Detoxifying

Most of us groan a little as we think about the excesses we’ve lived through over the holiday season: too much food (of the wrong sort), too much alcohol, not enough exercise, not enough sleep, along with the stresses of parties, shopping, and family events.



These excesses live on in our bodies as “toxins”, along with toxins that we ingest through air pollution or pesticides contained in our food. Along with the ingested toxins come those that are the byproduct of our body’s natural functions - breathing, digestion, or muscular contraction. In that instance, we can call uric acid or lactic acid a toxin as well. Under optimal conditions our bodies are able to almost completely eliminate the latter type of toxins. Our bodies were not designed to process and eliminate the synthetic toxins, however – heavy metals, PCB’s, nicotine and other synthetic chemicals. These toxins may accumulate in our internal organs, our skin, or be trapped in fatty tissue.



Simply put, a toxin is merely a waste product in the body that hasn’t been excreted.



Accumulated toxins can lead to sluggishness, brain fog, fluid retention, and an inability to let go of extra weight. Toxins can be equated to “clutter” in the body. If your desk is cluttered, how much more time does it take to get your work done?


Encouraging your body to let go of toxins
For the most part, we trust in the sophisticated systems in the human body to detoxify itself, however, we can also support our bodies in a number of ways.

• Drink water – help your body help itself by giving it the fluids it needs to flush toxins through your kidneys. One to three servings of Herbal Infusion in water or juice daily can assist with this.
• Improve digestion with a healthy diet. This includes fibre-rich foods like fresh, raw vegetables and fruits; whole grains including brown rice, millet, and quinoa; and raw nuts and seeds. Did you know that ounce for ounce, sesame seeds are the most calcium rich food available?
• Get plenty of restorative sleep. Going to bed early so that you can get 8 hours of solid sleep is a decadent and rewarding thing to do. You can prepare your body for sleep by taking an evening Moor Mud bath. Through simple osmosis, moor mud will also help your body detoxify.
• Eliminate (or reduce) your intake of non-nutritive products like white bread, processed foods, coffee, carbonated drinks and alcohol.
• Reduce serving sizes of meat in your diet. A piece of meat the size of a deck of cards is about 3 ounces, the recommended portion for a meal. Avoid processed meats.
• Reduce stress with lifestyle changes. Do small things daily, and don’t resign yourself to a life of high stress. Meditation, yoga, and visualization are all ways to teach your body to let go of stress.
• Exercise and get a good sweat going. Shower and steam afterwards and you’ll rid your body of loads of toxins.
• Exfoliate your skin – either with a body scrub or dry brushing. Try a salt glow or Moor Spa’s Body Scrub Cream.
• Choose healthy personal care products that take care to use natural source ingredients, without chemical preservatives, artificial colours or fragrances, or petroleum derived ingredients. This reduces the toxic load you put on your body. Moor Spa’s complete line of skin care offers plenty of options.

How do we encourage clients to invest their time and energy into detox?
People want to feel good. They want to feel energetic, have high energy levels, let go of extra weight, and have fresh and healthy looking skin. Your clients are bombarded with the fear of “toxins” in magazines and on television, but we don’t want to feed into that fear.

By no means do we want to promise something we can’t deliver to our clients. Honestly, there is no such thing as a magic bullet. We need to keep our integrity and credibility intact, and our clients need to commit to doing their own work too.

So, knowing that there is nothing you can “sell” your clients to “fix” them, what can you do to help them in their journey to better health?

Offer supportive encouragement, reliable information, and treatments that help them feel better. A warm, soothing, detoxifying Moor Mud wrap can help kickstart the process for them, as can an invigorating Salt Glow. Offer clients at-home support with Herbal Infusion and Herbal Bath, and they can be on their way to making positive changes in their health.