Safe, Sane Detoxifying That Works

If you are feeling stressed, burned out, toxic and unwell, if you've been working too hard, too long, burning the candle at both ends, drinking too much and even doing too many drugs, you may feel you need to detoxify. And you would be right.

However, before you decide to go to a spa where you will fast, purge, cleanse and have colonics, it's important to understand a physiological fact. Your body repairs itself during rest. Healing takes place during rest.
 
If your body is toxic and you feel the need to detoxify, assaulting it with herbal cleanses, purges, and colonics while you starve it of nutrition is counter-productive. Over more than 20 years of helping people detoxify and repair their systems, I have learned that there is a safe, sane way to detoxify, using your body's own defenses, and it really works.

Here is what I would recommend:

Give your body a vacation from work. Get out of town and don't take your work with you. The reason so many people come to the Palm Springs area for detox is that the air is clean, the water is pure, there are wide open spaces and plenty of sunshine. Take a week off out here in the desert, and stay at a condo or timeshare or vacation rental where you have a swimming pool and your own kitchen.

Feed your body nutritious food. While you are out here for a week, give up restaurant food with all its salt and fat, and fast food and processed food. There are several natural food markets, so plan to eat a healthy organic diet for a week.

• All the pretty colors in fruit and vegetables come from antioxidants that can help your body repair and defend itself. Eat five servings of fruit and five servings of vegetables every day, in as many colors as possible.
• Also, eat at least 1/2 cup of cooked whole grains per meal, such as oatmeal, brown rice or mixed grains. Eat at least 1/2 cup of cooked beans or lentils every day, and one large serving of deeply colored starchy vegetable such as sweet potato, beets or squash, in addition to the other five vegetables.
• Have a small glass of non-fat milk with breakfast, some non-fat yogurt with lunch and one ounce of low-fat cheese with supper. It doesn't need to be made from cow's milk, you can try dairy products made from goats and sheep if you like. 
• Eat one ounce of raw nuts every day, such as walnuts or almonds.
• Look at meat as medicine, rather than food. If you eat meat during this week, eat lean organic meat and limit the amount to 2 or 3 ounces per day.
• For this week, give up most of your favorite drinks and just drink water or tea. It doesn't matter whether it is black, green or herbal tea.

These foods will give your body a vacation from chemicals and additives, as well as give you the nutrients necessary to repair your body. They contain all the fiber needed to cleanse your intestines, without herbal purges or colonics.

Take some mild exercise every day in the sunshine. You don't need to train as if you were going to compete in the Olympics. Simply take a long walk every day, in the sunshine, and then swim for half an hour or so.

Rest. Every day sit somewhere beautiful and drink some tea while you vegetate and think about nothing. Turn off your phone and your other electronics. Don't watch the news. Go to bed when the sky is dark and get up at sunrise or soon after. Take a nap if you want to.

Get a massage every day. If you are detoxing for a whole week, have three to five lymph drainage massages during the week to stimulate your immune system. The lymphatic system is a microscopic sewer system, it cleans toxins -- harmful microorganisms, harmful chemicals and microscopic particles -- out of your entire body. LDM stimulates lymph circulation. Also, have an abdominal massage to gently stimulate your intestinal organs to self-cleanse. Finally have a massage that concentrates on your breathing muscles. When you've been stressed, overworking and playing too hard, there's a tendency to develop tightness in all your breathing muscles. Your massage therapist can work on your diaphragm as well as muscles between the ribs, and in your upper back, chest and neck that assist in breathing when you are stressed. When you can take a fuller breath you get more oxygen and have more energy.

If you want to create a detox week for yourself, based on these principles, contact me. I would be happy to make suggestions, and to schedule as many massages as you need. I can recommend natural food stores and restaurants, and I can go with you on some local hikes.

At the end of a week like this, feeding your body well, letting it rest, getting gentle exercise and getting plenty of expert massage, you will feel wonderful!