2020 brings a new decade and another chance to reveal, revive and thrive.
So what does it truly mean to detox for a new year ahead?
Many believe that detoxing is a mere purging from overindulgence during the holiday season and others believe that it is way beyond that.
Like an onion, we peel away layer after layer of what no longer serves us. Or we hang on to every past experience as though it defines us and we may die if we release it. This can cause an enormous ripple effects on both your mental and physical health, not to mention your spiritual well being.
For a meaningful detox that can have real, lasting results, it’s important to be present through this process and understand the onion layers of our own nature, as this can reveal amazing things, concepts and ideas about ourselves that we never knew before. It’s like a ‘getting to know you better’ for yourself.
Many only focus on a physical detox, and without the preparation that is needed for this, it can have some quite nasty side effects that you are unprepared for. However, if we are conscious about WHY we are detoxing, then this is a far more effective starting point to reveal a clearer, lighter you, to you.
When it comes to detoxing, the idea begins in the mind, so there is a consciousness about the fact that there may be a need to detox, but are we really understanding the levels that the detoxing can go in order to achieve our goal. The goals may be to become lighter (weight loss), to become brighter (more happiness), to become more adaptable (more flexibility), to become more peaceful (more ease and flow in life and a calmer disposition).
Like with everything in life there always exists cause & effect. For lasting results, we need to look at healing the cause, not fixing the effect.
Let’s break down the various ways a human being can detox:
BECOMING LIGHTER
Your body as a physical being can really affect the way you feel about yourself and others, as well as the world you live in. If the detox is for weight loss alone, it’s important to understand your emotions behind why you feel it necessary to be lighter. If you dig a little deeper, you will find a root emotion that is guiding you to make changes in your life and a change on any level (like the physical) has a ripple effect to the mental, emotional and spiritual. When broken down and revealed, you find the real cause (could be because you are feeling inadequate, or too much, or overindulged or just plain unhappy). But once you find this cause, your actual physical detox will be a breeze. Why? Because you have a goal, a vision, a purpose. Without a purpose, your detox can never last. With a purpose comes conviction and with conviction come change. The real change we are after is buried deep within our psyches.
If you don’t already know why, then a great way to find the cause / purpose is to sit in a quiet place. If you can get into nature it will be even more powerful. Here is a visualization meditation technique to understanding yourself more deeply:
- Sit in a comfortable position with your spine straight and your legs on the ground
- Close your eyes and take 3 gentle and deep breaths in and out
- Imagine golden light pouring into your head from above you. This light is pure love, pure healing and pure energy. It is your safe zone.
- Allow this light to gently and lovingly fill your entire body starting from your head and flowing down your spine, through all your organs, down your limbs and into the earth. Deep into the earth’s core
- Breathe in a gain and image the light expanding all around you into a big bubble of light that is protecting you and creating a safe protective layer around you
- Ask yourself: WHY AM I DETOXING
- Take another deep breath
- Allow your thoughts to speak back to you, like you are having a conversation with your self
- The FIRST thing that comes to mind is generally the ‘thing’ that you most need to work on
- Open your eyes and write down what was revealed to you
- Now you are on the journey with purpose
Once you know your purpose and you see it clearly on paper, create a time-line to set your achievable goals and set a date to when your ‘purpose / emotion’ will release itself and fold the piece of paper and put it in a safe place. Set reminders for yourself everyday (it’s easy to set an alarm on your phone). The reminder is: ‘Am I focusing on my purpose’. This will bring you back into the present moment every day and remind you why you set this goal. Without this purpose, most detox results are never fully achieved
A quick, healthy, kind way to begin your physical (and emotional) detox journey:
- Cut down on processed, fast foods
- Cut down on meat and dairy consumption
- Cut down on sugar and gluten consumption
- Cut down on stimulants like alcohol & coffee
- Eat more fresh veggies
- Drink more filtered water with freshly squeezed lemon
- Meditate for 5-10 minutes every day, visualising yourself becoming lighter and happier
- Get more rest
- Exfoliate your skin
- Throw out any personal care products containing harmful chemicals that may be disrupting the pH balance of your skin (google ingredients to understand which ingredients can be harmful and which can be healing)
- Do more yoga or join a stretching class
- Get into nature everyday (forest, park, beach, garden, mountain)
- Breathe consciously during the day
- Bring gratitude into your life. Being grateful for the things you are and the things you have and the people and animals in your life, makes all the difference
Once you begin this journey, your life will be forever changed because you will be living with consciousness, where things are not happening to you, but you are creating your experiences and your reality, and this is a much richer, more fulfilling way to experience life and to find your perfect balance
We look forward to tracking your 2020 detox journey with you
Much love
Nicole x
