14 Day Self Care Challenge

14 Day Self Care Challenge

Let me start by saying these are merely suggestions you have to assess your own health state and do what feels right for you! Also, it’s very important to ease out of a cleanse to allow your body time to adjust.

If you are pregnant, nursing, highly stressed, suffering from an illness or suppressed immune system a cleanse is not recommended.

Spring is a time of rejuvenation and new beginnings. A cleanse can be a perfect way to pull ourselves out of the winter hibernation and get moving.

I recommend a whole foods plant-based diet on a cleanse because of the high in fibre content. When doing a cleanse it is extremely important to consume lots of fibre because it will help prevent detox reactions. A detox reaction occurs when toxins are released into the circulatory system but aren't eliminated. Symptoms may include fatigue, headaches, nausea and low energy. Fibre helps to eliminate toxins by binding to the toxins and removing them out of the body. Please note, when you increase your fibre consumption it’s important to increase your water intake, to avoid constipation.


Diet

• Eat warm, lightly, cooked foods such as soup.
• Favour easy-to-digest fruits, vegetables, legumes and grains. Suggested fruits include cooked prunes, figs, apples, pears, citrus, pineapples and papayas. Detoxifying cooked vegetables include leafy greens, brussels sprouts, and crucifers such as cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower. For legumes and grains, choose beans, lentils, quinoa, barley, millet and rice.
• Choose plants high in protein like soy, edamame and tempeh to help keep you full.
• Season your food with detoxifying spices such as turmeric, cumin, coriander, fennel, black pepper and fresh ginger.
• Drink 8-12 cup of hot water with lemon, apple cider vinegar or chlorophyll and herbal teas like nettle, dandelion, fennel, and mint. If you run colder, you can make ginger tea by steeping fresh ginger in water for 20 minutes. These help to improve digestion and eliminate toxins.
• Eat fresh, organic foods.
• Avoid processed and fried foods, red meat (all meat if possible), caffeine, dairy, refined sugar/carbs and alcohol
• To help with sugar cravings try a drop of peppermint, grapefruit and lemon, in your palm, rub together and inhale. Or you can dilute these oils in a roller and apply topically to avoid the craving or as an afternoon pick me up.

Exercise

• 30 minutes of light exercise a day, walking, yoga or swimming followed by stretching to restore the body.
• Deep diaphragmatic breathing will help improve lymph return.
• Pre-exercise use eucalyptus or peppermint oil. A drop in your palm, rub together and inhale.

Rest

• Meditate for 10 minutes a day
• Sleep at least eight hours a night, go to bed before 10:00 p.m. and rise before 6:00 a.m. this will help the cleansing process.
• Peppermint will help to get you up and going in the morning: Ways to use it: a drop in your shampoo or a diluted roller by your bedside, apply to your neck so you won’t fall back asleep. If you tend to be a hit the snooze button type, diffuse peppermint along with a citrus oil.

Detoxification Aids

• Saunas and Steams (avoid if you have high blood pressure)
• Epsom or mineral salt baths 1-2x per week. Add 2-3 drops of frankincense or lavender oil onto the salts before adding to the water.
• Contrast showers. Strengthen the immune and cardiovascular systems. 3:1 ratio, three minutes warm to one minute cold.
• Dry brushing improves lymph return, exfoliates and detoxifies. Do it before you shower and end the shower with one minute of cold water. You can also add a couple of drops of cypress or frankincense to your palms and drag them across your skin before you start to dry brush.
• Massage and self-massage

Essential Oils

• Avoid peppermint if nursing or pregnant.
• Do not apply citrus oils to parts of the skin that will be exposed to the sun in the next 12-72 hours.
• These instructions are for adults, not children or seniors.