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spring clean

Spring clean your bod

Body Lifestyle Self Care

It’s been a long cold winter….

Long cold ass winter

I’m sure it dragged on for everyone right? I mean, I feel like I’ve been stuck in the house forever making yet another stew to keep us warm and fed. I feel like I’ve binge-watched every tv series on Netflix and eaten every sort of chip and popcorn snack out there. (Miss you ketchup Doritos, I’ll never forget you lol)

But now that the blossoms have started to push their way out of the frozen ground (at least here on the west coast) and the sun is starting to shine and warm my pale face, it’s becoming very apparent that it’s time to clear the dust bunnies from the bedroom closets, recycle all these wine bottles I was collecting over the winter months and it’s definitely time to spring clean this bod of mine, are you with me?

I’m not sure about you, but spring cleaning my house is far less daunting than thinking about spring cleaning my bod…. I mean I want to, but the results are far less immediate for me to stay motivated (are you still with me lol)….

Thankfully, my urge to purge the nasty winter habits is far stronger than eating the rest of the salted caramel Hagen Daz with the leftover red in the fridge.

Over the years I’ve come up with 3 simple but very effective steps to bringing my body back to life, and I’d love to share them with you. Follow them with me to get that bod back into a state of balance and abundance.

We want to remove the toxins from our bodies (gently and safely), and we want to make them ready to appreciate and use all the nutrients we are about to shower them with (think salads, fresh fruit, in-season farmers market produce, etc).

3 Steps to Spring Cleaning YOUR sexy bod!

1. HYDRATE

First things first, we need to drink more H2O. The more water we take into our bodies, the better our mental functioning becomes (did you know our brain is mostly water) and the smoother things start moving around on the inside too (think lubricated joints, less constipation and all the toxins and junk literally getting flushed out). I start by swapping the first drink of the morning (usually coffee) with warm lemon water or ACV (apple cider vinegar) water. I recommend continuing the H2O trend by drinking your winter weight in water.  Just kidding! … go for 1/2 your weight in ounces. Eg: If you weigh 150 pounds, you would aim to drink about 75 ounces of water per day. Totally doable right?

Don’t think you can manage all that bland water? that’s cool, it’s actually better absorbed if you add something to it. Try it with any variety of frozen fruit or better yet some chlorophyll, electrolytes or a pinch of Himalayan sea salt (here are 5 more ideas).

Need some tips on how to get more water into you?

Try downing a glass every time you go to the washroom, or just before you want a cup of tea, coffee, soda or juice, have another glass whenever you get up from your desk or at the top of the hour every hour (set an alarm or reminder, there are even apps that will keep track for you!)

2. SWEAT.

Yup you gotta move and sweat. Sweat out the toxins and move your muscles, get your heart and blood pumping and remind yourself that you’re still able to get moving (even if you feel like you can’t). When we move our bodies and use our muscles on a daily basis we are helping to reduce the buildup of waste and toxins as well as getting our blood flowing and circulation much more active. You don’t need to sign up for a daily boxing routine, but a good 15-30 minutes of elevated heart rate is what we’re going for.

Need ideas about what to do?

joggingtag with the kids (or adults)soccerskipping rope
weightsskateboarding or skatingjumping jacksFrisbee
b-ballhouse cleaning (lol)speed walkingrunning
yogahiking the beautiful wildernesssexswimming

For an added tip, swap your toxic deodorant for a natural and effective crystal. These can be found at most health stores and even at the local pharmacy or grocery store. They’re effective because they actually kill yucky bacteria (that’s the main cause of odour that your armpits can harbour), but a crystal won’t clog your pores with chemicals (that can cause more damage in the end). They take a few days to get used to, but trust me you’ll never go back!

3. SLEEP
Get to bed earlier and make your sleep count. I know I know, I said go to sleep earlier … LOL … and I get how hard that can be. Sometimes the deep dark hours of the night are the only hours we have to ourselves…. thing is, truly restful sleep is the only kind that’s really worth it. Sleep is when our bodies unwind and refresh, it’s when they rest and repair. Did you know that it’s also the time when stress doesn’t get to us and when our bodies can actually get a chance to repair themselves properly from all the earlier stress, germ attacks and muscle use? Our hard-working bodies at least deserve that, don’t you agree?

But how do we get that elusive sleep?? We have to start by turning the phone, tv, iPad, computer, and tablet off at least 45-60 min before we plan on laying our head on that pillow of ours (don’t worry, Instagram and FB will still be there and can wait till tomorrow).

Dim the lights, put rose quartz under your pillow (check out 5 more must-have crystals here), try some Bach Mimulus drops (or melatonin) to help settle your racing mind or indulge in an Epsom salt bath and passionflower tea. All these tips and more are a great start.

Did you know…. The ideal time to be asleep is 10-11 pm (with your alarm waking you up at 530-630). Are you even close to that? Probably not… but don’t worry, for now, start by settling down 15-25 minutes earlier every night. By the end of the week, you should be fairly bang on!

These are just a few simple yet effective steps and you’ll see great results if you stay gentle but consistent with yourself. Our bodies have been stagnant for too long this winter and trust me they’re craving these easy and sustainable tricks.

A few days of hydrating, sweating and resting up and you will notice more energy, a sustained and positive mood and less fogginess in the brain. You’ll also notice a craving for more fruits and veggies (hey, it’s no coincidence they’re coming into season now too). Take advantage of the sun and overall happy feelings. We sure deserve it after that long winter!

xox

Tamara