So am I still 'detoxed' 3 months on from my 30 Day programme?

If I told you I am seriously considering another detox stint then that might provide you with the answer to that question!

I have definitely made lasting and positive changes to my lifestyle and have learned a lot about myself and how to live well. A couple of top tips: stay inspired with Facebook pages, magazines, exercise buddies, fridge magnets, quote-a-day calendars, whatever it takes...

I think it's fair to say that my intensity and dedication have definitely waned, but some things have certainly become a way of life... It's hard to think about going to bed without turning off the wifi, cordless phones and putting our mobiles on airplane mode for example. Every morning we take our supplements (MY detox has become OUR detox - my unsuspecting boyfriend didn't know what hit him, bless him; at least he's as into organic optimum health as I am!) Everything we can get organic, we do.

Flat stomach post-detox

In summary, we're doing ok. Life in general has kept a pretty stressful level these last few months but I think I have a better handle on it now and I think that's down to keeping to the principles of the detox: organic, good sleep, exercise, mental 'downtime' and so on. 

Clearer skin post-detox

I've gained a few pounds... not the end of the world in itself but it's leaving me feeling sluggish and that's not a feeling I enjoy! I've been looking at my 'after' photos from the 30 mind & Body Detox I did for inspiration and hence I'm tightening the ever-loosening reins of my diet and lifestyle again and going back to basics - no sugar, wheat, processed foods, low meat and lots and lots of gorgeous veg xx

After photo

Cellulite almost gone!

This morning we started the day right; we had hot water with lemon, fresh ginger and manuka honey with our organic vegetable juice I made. (This is something we have been doing sporadically at best but this morning we both vowed it was the start of a regular morning routine.) Now it's 2pm and amazingly that has kept me going thus far! :-D

It's definitely time for lunch though and I'm thinking I should have put the oven on an hour ago for a jacket spud as I'm now facing salad on a rainy day...  

The lesson learned today? Preparation and planning is essential when you have a 'no convenience food' rule in your house!

And if you think you can't find the time to eat and live healthily now, you'd better be prepared to find the time to be ill or sickly later on.

Wish us luck...!


Sarah is an Holistic massage & beauty therapist, owner of Edge of Eden and Team Leader for Neal’s Yard Remedies. You can call her on 01277 220301, email at sarah@edgeofeden.co.uk or comment below and she’ll get back to you x

Do you feel tired after your Detox? Then read this...

So I'm now a couple of weeks down the line from my 30 Day Mind & Body Detox and I'm still loving the compliments I'm getting about my appearance, and the way I'm feeling inside. I highly recommend making some changes right away such as using organic toiletries, eating organic foods (especially lots of veggies) and doing more regular exercise to soothe the mind and tone the body.

I can also vouch for the dramatic improvement in sleep quality I have experienced by making a few changes such as switching off electronic and wifi equipment before bed, turning my phone to airplane mode, ensuring the bedroom is totally dark and getting to bed earlier. It must sound crazy but I can tell the difference if I've forgotten to switch the wifi hub off or put my phone on airplane mode - it just doesn't feel as peaceful.

This perhaps isn't so surprising when you consider the article I read in the Metro recently (London issue, 23rd May, page 43). Professor Charles Czeisler of Harvard Medical School has stated that turning off your iPad or other LED ray-emitting gadgets could be more important than ensuring that all the lights are off as these LED rays are more disruptive to our sleep. It is all part of our modern lifestyles contradicting our built-in circadian rhythms - we stay awake and stay stimulated past darkness and then artificially induce awakeness with caffeine to cope with the morning.

This may all seem a little OTT but when you consider that research has shown that people who sleep less well or less hours per night increases the risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression, stroke in adults and concentration in children it is worth taking note. Between 1950 and 2000, the average Briton increased their artificial light sources four-fold with a parallel rise in sleep deficiency. So take note, your beauty sleep may be more important than you thought.

Remember, you do have the power to improve your sleep:

• If a whirring mind is keeping you awake, try writing down your thoughts before sleep or if you wake in the night. Acknowledging them will allow your brain to relax and move on knowing that you can address them in the morning.
• Ensuring your bedroom is totally dark will lead to better quality of sleep – blackout blinds, turning off lit screen alarms and TV power lights can help with this.
• Reduce electrical intereference – turn things off at the plug socket, have your mobile away from your head and on airplane mode or off totally (your alarm should still work), turn off the wifi and unplug cordless phones to reduce the signal waves flowing through you.
• Take time to relax just before bed – some meditation or deep and restful breathing, self-massage or even just a pampering facial cleansing and moisturising routine can do the trick.
• Regular massage and facial treatments have also been shown to promote body and mind balance and therefore aid sleep naturally.
• Use aromatherapy to help you sleep – either burn an essential oil before bed, add a couple of drops to your pillowcase or use a product on your skin that contains essential oils to treat you all night long. Great oils to look out for are benzoin (helps with stress), cedarwood (for grounding), clary sage (calming with sedative qualities, also great for the skin), cypress (soothes nerves), lavender (scientifically proven to promote sleep), orange oil (for insomnia), patchouli (for serenity), valerian root (for relaxation) and ylang ylang (for toning the nervous system and lowering blood pressure). You can find many of these in the organic Beauty Sleep range from Neal’s Yard Remedies – Beauty Sleep Concentrate for a smooth and youthful face and the NEW Beauty Sleep Body Butter for 24 hour moisturisation.

Sweet dreamzzzzzz…..

Sarah is an Holistic massage & beauty therapist, owner of Edge of Eden and Senior Consultant for Neal’s Yard Remedies. You can call her on 01277 220301, email at sarah@edgeofeden.co.uk or comment below and she’ll get back to you x

“How’s my Detoxing?” – What do you think of my 30 Day Mind & Body Detox?

You know those lorries that have an (I always think quite sarcastic) sign on the back saying “How’s my Driving? Call xxxxxxxx”…?

Well now I’m asking you about my Detoxing… how am I doing?

I know that I have been far from perfect but I really have changed my day-to-day life and am making significantly better choices than before (and they were already reasonably good!) Does anyone have any suggestions on additional actions I could be taking or disagree with any aspects of my programme? I’ve heard that deep breathing can be powerful? Does anyone have any meditation tips? Any other tips or ideas? :)

To recap, the ‘Mind’ aspect of my Detox includes attempting meditation and yoga 5 x week, getting better sleep (through going to bed earlier, turning off all wifi, mobiles, wireless phones etc in the house at bed time and using aromatherapy), and de-stressing by scheduling in creative time, nature time, quiet time, music, reading etc. I know these last items sound very juvenile but the simple fact is that if I don’t schedule time for these simple pleasures, I invariably end up hoovering or doing laundry instead – there is an endless rolling ‘To Do’ list in my head that never gets any shorter (something I suppose you can all empathise with). So I either dedicate "chill time" or lose it completely!

For the ‘Body’ aspect I am taking an ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ approach, although of course these are inextricably linked; I refer more to treatment from the inside out and the outside in. Yes, our outer shell is a mere reflection of what is happening inside us but our ‘outside’ is also very useful for delivering essential nutrients and expelling toxins… did you know that not only is the skin the largest organ in the body but that 60% of what we put on our skin is delivered into our bloodstream within 29 seconds of us applying it?? Now this is part of an essential function of our skin: to help us absorb medicines and nutrients we need, but if that’s not the strongest argument for using organic, synthetic-free skincare I don’t know what is!

So for my ‘outside’ body treatment I am keeping to a thorough but brief daily organic skincare regime and using a fluoride-free toothpaste morning and night. In addition I am boosting my skin’s absorption of anti-oxidants to neutralise trouble-making and ageing free radicals by using power-packed serums and body lotion. To boost my skin’s natural cell renewal cycle and encourage better toxin excretion and the absorption of these lovely lotions and potions I am also dry body brushing before my shower & finishing with an icy blast every day, as well as exfoliating, using a deep cleansing facial masque and soaking in a detox bath twice weekly as well.

To get the blood pumping and all systems firing I am also exercising 6 x week to varying degrees and having regular massage, another excellent balancing and detoxifying tool (it also feels grrreat!)

Finally for my ‘inside’ body treatment I am taking organic beauty supplements (including Beauty Oil, various teas & vitamin pills – see my last blog for details on which ones I’m taking and what to watch out for). I’m washing all this down with 3 (ok, more like 2 litres) of Highland Spring water from organic land and munching on an organic diet high in vegetables, fresh veggie juice and attention to eating in season and “eating the rainbow”, and low in meat, fruit, alcohol (except red wine), caffeine (except green tea), sugar, sweeteners, cow’s dairy, eggs, low fat foods, wheat, yeast and processed foods. And ok, no I haven’t been perfect at this but ye gods I’ve been better than I would have been.

It’s funny, I feel I’ve done really well on the one hand but not very well on the other so far. I think I had some idyllic sort of vision in my head where there would just be time and space for all these changes to come at once (I mean, that’s the nature of a 30 Day Detox, right?) but in reality I have to come to terms with what happens in real life… things work, others don’t and sometime it’s not a case of strong will power or the lack thereof, sometimes it’s just that sh*t happens ;-)

Anyway, onwards and upwards! I am going to knuckle down to earlier bed times, more meditation practice and trying to get more juice and water down me too. I think I’m ready for the next stage… I’m over half way and it’s time to notch it up a gear and stop dreaming about Pimms and pic-n-mix!

A final note, I met a lady the other day at some Neal’s Yard Remedies consultant training (I’m a Senior Consultant for them; gorgeous company & gorgeous effective products that I use on all my beauty clients). She runs her own company called Serenity Flow that does colonics (eek!) and she mentioned she thought it would be a very good idea for me to have a course of 3 colonics to support my liver and bowel during this detox, especially as I also suffer from IBS. Apparently one colonic is equivalent to 3 days fasting! I’ve got to admit I find the whole idea a bit gross but I think it’s time to bite the bullet and go for it… so I’m making my appointments now… watch this space (or don’t, look away; I definitely won’t hold it against you!)

Sarah is an Holistic massage & beauty therapist, owner of Edge of Eden and Senior Consultant for Neal’s Yard Remedies. You can call her on 01277 220301, email at sarah@edgeofeden.co.uk or comment below and she’ll get back to you x

'Supplement'ing your lifestyle - supporting my 30 Day Mind & Body Detox

Supplements - do you or don't you? Does it somehow mean you have failed to nourish yourself properly from your diet if you take them? Is it an excuse to eat whatever you want because you can always get the good stuff from vitamin pills? Are they ethically produced or just another way of stripping the planet bare through overfishing for fish oils and intensive farming for low-grade plants and herbs?

And what about what goes into them? Some capsules don't dissolve which is a total waste of money, but when you hear what's in them it's probably a blessing... Chalk, sand, talc, glue and other unhealthy additives to supplements are commonplace. And even if there are no nasties in there, are the vitamins potent enough and in the right balance for you, and if they are potent but unbalanced could they actually be doing you harm?

I DO take supplements and I'll tell you why. Thanks largely to our over-intensive farming methods (no crop rotation, no fallow years, heavy fertilisation etc etc) it is much harder to get the nutrition we need from modern vegetables. For example, in the1950s a carrot contained 67% Vitamin A; these days it can be as low as 17%! A field that used to grow inorganic foods that has been converted back to organic takes at least 10 years for all the chemicals to leave the earth, so even with the best organic veggies in my diet I can't help but think a sensibly chosen series of supplements is a good idea :)

I have chosen a series of supplements to take during my detox, based in part on the recommended list of 18 supplements for optimal health in Women's Health magazine. These are: Iron (ferrous sulphate), Calcium, Magnesium, Vitamin A, Folate (folic acid, 400mg), Biotin, B Vitamins, Vitamin C (ascorbic acid), Vitamin D (D3), Omega 3 (<3g daily), Melatonin (200mcg), Probiotics (multi),  Coenzyme Q10, Green tea, Grape seed extract, Reveratrol (found in red wine!) and Flaxseed seeds (for lignans) & oil. You can read all about why these are necessary and what amounts to take in their article.

The majority of these I get from the fabulous Neal's Yard Remedies Multivitamins and Beauty Oil, and I also take their Super Anti-oxidant Boost and Beauty Boost supplements in addition to individual supplements such as a probiotic. In addition I add Aloe Vera juice and various green 'superfood' powders to my morning veggie juice, including spirulina, chlorella, wheatgrass and barleygrass for a super-duper boost and to aid my digestion as I have IBS. Finally I am also drinking organic green tea as well as NYR Detox tea, Summer tea (delicious and great for hayfever) and Beautiful Skin tea, although I must confess I don't really like this one as it is berry-based and I'm not a fan of fruit tea!

I guess this may all seem very confusing but the long and short of it is: Do your research and then Choose your path. Regardless of what you do, you should be taking a daily Multivitamin in my opinion and the Neal's Yard one is an excellent choice. Whichever you choose make sure that (like all Neal's Yard supplements) they are:

• 100% active ingredients
• 100% vegetarian natural and organic ingredients
• Super absorption capsules - released in 15 minutes once in the stomach
• Anti-oxidant rich botanicals
• Vegetable capsules - free from fillers and binders
• Absolutely NO GM ingredients, preservatives, synthetic binders or glues, synthetic fillers, magnesium sterate, colourings, animal testing, nano technology, irradiated ingredients, gluten or yeast.

Happy swallowing!

A final note from me before I head to bed following a busy couple of days offering free beauty

Neal's Yard Remedies mother & baby goodies at Ilford market

treatments at a fundraiser event for St Francis Hospice last night and then running a stall with beautiful organic NYR mother & baby goodies at Ilford mum2mum market today (plus a couple of massage & beauty clients!)

I was in Covent Garden the other day for some free training (all consultants receive as much free training as you like) and as we finished early I decided to go for a Massage treatment to aid my detox... as a Massage therapist sometimes it can be hard not to overthink the treatment you are receiving but it was very nice (not the best massage ever but then I am hard to please!) Having my naked legs rubbed and pummelled it made me think: a) Wow I'm glad I shave my legs every day (Intuition blades ladies, they're the future) and b) is there anything else I could be doing to bust my cellulite that I could add into my detox?

Of course the detox itself is great for getting rid of fat, and therefore cellulite, with my daily dry body brushing, twice weekly exfoliation and detox baths with Dead Sea salts, and icy blasts to finish my shower each day. However, I have also started using the Firming Body Cream from Neal's Yard so watch this space... fingers (and legs!) crossed this one works!  ;-)



Sarah is an Holistic massage & beauty therapist, owner of Edge of Eden and Senior Consultant for Neal’s Yard Remedies. You can call her on 01277 220301, email at sarah@edgeofeden.co.uk or comment below and she’ll get back to you x

'The difficult second week...' - How my Detox fell apart & came back together again

Hmmm... you know how bands release a really good album and then follows 'the difficult second album'...? Well this was my difficult second week of my detox, hence the radio silence on this blog for a few days. It would be fair to say that I have not stuck absolutely to my plan this week!

Although I did climb back into the saddle after a bad morning for detoxing at Deal or No Deal last week, this past few days have been less than ideal. I have not had the energy to get up early every morning and meditate, exercise and juice veggies, and with the morning programme disrupted it was easy to let the rest of the day go...

Now I should just clarify that when I say I let the rest of the day go, it wasn't the all-out disaster of previous attempts to stick to a programme. I didn't head for the nearest takeaway menu or pick-a-mix but I did indulge in a couple of rather excellent buffets(!), one at a wedding and one at a 50th birthday party. Yes, I did eat the crudites on offer but, yes I also ate the sausage rolls! I suppose on reflection it wasn't too bad a failure but I am still frustrated with myself - it seems ridiculous that in a 4 week programme I could fluff the larger part of the second week!  :-S

I think the lesson I have learned from this past week is not to let things get too far off kilter - when I let myself get really hungry I eat things I shouldn't, when I go bed too late I get too tired to get up in the mornings, when I overcrowd my day I get too lazy to juice in the morning, etc etc.

Anyway, this week I am really reticent to get the bathroom scales or the tape measure out so I have decided not too. Instead I have treated today (the first day of week 3) as a whole new day and am happy to report I have done everything I should have done! I started my day at 7am with an hour of yoga, meditation and quiet reflection, then at 8am I did a new workout video (Tracey Anderson's dance cardio - man, that's hard!!), then I had my veggie juice, breakfast and shower. My halo is super bright today :-)

As a final note before I sign off tonight (ready to get up at 7am again tomorrow!) a few people have asked me what I am eating on this organic, no sugar, no processed foods, no cow's dairy, no wheat, no yeast, high veggie, low meat diet... Well I start my day with a breakfast like avocado or sliced tomatoes and organic beauty oil on yeast-free rye toast or very occasionally I have sugar-free muesli (although the grains are high in natural sugars) with goat's milk. Lunches vary hugely from greek salad to grilled chicken and quinoa to a mezze of homemade yummies or soup, and dinner can be fish, potatoes and grilled veggies, tofu stirfry, homemade vegetable stew or curry, stuffed peppers, or a million other things you can make with a fridge full of fresh organic produce... I also got some great ideas from Neal's Yard Remedies latest book, 'Healing Foods' (available here for £16.99) which has gotten rave reviews to which I would add my own; the book is divided up really usefully so you can find exactly what you are looking for, the recipes are gorgeous and not too "yeah man, this obscure and flavourless bean really does it for me" and diet really is a great way to improve your health... FOOD for thought ;-) Try it and see what works for you.

Sarah is an Holistic massage & beauty therapist, owner of Edge of Eden and Senior Consultant for Neal’s Yard Remedies. You can call her on 01277 220301, email at sarah@edgeofeden.co.uk or comment below and she’ll get back to you x