"Take care of your incredible body. It is the most amazing thing you own, and it is the only place you truly have to live. " - Anonymous
With so much time spent at home right now it's a great time to detoxify, recharge your body, and celebrate the incredible miracle that it truly is!
Modern society is awash with toxins. In fact, there are 287 known toxic chemicals in the cord blood of the average newborn baby! Medical practitioners have long ignored the role that detoxification can play in our health, but that's beginning to change. More information is available on detoxing than ever before. That's why I wanted to countdown my favorite ways to detoxify the body for you!
DETOX FOOT SPAS/FOOT BATHS
Remove toxins through the sweat glands in your feet.
DIY Foot Bath Recipe:
+ ¼ Cup Sea Salt or Himalayan Salt
+ ¼ Cup Epsom Salt
+ ¼ Cup Baking Soda
+ ⅓ Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
+ 6 Drops of Favorite Essential Oils (we love lavender & geranium)
Dissolve Salt, Epsom salt, and baking soda in boiling water in a quart size jar and set aside. Fill the tub with warm water and add apple cider vinegar. Pour salt mixture in and add your favorite essential oils. Next, add the salts and baking soda mixture. Soak in the detox bath for 30 minutes or as long as desired.
DRY BRUSH YOUR SKIN
In this ancient ayurvedic ritual, you brush your entire body with a special tool. Benefits include better circulation and lymphatic drainage. If you've never tried this before, you're in for a treat. You need to find a brush that's firm, but soft and not abrasive. It's all up to your personal preference and what feels good. Some people dry brush their skin in the shower just before turning on the water. Start with your feet and use strokes that sweep upward toward your heart. When you're done, take a shower but skip the loofah, you need to be gentle. After showering, it's time to add some hydration! Your skin will absorb moisturizers more easily when it's damp, and that's where our Organic Rose Phyto line really shines!
PRACTICE HYDROTHERAPY
Take a very hot shower for five minutes, allowing the water to flow on your back. Follow with cold water for 30 seconds. Do this three times, and then get into bed for 30 minutes.
BREATHE DEEPLY + DO MORE YOGA
Deep breathing allows oxygen to circulate more completely through your system. Yoga, in all its forms, can help to detox your body because this ancient practice includes pranayama (breathing), asana (postures), and meditation (mindfulness.) Through yoga, the body and mind can be cleansed of both physical and emotional residues. In the process of stretching and moving the muscles, yoga massages the organs, which can stimulate the flow of lymphatic fluid and blood. Kundalini kriyas can be especially helpful in detoxing. A search online for "Kundalini kriyas for detoxification" will bring up many different kriyas, each with a different detoxifying benefit.
DRINK PLENTY OF PURE SPRING WATER OR FILTERED WATER
To find places where you can gather wild, natural spring water, check this out.
TAKE YOUR VITAMIN C
This helps the body produce glutathione, a liver compound that can drive away toxins.
TAKE YOUR HERBS
This practice can cleanse and protect the liver. Dandelion root, burdock, milk thistle, and Oregon Grape Root are great, as is drinking green tea. Check out my mom’s herb store, Winter Sun Trading Co. for all of your herbal supply needs!
EAT PLENTY OF FIBER
Keep your bowels moving is so important in detoxification! Choose organically grown fresh fruits and vegetables whenever possible. Check out the Environmental Working Group's "Dirty Dozen", which is a list of the twelve fruits and vegetables most heavily laden with pesticides. Shopping organic versions of these is especially important! Beets, radishes, artichokes, cabbage, broccoli, spirulina, chlorella, and seaweed are all excellent detoxifying foods.
EXERCISE
Aim for one hour every day. You might want to try Qigong, a martial arts-based exercise system that includes exercises specifically for detoxifying or cleansing. Pilates, yoga, rebounding, and many other exercises each have specific detoxifying health benefits. There are dozens of free online resources for getting in your exercise time from the comfort of your home. We love Alo Moves, an online Yoga YouTube channel.
SWEAT IN A SAUNA
The simple act of sweating is one way the body regulates itself. Infrared saunas are one of the most effective methods of inducing a detoxifying sweat, which carries toxins out of the body through the pores so your body can eliminate waste through perspiration. All infrared saunas are not created equal though! Saunas all get hot and make you sweat, but it's not necessarily a detoxifying sweat. One brand, Sunlighten, figured out something better. Sunlighten's patented far infrared technology offers the highest dose of infrared energy into the body, which is proven to be 95-99% effective.
I own a Sunlighten 3-in-1 full-spectrum infrared sauna, and I absolutely love it. This sauna has three separate heating elements that emit near, mid and far-infrared at peak wavelengths. Research shows that specific parts of the infrared spectrum are effective at producing different health benefits. This patented technology significantly quickens the detoxification process by raising the body’s core temperature and heating the tissues several inches deep causing cells to vibrate. It is the only sauna clinically shown to raise core body temperature by 2 to 3 degrees vs. simply heating the air around the body. This is unique because it allows you to personalize each session to your needs. The 3-in-1 Wellness Program includes: detoxification, anti-aging, pain relief, cardio, weight loss, relaxation or custom. I use the detox program non-stop during springtime!
Check out Sunlighten's website, and give them a call to learn more about the deep discounts you can receive on both saunas and shipping by mentioning Peak Scents!
HOT DETOX BATHS
Add your detox agent to a standard tub full of hot/warm water. The hotter the water, the more you’ll sweat, and the better you’ll detox.
If your bath water is not filtered, it doesn't hurt to add 1 cup of baking soda to help neutralize the chemicals found in tap water, primarily chlorine.
Immerse yourself fully in the water. Take this time to fully relax and let yourself breathe deeply. Soak for at least 20 minutes.
Once you are done soaking, get out of the tub - but do so slowly – it’s common to feel somewhat light-headed after sweating/soaking. A quick rinse with cool water should help.
Hydrate your skin with your favorite body oil or moisturizer, but steer clear of products with artificial fragrances, dyes, and toxic chemicals as your pores are open post bath and can more easily absorb the chemicals found in those products.
Hydrate your body with plenty of water before and after your soak to support your body’s detox process. Doing a detox bath before bed is an amazing way to support your body’s rejuvenation process, plus, it'll get you all drowsy and set you up for a great nights sleep.
