Spaciousness is not something we do or get or study for, but rather a quality of being that we cultivate, and it can lead us to personal transformation and freedom.
“Self-care is giving the world the best of you, instead of what’s left of you.” (Katie Reed)
Dry Brush Your Body
Dry brushing, also called garshana, is another technique used in Ayurvedic medicine that offers cleansing benefits. It works by stimulating the lymphatic system. This system is important for immunity, protecting us from infection and disease.
All you need is a body brush, which you use to brush your skin gently. Your skin should be dry; you don’t need to bathe or shower beforehand. Start with your upper body and work your way down, being careful not to scrub too hard to avoid irritating your skin.
Once you are done, shower or bathe as normal, then apply lotion or body oil to moisturise your skin. Dry brushing is a fast and inexpensive way to feel refreshed and renewed.
Take a Contrast Shower
Another way to rejuvenate your body and mind is by taking a contrast shower. Contrast therapy is a technique that involves alternating between hot and cold water. Some alternative practitioners recommend this practice as a way to boost circulation and improve your energy.
To do this technique at home, turn on your shower and set the water temperature as warm as you can handle. The temperature should be hot, but not unbearable or scalding. Use caution (and common sense) in order to avoid burning yourself or causing damage to your skin.
After standing in the warm/hot water for two to three minutes, switch the temperature to as cold as you can handle. The cold water will be uncomfortable, but you may also find it invigorating. Stand in the cold water for one minute before switching back to hot water. Repeat this cycle two to three times.
Do a Digital Detox
There are a number of benefits to doing a digital detox or taking a break from technology. If you’re always on your smartphone, a detox can help improve your mental well-being. Stepping away from electronic devices can also reduce stress, making it good for your body as well.
Start small by leaving all devices in the house while enjoying some time outside. Once you’re ready, try switching off your television, computer, cell phone, and other electronics for an entire day. This can stop the urge to check the device or interact with it out of habit. Even a brief break can be refreshing.
Write Your Troubles Away
When cleansing your body and mind, it’s also helpful to let go of the thoughts and emotions that you have unconsciously blocked from coming to the surface. Repressing emotions has both mental and physical consequences, such as increasing your risk of depression and raising the likelihood that you will develop a cardiac abnormality.
Start a personal ritual to begin to recognise these feelings and then let them go. One option is to write a letter to someone who has hurt you or let you down, using the letter to explain how their actions make you feel. You don’t have to send it! The point is simply to gain a better understanding of emotions you may have unconsciously suppressed, letting them escape from your body so they can’t continue to harm you.
Another option is to use a journal to give yourself a regular outlet for all your emotions, regrets, and worries. Seek to understand how you feel and, instead of trying to push these emotions away, harness them and use them to move forward in this world as a more emotionally intelligent person.
Yogalates Movement & Breath
The fusion of Yoga and Pilates creates mindful movement and breath to strengthen, align open and calm the body and mind. Exercises like lunges, plank pose, warrior pose, rollups, burpees, etc. boost up your metabolic rate and burns out calories sufficing the process of detoxification. Exercises are a good answer on how to detox your body in a healthy and effective way.
Try These Yogalates exercise for detox and to create space:
- Wide-Legged Forward Bend.
- Revolved Triangle Pose.
- Downward Facing Dog.
- Supine lying spinal twist
- Salute to the sun
Clean eating
Here’s our general fridge-stocking guide – a clean eating list to help you choose the right foods and create not only a great bod but a calm state of mind.
Vegetables: All the green and colourful vegetables you can find: broccoli, sprouts, cauliflower, beans, asparagus, capsicum, beet- root, etc. Basically anything but white potato. Sweet potato and pumpkin are great though!
Salad: All the salad ingredients you can eat: lettuce, sprouts, tomato, avocado, cucumber, etc.
Fruit: Fresh, in-season fruit, ideally organic if you’ll be eating the skin.
Juices: No fruit juice (except a little lemon or pineapple to get your digestive juices going in the mornings), but feel free to drink fresh veggie juices to your heart’s content! Green smoothies made with spinach, kale and cucumber are a fab way to add extra greens to your diet. Add a frozen banana to make it taste a little sweeter! Why no fruit juice? It’s full of sugar but without any of the great fibre (blended fruit is ok).
Meat and Fish: Plenty of lean (ideally organic or at least grass-fed) protein sources, plus plenty of wild caught fish, especially salmon and small white fish. Try not to rely solely on tuna as it’s usually got a lot of heavy metals in it, so can be bad for long-term health. A small amount is OK though.
Eggs: Free Range Eggs; up to 2 per day is the new recommendation from the scientists. Great boiled as snacks!
Nuts: Unsalted nuts and seeds, or a Chief Collagen Bar will give you your daily recommended serve of nuts.
Carbs: Great sources of carbohydrates for when you’re really craving carbs, or need energy after training are: sweet potato, corn, beans, rice, quinoa, seeds/nuts, fruit. Also products made from sprouted buckwheat, millet, or amaranth can be good.
Snacks: Plenty of options to choose from here. Also, a smoothie mix with some fruit and one of our collagen bars is a great idea. You can easily turn your smoothie into a powerful snack.
Treats: Some treats are A-OK! Have a little dark chocolate (Loving Earth is good brand as it uses Coconut Sugar unrefined sugar and it’s made with raw cacao not cocoa which is heat treated), fruit salad or raw cacao. Yum!
Limit/Avoid
Dairy: Some dairy is OK (unless you suffer from acne, then cut it all out!) but always go for full fat, plain organic yoghurts and try to steer clear of milk. No skim products (they’re full of sugar and can trigger cravings) and no soy milk or tofu (heavily processed and encourages your body to hold on to nasty oestrogens, which means extra weight on the butt and thighs, eek!). When selecting cheese or yoghurts, goats/sheep milk options are generally better for weight loss and digestion.
Sugar: Try to only eat products that have 8g of sugar or less per 100g (or per serve if it’s a portion you intend to eat completely!). Your body can’t handle more than this at any one time without stressing your liver and being forced to store excess as belly fat- so you’ll end up eating into your fitness and putting on fat.
Soft Drinks: Speaking of sugar… soft drinks are loaded with sugar! If they’re sugar free, this is actually worse as they’re sweetened artificially (this is terrible for you and can lead to weight gain as it makes you crave real carbs). Included in this are flavoured waters and sports drinks.
Salt: Try to limit salty foods. If you like salt try Himalayan Crystal Salt which has loads more trace minerals and less negative side effects than normal salt.
Alcohol: No more than 2 drinks in one sitting… ever if possible! And try to have a number of alcohol-free days per week. This makes the biggest difference to your health and ability to keep your body in a ketogenic (fat burning) state. If you must drink, try switching to red wine or clear spirits (avoid the soft drink though, try mixing with soda!)
Gluten: Try to cut out gluten where you can. It increases inflammation in the body, which is not useful and dramatically increases your risk of illness, not to mention wrinkles (eek!), particularly later in life. Same goes for alcohol.
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