How To Detox Your Body, Mind & Soul
October 29, 2018
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We all have moments in our life when things seem to be going great and then, out of nowhere, we are struck with an illness, heartache, or some other change in our life. And no matter how prepared we thought we were this sends us into a funk, a depression, an unwell state of mind.
When this happens to me, my first instinct is to curl up in a ball and go over and over again how unfair this is for me. But this doesn’t help me. It doesn’t make me feel better. And I bet it wouldn’t make you feel better either. So what to do when you need to detox your body, mind, and soul?
Detoxifying yoga poses
One of the best things to do is to head to your mat to clear the fog and funk out of your life through your yoga practice. When you need a quick boost or a deep cleansing, here are some detoxifying yoga poses to bring a little more space and wellness back into your life.
Twists
Whether seated or standing, twists are an essential piece of a detoxifying practice. They help to wring out the organs, clearing away any toxic build up from food, environment, or stress.
As you twist, your balance is challenged which means you have to focus to stay in the pose. All of this concentration leaves little time for any other thoughts, including the ones that have been pulling you back into your funk.
Forward folds
When our body feels tight and constricted, our thoughts and health seem to follow. Forward folds help to release tension in the hamstrings, lower back, and hips, leaving you feeling more limber, open, and refreshed. They also help to compress your organs, squeezing out the toxic build-up and stimulating your digestive tract.
An example of a forward fold
Hip Openers
The hips are the ‘storage bins’ for our emotions. When we don’t want to deal with our feelings, we stuff them away and come back to them at a later date, if ever. But the bins become full, squished, and tense as we crowd them. A great way to detox a negative, muddled mind is to open the hips, open the bins, and let these emotions out.
Jessi, illustrating a hip opener pose
Inversions
Simple, non-taxing inversions, such as legs-up-a-wall or even shoulder stand, can bring much-needed rejuvenation and recirculation into the body. These inversions give your legs a break from all of the weight and pressure they carry from day to day.
A headstand (sirsasana)
When you take the pressure off of your legs and lower body, it allows the fluids that slowly accumulate in them to flush back through the body, and if needed, make their way out.
Savasana and seated meditations
By far, this is the most important part of the practice, but often the most disregarded and most difficult part. Because meditation requires you to be still in your body and mind. This stillness lets all of the work you have done form the other poses integrate together and repair, detox, and restore your mind, body, and soul.
Savasana is a pose of total relaxation
If you are feeling tired and sick, need a boost, or are just plain sad, try some of these to help you detox your way back to you. As you work through, you’ll start to find more ease and more space to let the lightness and love in!
Looking to find simple yet effective ways to boost your mood when you’re feeling down? Why not go on a rejuvenating weekend yoga retreat? Pamper your body, mind, and soul, they’re more than worth it!