Imagine waking up each morning feeling full of energy and vitality yet also feeling calm and relaxed about the day to come. You know what? Abundant health and wellbeing should be our natural state. We should wake up ready to launch into each day feeling joy, peace and a deep connection with our bodies.
Yet it doesn’t happen, does it? There are a whole host of reasons why we avoid total vibrant wellbeing. But it’s always good to find something external to blame, huh? So let’s scapegoat those nasty old toxins.
To be fair, the modern world is a bit of a toxic battleground. Everywhere we turn we are assaulted by generally man-made toxins: in the air we breathe, the food we eat and the water we drink. Allergies and sensitivities are on the increase, many caused by the growing levels of pollution in the environment, chemicals in our homes and additives in our food. Should we eat organic if we can afford it? Hell yeah. Should we think twice about the chemicals we put on our skin, in our mouths, around our houses? Er, yup.
It is not just our physical bodies which bear the brunt either. Our minds are overloaded; we feel a rising sense of panic when we try to cope with our increasing work load and the deep stresses and strains of coping in an increasingly complicated world. When mind and body are assaulted, our souls can easily become “lost” in the battle. We feel physically unwell, emotionally drained and psychically bereft.
So a whole bunch of us throw up our hands, thinking that since toxins are so prevalent why try to combat them? Equally others fall into the opposite camp, living a miserable life eating seaweed and permanently purging themselves with enemas! But there is a middle way. You can have your cake and eat it – you just need to cleanse it out every so often.
I’ve written two books on detoxing and more features than I care to remember. I looked into all the research, tried out pretty well all the practices and figured out what was worth doing and what wasn’t. Recently I’ve updated and expanded my first book on the subject, The Detox Plan and put it out in Kindle format. The aim was simple. Provide a straightforward, sensible guide to coping with our toxic world. I tried to take a realistic look at the toxic threat – with clear advice about how you can reduce your own personal toxic load.
There are two programs detailed in the book. A full one-month program which can be easily fitted into your everyday life or a weekend “retreat from the world”.
I’m no angel. I may have known all the theory but I didn’t always put it into practice. But, inspired by Marek Stefanowicz and his books to smarten up my act, I became vegetarian (verging on vegan), gave up alcohol and caffeine, and took up meditation and exercise. I also started fasting (usually one day a week or fortnight) and juicing. Net result? I dropped three dress sizes, toned up and barely ever get colds any more.
Now, not everyone is going want to go that route. Which is where this modified version comes in – aka detoxing. If you do regularly overload your body, a periodic detox (now is the ideal time as the weather gets warmer and we edge into spring) is a boon. Sorry, but there is no gizmo that will do it for you – it’s a case of cutting out the baddies (just for a while) to give your body a break. It may be a bit tough to begin with (your body becomes addicted to some stuff – caffeine and sugar in particular). But honestly, you will feel absolutely amazingly good after a thorough cleanse – so good that you may not even want to go back to your old ways! But if you do, your choice entirely. Just give your body a break periodically – at the change of the seasons works well. I hope the book cuts out all the crap (so to speak) and gives a sensible, easy to follow, plan.
What it doesn’t include are the following:
Colonics. Seriously you don’t need to do this.
Gimmicky foot patches, magnets and other malarkeys – save your money, honestly.
Expensive spa treatments. A nice adjunct but won’t do the hard work for you.
You can buy the book by clicking here – I’ve also put up a Pinterest board for a bit of added inspiration.
Photo by LUIZ CARLOS SANTI on Unsplash