE YOUR LYMPH– Dry brushing, jumping rope or bouncing on a trampoline all stimulate lymph. If you can’t do these every day, just make sure you are walking as much as can. Lymphatic massage can also work wonders. Lymphatic cleansing foods are dark green vegetables, ginger, sea kelp, citrus fruits such as lemons and limes, flax seeds, wheat grass juice, radishes and garlic.
4. SUPPORT YOUR LIVER- Cut back on, or cut out, alcohol, sugar and poor quality fats. Give your liver some love with liver supporting foods such as beets, celery, asparagus, grapefruit and avocados; cruciferous veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage; bitter greens such as kale, dandelion greens and chard; and enhancers including spirulina, chlorella, garlic and green tea.
5. TAKE A BREAK FROM FOOD- Fast occasionally to aid the digestive system. Intermittent fasting has shown to have lots of positive effects on health. Start with a 14 hour window by eating dinner by 6:30pm and breakfast at 8:30 am.
6. HYDRATE! HYDRATE! HYDRATE! The body must be properly hydrated so that toxins can be flushed out through the kidneys and the skin. Hydration also aids in delivering toxins to the lymph and liver which are the major detoxification sites. If the body is dehydrated, the toxins will not be filtered out. Filtered water is the best option.
7. IMMERSE YOURSELF IN NATURE- Take advantage of the warmer weather with long walks in nature. The sunlight will help your body produce vitamin D which is usually diminished during the shorter winter days.
8. GET YOUR ZZZ’s- Sleep at least seven hours per night, and get some rest anytime your body tells you to.
9. DECREASE YOUR TOXIC LOAD- Decrease your exposure to harmful chemicals and pesticides by choosing organic and natural body care, makeup and cleaning supplies.
10. NOURISH WITH A NUTRIENT DENSE DIET- focus on non-processed foods and good fats like avocado, olive oil, butter, coconut oil, nuts and seeds.
My Spring Group Cleanse Workshop is open for enrollment. Join us for 5-weeks of support, accountability and resetting our bodies with real food. Read more and enroll HERE.
MINDFULNESS- From the perspective of a Holistic Wellness Practitioner.
As the spring is creating a fresh start and the flowers are blossoming, find some space to be kind and gentle with yourself. Spring is a great time to shift into positive focus, bringing awareness to body and mind. Begin your day with intention and deep breathing.
Maybe you would like to see improvement, or shifting, in certain areas of your life.
As you begin to tune in to the positive changes you would like to create, notice where your mind goes. Often, our focus falls on the negative part of our life, the part we see as a problem that needs to be fixed. Many of my clients say: “I feel bad in my body, I need to lose weight.” “I hate my job, I want to quit and do something different.”
We all think like this at times, unwittingly keeping ourselves buried in negativity. When we focus on our problems and negativity, that is exactly what we create for ourselves. Kindness and gentleness with ourselves is key to any kind of self improvement. I would like to challenge you to begin to notice these negative thought patterns and shift them. Instead of “I feel bad in my body, I need to lose weight,” how about “I want to focus on healthy eating and exercise, I want to feel good in my body.” Pretty easy, right?
As we coordinate this practice, your negative self-talk may surprise you. Through life coaching and hypnosis, I can help you shift this focus to the positive changes you want to bring into your life, and to be grateful for all the amazing things you already have.
Through this work we can create a positive focus for your week, month or year. In the meantime, take some deep breaths outside with your bare feet on the ground and appreciate the beauty around you and all the amazing possibilities that are available to you!
Katy Troy, katytroy.com, is a holistic wellness practitioner in Austin, TX.
MOVEMENT- From the perspective of a Muscle Activation Techniques Specialist (MAT), Progressive Personal Trainer & Massage Therapist
Spring can be a great time to rejuvenate your workouts. Taking your workouts outside to bask in the warming weather and enjoy the blooms and greenery, just may be the trick to help you out of your stuck-inside-the-gym winter woes.
But before you JUMP on that trail, join that BOOTCAMP by the lake or sign up for that upcoming obstacle course race you might want to do a little “spring cleaning” of your current fitness level:
ADDRESS THAT NAG
It’s time to take care of that ache or pain in your back, knee, shoulder, etc. that has been nagging you over the winter months. When one or more muscles around a joint aren’t working properly, other muscles in that area have to pick up extra work. This muscle compensation can cause excessive soreness in and around the joint structure. Scheduling a MAT session can double-check that all those muscles are TURN-ON and doing their FAIR SHARE. This eliminates uneven muscle development in your training and speeds the recovery process to help diminish your muscle soreness as you turn over a new leaf in the outdoors.
GOT SYMMETRY?
This winter did you notice that some movements are easier on the right side and harder on the left or vice versa? Perhaps your right arm doesn’t go as high as your left? When you challenge the body with strength, balance and flexibility exercises, overtime your body will create muscle imbalances. The problem is that the MORE you work out with these “imbalances”, the MORE you reinforce them – essentially getting stronger in the asymmetry! A MAT session with me can break the cycle of getting stronger on strong side and weaker on the weak side. We’ll work through your joint function to reveal these muscle imbalances and balance out your strength, flexibility and balance in your joint function.
PAIN MEANS NO GAINS
The outdoors can inspire us to try new activities, push a little HARDER or go a little LONGER – even if our current winter fitness level isn’t quite ready for these immediate jumps in our training. It can be easy to get a little “too inspired” smelling the flowers on that beautiful hike and going a mile or two too far. After any hard workout, soreness the next day can be pretty normal, but any soreness or excessive tightness that continues after that is your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. I don’t believe in the “no pain, no gain” philosophy. Study after study has demonstrated that pain is an indication that we are getting NO GAINS in our training. In fact, over doing it can set us BACK in our training by LOWERING our current fitness level, as our body shuts down and tightens up in an attempt to shield the body against further injury. A MAT session with me can access your muscle efficiency and joint junction and in a few sessions can likely get you back on track with your spring health and fitness goals.
Shanna Leff (shannaleff.com) is a Muscle Activation Techniques Specialist (MAT), Progressive Personal Trainer & Massage Therapist in Austin, TX who focuses on MUSCLE & JOINT function.
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