Wretchedness and anxiety are one of the hindrances towards good health, as they trigger your stress hormones. Hence, it is essential to detoxify your body regularly. Detoxifying means to clean your system and mind and purify the blood in your liver where the toxins get processed for elimination. The elimination of the toxicants also happens through your kidneys, lungs, intestines, lymphatic system, and skin during the cleansing process.
It will not only help you clear your mind but also promote the elimination of toxins, improving blood circulation and refuelling the body with the abundance of healthy nutrients. It ameliorates the quality of your life and also enhances the immune system. Doing these activities will not only improve your relationship with yourself but also with others.
Lessening the toxin load is the first step to detoxification. Alcohol, coffee, cigarettes, refined sugar, and saturated fats are toxins which are obstacles to your healing process.
Below are some points, following which will help you clarify, freshen, and change your life!
1. Yoga
Yoga has a wide variety of benefits to detoxify your body on a mental, physical, and spiritual level. Yoga asanas help improve your blood circulation and increases fresh oxygen supply to various parts of the body. It increases your lung capacity and aids indigestion. Yoga also helps in stimulating the liver and strengthening it as well, which improves it is functioning in a non-invasive way.
Detox asanas and pranayama’s include:
a) Trikonasana or the triangle posture.
b) Paschimottanasana or seated forward bend posture.
c) Kapalbhati Pranayam or meditation.
d) Bhastrika Pranayam or bellow breath.
2. Redefining eating habits
They say, ‘you are what you eat’ and a diet including processed and less nutritional food hamper the natural detoxification process. Eating healthy food will include a whole lot of fibre-rich food (brown rice and organically grown fruits and vegetables). Beetroots, artichokes, cabbage, and broccoli are great for detoxification. Take vitamin C supplements which helps the liver drive away from the toxins from your body. Say no to refined sugar as it is the biggest culprit for all the lifestyle diseases.
3. Reducing your caffeine intake
Having excessive coffee increases the number of toxins in your body as it contains caffeine. On that account, you must reduce or stop the intake of caffeine in your diet. Replace it with other healthier options like green tea, lemon tea, chamomile tea, ginger tea, or herbal tea. They contain a good number of antioxidants which helps in detoxifying your body, relieve stress and have calming properties.
4. Hydration and balance
Have water with freshly squeezed lemon, first thing in the morning. Hydrating yourself is one of the most vital steps for detoxification. Infusing your water with superfoods like chia seeds, fruits and herbs can increase the hydrating factor of plain water.
Make yourself a bottle of detox water and drink it through the day. There are numerous combinations of food items that you can use in your detox water: lemon, mint and cucumber, lemon and ginger, watermelon and mint, strawberry, and basil and many more.
5. Hydrotherapy
Hydrotherapy includes treatments such as saunas and steam baths. It uses water at varying temperatures for health benefits. It is also known as water therapy or water cures. Practice hydrotherapy at home by taking a hot shower for a few minutes, allowing the water to fall on your back, followed by cold water for around a minute maximum. Do this a few times and then relax on the bed for approximately half an hour.
You can try sauna baths and facial steaming to eliminate waste by perspiration. Try detox foot spas or foot baths to remove the toxins through your pores. You don’t need to spend a fortune on them. Just a few ingredients such as towel, hot water, liquid soap, essential oils etc. are enough to help you prepare your DIY spa at home.
6. Detoxing through your skin
Processed foods, alcohol, refined sugar, and other such items harm your system. And that, in turn, shows on your skin; it becomes dull and starts to break out. Therefore, facial detox is necessary to make your skin look and feel fresher and better. It will remove impurities, pollutants, and dead skin cells and renew and revitalise your skin to make it glow.
Make your skin detox masks at home by using ingredients from your kitchen like turmeric, yoghurt, honey, lemon, milk, oats cinnamon and coffee. One of the most used items for skincare is charcoal; charcoal masks are used widely by people to detox their skin. You can also go for detox facials once a month in salons. Although this falls on the expensive side, detoxifying facials are one of the best ways to have your skin feeling fresher than before.
7. Have a fitness regime
Get moving and let your blood circulate; increasing your heart rate will ensure increased blood flow which will help in flushing out the toxins. It is not necessary to hit the gym for a sweat session. Instead, you can do your workout at home. There are plenty of machine-free exercises you can do even on your bed or a yoga mat. Take out 15-20 minutes of your day for a quick session that will help you a lot. Workouts not only have physical benefits, but the increased blood circulation makes you feel better mentally.
8. Withdrawal from technology
Set a weekly or daily routine and try to follow it strictly. Make sure you give enough time to yourself and stay away from your phone, laptop, or other gadgets for a while. It will help you gather your thoughts and plan of action for the next day. Digital detoxing before bed helps in outlining what you did the whole day and planning the next day. It makes you calm and composed thus giving you a sound sleep which is crucial in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Detaching from the daily non-stop social and electronic demands gets you in a deeper state of self-reflection and clarity.
9. Take a break or a vacation
All the stress of your daily lives takes a toll on your physical as well as mental health. Work, deadlines, and societal pressure can affect you heavily. Wherefore, a break is of great significance. If your daily life is getting on your nerves, going for a weekend getaway, close to nature and greenery can be soothing and tranquillizing for your soul.
Time spent outside potentially invites ingenuity and expands the energy levels in your body. Low levels of stress enhance the ability to quiet the mind, which in turn stabilizes your mind.
10. Journaling
Journaling is an effective way to reduce stress and anxiety. Try to sit down for about 30 minutes and write down everything that is running through the depths of your brain. It helps you organize your thoughts and help you reflect on the better.
You can also talk to your friends about the situations that bother you. The goal is not necessarily asking for a solution but to just let it out. Unload all that heavyweight in your mind by journaling or venting, and then take a few deep breaths to reset your mind so that it can focus on important things.