A week's retrospective - the first week of my Mind & Body Detox

Well well well, I couldn't believe it when I stepped on the scales on Wednesday morning and found that I'd lost a massive 6 lbs this last week! WAHOO!

I'm so glad I resisted checking throughout the week; you fluctuate so much anyway day by day, and I wouldn't have had this big surprise! I'm truly happy that I've lost some weight (and 5 inches from my vital stats too, including 2 inches from my waist!) and my skin feels so super soft. I do still have some spotty bits on my face and decolletage (in fact more than before) but that's ok, the skin is excreting toxins. It feels great to know I haven't given it any extra ones to handle for a week!

It not plain sailing though. I do feel like the other 'half' of my detox, the Mind Detox, isn't going so well.

Now it's true that I have just lived through some of the most awful months of my life for various personal and family reasons, and there are still plenty of challenges ongoing, however I did think I'd be feeling a little less cluttered of mind and scatty of thought! Maybe that will come...
I know that detoxing does require quite a lot of work from the body to process and excrete all these toxins that are being released from your cells... maybe it's the same for the mind. I have certainly been feeling tired in the last few days and take that as a good sign, but it's bound to affect my state of mind.

Perhaps as well if I'm totally honest, I haven't been quite as on top of the 'Mind' side of things as I could be. A couple of mornings I've skipped my yoga and meditation in favour of an extra wee snooze, mainly because of not getting to bed at a reasonable time (I had aimed to be in bed by 11pm which isn't even that early!) Hmmm... think it's time to review the 'Mind' detox:

• Yoga & meditation 5 x week - hmmm.. I think one of the problems with this, in addition to

  

  Aromastone for burning oils

  getting to bed a bit late, is that I'm not enjoying them as much as I'd hoped :( I find meditation with the guided meditation CD I'm doing kinda boring (!) so maybe I should try another technique? Any suggestions? I also am not enjoyed my sun salutations as much as I always have... gutted. Not sure why although it could be that I feel a little cramped for space at home - think I'll try somewhere else and maybe playing some music and lighting an aromatherapy candle or burning oils in my aromastone instead.
• Sleep (before midnight, total darkness, wifi & mobile off, 6-8hrs, aromatherapy) - I could definitely work on getting an earlier bed time and using some aromatherapy. I genuinely slept better after my detox bath last week which I followed with the aromatherapeutic Beauty Sleep body butter - think I'll try more of that and burning a relaxing oil in my aromastone before bed too.
• De-stress (creative time, time outside with nature, aromatherapy, quiet time, music) - Quiet time...? What's that?! I have definitely fallen foul of not having any of that. I'm the sort of person who finds the more I fit into a day, the more I seem to do, so maybe I should try fitting 'Quiet Time' into my diary? It sounds crazy but could it work? Time outside with nature I have definitely been enjoying (although we could do with that sun back!). I also noticed I hadn't had much music in my life recently - usually I sing in a band once a week and am practising for that or just listening to music a lot but not recently. So... today I have been playing my 'top rated' playlist all day, dancing and smiling like a lunatic!

Ok, a few pointers for me to work on there. Glad we had this chat ;-)

Now go put your music on, and dance like there's nobody watching...

Get yours here: http://bit.ly/12uYwhb

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

My 30 Day Mind & Body Detox... The Plan!

Did you know that this is the ideal time of year to detox?

Even though glossy magazines with bikini-clad babes sold in January may wish us to believe that immediately post-Christmas is the best time to detox and start working on that mythical beast 'the bikini body', in fact you are much better off waiting for Spring. Warmer weather is more conducive to feeling positive and eating salad after all, and longer lighter evenings mean more likelihood of getting to the gym or out to exercise even with a busy working/family life. And the lifting of the S.A.D cloak generally gives most of us some much needed extra get up and go.

So I've gotten up and gone on a mission - a gentle mission, but one designed to use the next 30 days to detox myself, not only through cleansing the body of the accumulated toxins of a winter's hibernation but also through focusing on the mind to soothe, organise and clear out any cobwebs... that's the idea anyway ;)

I have designed my own programme based on the accumulated knowledge of years of interest in Holism, my own experience as an Holistic massage and beauty therapist and more recent research into the affects of diet on cancers and other chronic diseases. All this is coupled with a small obsession with how to do things kindly (to myself, other people, animals, the planet) and this will be a key principle for me.

My programme is in no way supposed to recommend a course of action for anyone else, although I am very happy to share my thoughts and experiences with you all. I'll be honest, there will even be photos(!) and I do hope you'll find it interested and maybe even useful - either way please do leave me your comments below.

Here are the bones of my detox programme...

The Mind: I have always been fascinated by (but utterly useless at) meditation so I am going to try some 'guided' meditation CDs, starting with my reiki one that I haven't touched since doing my Reiki I course months ago. I'm also going to combine this with yoga practice as I often feel quite mentally relaxed after a class. To keep costs down (I want to start my day with an hour of this 5 times per week) I'm going solo so it might just be the sun salute for now as that's all I can reliably remember!

I'm also certain of the importance of the little things in life when it comes to 'detoxing' the mind. I have made a little weekly schedule for the next 30 days (I know, I know!) and have scheduled in some quiet time, creative time and some time outside with nature, even if it's just doing the weeding. I'll be exploring all of these aspects and more, such as how to get the best sleep and how much to have, the benefits of aromatherapy, music and more over the next month too.

The Body: In a nutshell, I'm going organic. I'm already pretty organic to be fair but I'll be upping the ante and cutting out processed food, sugar, sweeteners, wheat, yeast, cow's dairy, low fat products, caffeine (except in green tea) and alcohol (except in red wine, purely for its resveratrol content obviously!) I'm going for a high vegetable diet and a lot less meat, and I'm also going to be trying a few supplements including various vitamins, manuka honey, apple cider vinegar and some remedial teas and oils.

As the skin merely reflects the inner health of the body I'm confident I should see improvement in my skin anyway, but it can't hurt to focus a little organic attention directly onto it either; I've got a pretty good skincare routine anyway but I'm going to be adding some exfoliation, body brushing, masques, detox salt baths, cold water blasts (eek!), regular massage (yay!) and various other factors into the mix too.

Exercise is also going to play a key role as I'm aiming to get six 1 hour sessions in a week... this is considerably more than the zero I do now, but I'm going to start slow and listen to my body but push myself too... wish me luck!