Detoxing Hacks to Swear by!
Man, how is it almost March already?? This short February always manages to trick me...So, with spring cleaning under way, we all feel like we need a fresh start, a clean slate, a reset, if we may call it that. And what’s a better way to make sure we stick to our 2018 NY resolutions (or at least try to) if not with some detoxing hacks that will leave us feeling energized and ready for the spring?
Let’s get into it!
Spice up your Lemon water
We all know that drinking water with lemon first thing in the morning is amazing for jumpstarting your metabolism, hydrating your skin after a night’s sleep and soothing your stomach as it prepares for your daily meals and drinks. Now it’s time to take it to the next level and spice it up with a dash of grated ginger, cayenne pepper, pinch of salt and some apple cider vinegar. Congratulations! You just made an immune boosting, fat burning, blood sugar balancing, toxin cleansing, longevity elixir!
*Extra tip: add a bit of stevia or monk fruit to sweeten it up
Incorporate daily Yoga twists
Yoga twists are so powerful because they rinse out the toxins and bring in fresh oxygen and energy into your spine. Think of your spine as a rag being squeezed and twisted for rinsing out the excess water. Twists deeply massage your organs and improve the blood flow, so that fresh oxygen gets to all of your cells as quickly as possible. They also lengthen the muscles, tendons, ligaments and fascia which improves your mobility and flexibility. You can choose from a variety of different yoga twists and incorporate them in your daily life, no matter where you are and whether you had time for a full workout or you squeezed in 5 precious minutes during lunch break. While most of the standing, inverted and balancing twists are better to do while working out, gentle lying twists are a great way to start or end your day, and seated versions are perfect even in the work environment.
Use Essential oils
People are getting hooked on essential oils these days, and there’s no real question why - they are absolutely amazing! From helping you reduce sugar cravings and sleep better, to cleaning your house and having even anti-aging properties, these little, but extra strong and potent drops are a literal life changer. After getting on board of the essential oils train, people seriously cannot imagine themselves living without them (myself included). The vast variety of blends you can create on your own makes you feel like you’re mixing magic potions that boost your immunity and help you digest your food better, adding drops to your moisturizer and body butter give your skin a fresh glow and extra support (frankincense for anti-aging and grapefruit for cellulite ladies!), and simply diffusing them in your home makes your air cleaner, fresher and smelling ‘oh, soooo good’!
*My biggest tip: make sure you are buying from a trusted brand that has 3rd party testing (such as dōTERRA provides) because you want them to be as pure as possible. dōTERRA also offers 25% for all their customers, so if you want to get involved, click Join and Save & follow the steps HERE!
Invest in your sleep
I know this sounds so cliché, but getting quality Zzz’s is extremely important. Not only does it improve your immunity response, decrease muscle fatigue and keep your hormones in balance, it actually repairs & regenerates your body on the cellular level! Think of it this way: every gadget you own needs to recharge, every ‘switch on’ needs to ‘switch off’ every once in a while….nothing is meant to be constantly ready for battle, and neither are you. Getting a good night’s sleep reboots your entire system and fixes all the ‘bugs’ so that it’s ready to function the next day.
So, make sure to avoid stressing your body and mind 1-2 hours before bedtime (no blue screens), and work on getting yourself into a relaxing mode. Create a habit of drawing a nice, hot bath with epsom salts and lavender essential oil; climb into bed with a warm cup of chamomile tea and a fun book (don’t read an exciting thriller, cause you won’t be able to put it down and your blood pressure will be through the roof); start practicing relaxing techniques such as journaling or coloring; light candles and listen to relaxing music...there are soooo many things you can try and see what works best for you to get you fall asleep quickly and wake up feeling fresh and energized.
Meditate
It goes without saying that our brains are wired 24 hours a day, and that we’re being influenced by all kinds of stressors. We all repost the “Live in the moment” quote on all our social medias, but how many of us actually do it? Once we try, we realize it’s not really easy to quiet our thoughts and feel our bodies relax. Practicing meditation everyday, even for 5 minutes, can have incredible effect on our whole system, and yet we struggle so hard to get ‘in the zone’. The reason behind it is because we feel like we have to do it, and therefore, are actually closing ourselves off from actually doing it. You know how they say, “the best diet is the one you can stick to”. Well, the same goes for meditation. Discover what works for you, make time for yourself, and set an intention to focus on our breath. I've found that using meditation bolsters, such as this one from Gaiam (use code Karla20 to get a discount!) makes all the difference in my seating posture! I'm able to sit more upright & feel my lower back supported.
There, you have the perfect recipe to get in touch with your inner self and release stress.
X,
Karla
