Friday, November 4, 2011

The mind-body cleanse connection: letting go

Have you ever wondered why you suddenly decide it’s time to cleanse? Time to leave behind the old and make a change? Time to purge and renew?

It’s often hard to tell if it’s your body crying out for some much needed TLC, or if you’ve reached a crossroads where it’s time to make a mental or emotional shift. From our lengthy cleansing experience, we would humbly profess that it’s a little bit of both. Our body is nothing short of a miracle, a fine-tuned machine that picks up on subtle changes in its complex internal environment and sends messages to the different organs accordingly, the brain included.

There is no doubt that how we feel physically is linked to how we feel mentally and emotionally. If you hold on to things emotionally, there is a strong likelihood that you hold onto things, well, physically (not to get too graphic). Allergies can often be connected to emotional sensitivity or repression of some description, resulting in skin eruptions, rashes and inflammatory reactions. Nervous dispositions are prone to digestive upsets, bloating and ‘knots’ in the stomach. Fiery and passionate types suffer from heartburn, sweating and excess ‘heat’ in the body.

And what about toxins? They are the prime example of a mind-body connection. We hold onto physical toxins but also emotional ones. Something might happen in your life that you are unable to ‘digest’ or process in a healthy way, resulting in toxic emotions literally backing up in your body. It’s not uncommon for people to cry when they get a colon cleanse – there’s even a word for it, it’s called a ‘release’. Similarly, when you do a juice cleanse, you are sending physical and emotional toxins on their way, clearing your mind and making room for good health.

So if you feel an urge to cleanse, your body and your mind are sending you a signal. It’s time to let go of something, to inspire change, to rise like a phoenix from the ashes. Or, if you’re not feeling that deep and meaningful, it could just be time to fit into those skinny jeans again. Amen.



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