Final Day!!!
So excited to be completing the 5 day Summer Solstice Cleanse!
How has it been for you!?
I feel more alive in my body, greater circulation and my skin is clearing up. I'm finally recovering from a persistent cough. I do feel a bit low energy as it's difficult to muster up for physical activity. Dan and I went on a ~3.5 mile run this morning, a bit shorter and slower than our usual, though I'm thankful to get out in the sun and move!
After having psyllium husk yesterday afternoon and then Smooth Move tea at night, my body is eliminating fiber and anything else remaining in the digestive tract.
Had a beet, carrot, ginger, turmeric, apple juice for breakfast. And I'll have another juice, with greens, for lunch. Dan took soaked almonds to work as a snack and maybe he packed a salad for lunch. Tonight I think we will have soup, maybe borscht.
Now is a good time to think about any permanent changes you may want to make in your diet and lifestyle. Journalling is a useful tool for reflecting on how you felt previously, how you feel know, and any lessons or insights gained through this cleansing process. Sometimes changing your behavior, getting out of usual routine for a while can bring clarity or realization. Make conscious decisions about what you add back into your life and your body. Caffeine, grains, dairy, sugar, alcohol... What will feel best to you and your body in the long term? Maybe having only 1 cup of coffee instead of several. Maybe having sweets once a week. Maybe drinking alcohol only on weekends. Perhaps having coconut or almond milk/cream/yogurt instead of dairy. When you do reintroduce things, document how you feel, your mood, energy, weight, skin, digestion, inflammation. Our results tell us if we are making healthy choices. We just need to be aware.
I wanted to share a couple of other manual body cleansing techniques: tongue scraping and neti pot. Tongue scraping is a process of removing build up and bacteria on the tongue. It's best done first thing in the morning. You don't need any special tools, you can use a metal spoon. Turn it upside down and press the edge against the back of your tongue, then gentle scrape in one stroke all the way to the front. You may notice white or yellow gunk come off. You only need to scrape once. In Ayurveda, the tongue is used as a diagnostic, it's color, size, tilt, and texture. Check out your tongue and see what you notice! Open wide!
Another cleansing tool is the neti pot. It's a small pot with a spout that goes into one nostril. You fill it with a pinch of sea salt dissolved in warm (not hot) water, about body temperature. It's a bit tricky to get the angle right at first, you can watch this video for instruction. The long spout goes in one nostril and you lean your head towards the other side. The saline solution pours through the nasal cavity and out the other nostril, removing mucus. Gently blow your nose and then proceed to the other side.
Congratulations you've made it this far! Get the most out of the cleanse on the final day! See if there is one body treatment you can do today to pamper and take care of yourself: yoga, massage, body brushing, epsom salt bath, meditation, essential oils. You deserve to be taken care of!
-Shannon
How has it been for you!?
I feel more alive in my body, greater circulation and my skin is clearing up. I'm finally recovering from a persistent cough. I do feel a bit low energy as it's difficult to muster up for physical activity. Dan and I went on a ~3.5 mile run this morning, a bit shorter and slower than our usual, though I'm thankful to get out in the sun and move!
After having psyllium husk yesterday afternoon and then Smooth Move tea at night, my body is eliminating fiber and anything else remaining in the digestive tract.
Had a beet, carrot, ginger, turmeric, apple juice for breakfast. And I'll have another juice, with greens, for lunch. Dan took soaked almonds to work as a snack and maybe he packed a salad for lunch. Tonight I think we will have soup, maybe borscht.
Now is a good time to think about any permanent changes you may want to make in your diet and lifestyle. Journalling is a useful tool for reflecting on how you felt previously, how you feel know, and any lessons or insights gained through this cleansing process. Sometimes changing your behavior, getting out of usual routine for a while can bring clarity or realization. Make conscious decisions about what you add back into your life and your body. Caffeine, grains, dairy, sugar, alcohol... What will feel best to you and your body in the long term? Maybe having only 1 cup of coffee instead of several. Maybe having sweets once a week. Maybe drinking alcohol only on weekends. Perhaps having coconut or almond milk/cream/yogurt instead of dairy. When you do reintroduce things, document how you feel, your mood, energy, weight, skin, digestion, inflammation. Our results tell us if we are making healthy choices. We just need to be aware.
I wanted to share a couple of other manual body cleansing techniques: tongue scraping and neti pot. Tongue scraping is a process of removing build up and bacteria on the tongue. It's best done first thing in the morning. You don't need any special tools, you can use a metal spoon. Turn it upside down and press the edge against the back of your tongue, then gentle scrape in one stroke all the way to the front. You may notice white or yellow gunk come off. You only need to scrape once. In Ayurveda, the tongue is used as a diagnostic, it's color, size, tilt, and texture. Check out your tongue and see what you notice! Open wide!
Another cleansing tool is the neti pot. It's a small pot with a spout that goes into one nostril. You fill it with a pinch of sea salt dissolved in warm (not hot) water, about body temperature. It's a bit tricky to get the angle right at first, you can watch this video for instruction. The long spout goes in one nostril and you lean your head towards the other side. The saline solution pours through the nasal cavity and out the other nostril, removing mucus. Gently blow your nose and then proceed to the other side.
Congratulations you've made it this far! Get the most out of the cleanse on the final day! See if there is one body treatment you can do today to pamper and take care of yourself: yoga, massage, body brushing, epsom salt bath, meditation, essential oils. You deserve to be taken care of!
-Shannon
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