How to detox your mind

We may have told you already (a hundred times) but we LOVE lists at UR. So this week, we're dishing up another one. It's a quickie but it may just change the way you look at things, dare we say live.

5 simple ways to feel happier:

1. Don't worry. If a worry pops into your head, ask yourself this question: will worrying about this change the outcome? We're 99.9% sure the answer to this is no. In that case, the conclusion is simple: stop worrying, it's not going to fix the problem. What it will do is waste valuable time and energy.

2. Be happy. Be happy in the guide to 'being happy'. You're probably either a) thinking of shutting down the email at this point or b) thinking we've had one too many green juice. But hang on, there is some logic behind this statement. Have you ever noticed that when you smile and radiate happiness, you get it back, tenfold? It's not rocket science. We all gravitate towards happy people. Sometimes, putting a smile on your face when you aren't feeling so chirpy can draw others towards you and in turn improve your own mood.

3. Less do, more be. You have an 'action list' at work but when it comes to your personal life, do you really have to treat each day like a set of 'tasks' to accomplish? If you're racing from one 'to do' item to the next, you sometimes forget to experience what you're actually doing. Sure, there are some things that don't really require experiencing (like paying your gas bill for instance) but others would be far more memorable (and meaningful) if you actually let yourself exist in the moment whilst they were happening. That phone call to your mum would go a whole lot better if it wasn't just a 'ticked box'. That lunch you gulped down would be digested far more comfortably if you took the time to eat it, mouthful by mouthful. You might even have a more productive afternoon back at the office!

4. Listen. To the person talking, not to your inner chatter. We're all guilty of it – listening to our own thoughts instead of giving the person in front of us our full, undivided attention. The art of really listening is endangered. Nurturing it is the key to good personal and business relationships.

5. Let it be. Let them be to be precise. We're talking about your negative emotions – anger, resentment, fear, jealousy... These toxic emotions clutter the mind, preventing you from moving forward with your life. We all have them however the key is to let yourself experience them fully and then let them fall to the side of their own accord. The more you try to repress them, the more power they hold.

The 5 easy guidelines above will help you to cleanse your mind. Detoxing is not just physical after all.

What are you really hungry for?

Staying healthy and happy isn’t as simple as counting carbs and calories. The reason we love cleansing so much at Urban Remedy is that it allows you to take some time out from the rat race, to re-centre and examine the areas of your life that are falling short. Are you working too hard? Have you had a few too many beers or champagnes lately? Are you not spending enough time with friends? Have you fallen off the exercise wagon?

According to the lovely folk at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York, what we eat is secondary food. The other stuff – career, relationships, spirituality, exercise – is primary food. We believe this is where cleansing plays such a crucial role: by taking the dilemma of secondary food out of the equation, it gives you time to think about the primary food in your life and address the areas you may be lacking in.

Take a look IIN’s nifty little (primary and secondary) food pyramid here.
     
Now, trace a point in each segment of the ‘circle of life’ below to note how happy you feel about each area in your life. Next, join the dots. The dips in your circle are areas that need some tender loving care. Get onto it.

Here's to a well rounded life!