The month of March is a perfect month to begin your spring detox. This health-giving ritual cleanses your liver and prepares your body to transition into another season. Due to colder climate, our winter diets tend to be heavier and more focused on warming foods such as meats. People tend to move less in winter as we go into hibernating mode. As a result, we often feel more sluggish. It is a good idea to give our livers a break from the heavier foods, lack of exercise, and build up of toxins and get our systems working optimally again. You should take about a week for your detox program.
The liver performs more functions than any other single organ in the body. In traditional Chinese Medicine, the liver was considered the "house of the soul" and was responsible for the flow of "chi" or life energy. The name "liver" is derived from an Anglo-Saxon verb meaning "to live". Your liver performs over 500 known metabolic functions. Just one of these functions is to biologically transform all ingested material (both nutritive and tonic) so that it can be best utilized by the body. The liver is also responsible for the condition of the blood and, with that, the entire human system.
Detoxification is simply the removal of toxins from your system. We absorb toxins every day through food, water, and air as well as through our own metabolic processes. Our bodies are equipped with self-cleaning mechanisms to eliminate toxins. Too much processed foods, pesticides, preservatives, stimulants and heavy metals can overtax the system, however, and slow the body's own cleansing machine to a screeching halt. The result is fatigue and poor digestion.
The Spring Detox will help your body to boost your cleansing systems by practicing yoga sequences designed for that purpose and eating foods that facilitate a spring cleaning. Herbs will assist in cleansing, building and strengthening the liver
During the spring detox, avoid alcohol, fried foods, dairy except cultured products, caffeine, chocolate, sugars and simple carbohydrates. Slowly guide yourself into the detox by preparing for a few days for it and slowly eliminating caffeine and sugar. Have all of your supplies ready, your food stocked, your herbs in place and dust off your yoga mat. Make the days of the spring detox a true retreat into yourself and into silence by eliminating errands and unncessary work.
Liver Cleanse
Take this cleanse every day for a week as part of your Liver Cleanse. Plan to drink it every evening.
1/4 cup fresh squeezed Lemon Juice
3/4 cup fresh squeezed Orange Juice
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic
Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until creamy. About 1/2 an hour after drinking the Liver Cleanse, follow it up with a warm cup of this tea:
1 part comfrey
1 part fenugreek
2 parts peppermint
Juicing
During the spring detox, juice before every meal and have a fresh glass of juice comprised of the following:
1 red beet with greens
3-4 carrots
A few leaves Dandelion
A hand full of Spinach
1 apple
1 whole lemon
small piece of Ginger
Nutrition
For the week of your spring detox, follow an alkalizing diet that includes plenty of fresh foods, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. Emphasize dark green leafy vegetables, fresh sprouts, beets and beet greens, whole grains and seeds, and raw almonds.
Go vegetarian for the week and make very simple meals. For breakfast, have either fresh fruit or cooked whole grains such as oatmeal, cooked quinoa or a cooked multi-grain cereal. Add some flax oil, nuts or seeds for protein and unsweetened dried fruit. Fruit smoothies make another great breakfast, especially when you add spirulina powder, flax seeds, bee pollen, and kelp powder.
For lunch, have a large salad adding grated beet root, grated carrots, some cooked legumes for protein, and home-made dressing consisting of healthy oils and balsamic vinegar. Use miso, tahini, raw garlic and lemon juice to flavor the dressing.
Dinners should be kept very simple like cooked brown rice and sauteed collard greens, baked sweet potatoes with black beans and steamed dandelion greens, broccoli, kale, onions and chickpeas sauteed in olive oil or baked beets with a large salad topped with pumpkin seeds and kidney beans.
For in between meal snacks, fruit smoothies are a good option as are more fresh juice, fresh fruit, raw carrots, celery, cucumbers, and radishes or some home-made almond milk.
Yoga
The yoga sequence presented here supports the natural detoxification process by increasing circulation, compressing and twisting the internal organs, and encouraging relaxation. Twists, in particular, help the flushing ability of your liver. Since the release of stress hormones like cortisol slow down the natural detox processes of the body, it is important to nourish the nervous system with deep relaxation poses:
Sun Salutations
High Lunge
Chair
Pyramid
Down Dog
Reverse Pyramid
Triangle
Reverse Triangle
Half Lord of the Fishes Twist
Locust Pose
Reclining Twist
Reclining Bound Angle
Legs-Up-The-Wall
Supported Savasana
Herbs
This herbal formula is excellent for aiding digestion and is considered a digestive bitter:
2 part Burdock Root
3 part Dandelion Root
1 part Pau D'Arco
1 part Cinnamon
2 parts Licorice Root
1/2 part Yellow Dock Root
Stevia for taste
Place 4-6 Tbsp of herbs into a pot and add a quart of water. Bring the herbs to a low boil and then simmer for 20 minutes. Strain the herbs out. Drink the quart of tea freely throughout the day. You can use the herbs for a second brewing.
During your spring detox, you may find feelings bubbling to the surface. Journaling is a good way to process these feelings and perform an emotional housecleaning as well. Rest as much as you are able and keep outside distractions to a minimum. Meditation is a great way to center yourself, induce peace and find the solutions that lie deep inside of each of us.
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AuthorDagmar Jones is a YOGA Alliance Registered Yoga Instructor (RYT200) and an Herbalist Archives
November 2016
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