If you have just been on holiday and over indulged a little you will know exactly what I mean…
I came back from holiday feeling horrid! Bloated, puffy, all clogged up and even feeling uncomfortable in my ‘fat’ jeans.
This was my own doing of course. I left for holiday consciously deciding to have a ‘full-on’ proper holiday… to let go, to let my hair down and to have a real break from my normal routine.
That is the great thing about letting your hair down and having a good holiday - you do it for a time, you have fun and then when you are finished all you want to do is get back into your routine and be healthy again. Letting go for a short time is a great motivation for living life well because after a while your poor body is shouting at you to get back on track.
So for the past two weeks I have been detoxing and getting myself healthy again and I am feeling amazing!
For me, being healthy is about feeling good!
It is about waking up in the morning in good spirits and wanting to jump out of bed and begin your day.
It is about feeling happy and light and wanting to share your joy with the world.
It is about catching yourself smiling… just because
It is about having the strength and stamina to exercise and loving the exercise that you are doing.
It is about putting goodness into your body and getting returns on your investment.
It is about loving life and more importantly loving and respecting your own body.
There are so many ways to get healthy and countless numbers of detoxes out there. I think the biggest challenge is finding one that works for you and of course to actually start it.
I have been doing a Sattvic Detox – similar to the one that I did when I did my Yoga teachers training, but not as intense. Sattvic means ‘Pure’ so with a Sattvic detox I am cutting out anything that is not pure for my body… no alcohol, no meat, chicken or fish, no caffeine, no sugar, no preservatives colourants or additives.
The biggest lesson I learned when doing this detox years ago was to read the ingredient labels on what I was buying. It is amazing how almost every item of food has sugar or salt and some kind of preservative in it!
I was horrified!
My favourite food item that says ‘low fat’ on the label, when actually reading the ingredient list, was not good for me at all. I learned not to just be suckered into listening to the advertising but to actually go for the facts and see what was in the food that I was eating.
Do your own test:
Diet cool drinks seem healthy right – the advertising on the can says no sugar and no caffeine. Well look at the ingredient list! I don’t even understand half of them but they do not sound good for you. Compare that ingredient list with say Appletiser or Just Juice and see the difference.
Anyway I digress…back to my detox
So what can I eat then – that is what everyone keeps on asking me – well whole foods are the answer!
Salads, vegetables, soups, as much organic produce as possible, rooibos tea, honey, organic peanut butter… there is actually a long list and so many delicious recipes to try.
Most of it is what I eat anyway so I didn’t think it would be too difficult but what I am craving is sugar – especially being that time of the month. So when shopping at Wellness Warehouse on the weekend I was very excited to find carob bars that had no sugar, rusks with no sugar and lots of little treats that I thought I couldn’t have.
Of course included in a good detox is drinking lots of water, doing exercise (or in my case my daily Yoga practice), having a good night sleep and not carrying any emotional baggage (otherwise I just tend to want to comfort eat).
I have decided to do my detox for 32 days… I am on day 16.
So far what I feel has changed for me is:
• I feel more myself and alive again
• I have loads of energy
• I can feel my body changing and getting more toned and slimmer (even though I have not lost weight on the scale yet)
• My mind is clear
• My skin is clear and glowing
• I feel happier
• I feel lighter and stronger during my Yoga practice
and I am excited to continue so that I can carry on feeling better and better
See if you can set yourself some time to do a good detox.
Research, find one that works for you, get inspired and start!
It is so worth it – I wish everyone could feel the way I am feeling right now!
"I love my body.
I create peacefullness in my mind,
and my body reflects this peacefulness as perfect health."
Power Thought by Louise L. Hay
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
A change would do you good...
About a month ago I found myself feeling a bit dull, anxious and generally unenthusiastic about my life. I decided the only way I was going to feel better was to make a few changes, So I sat down and made a list…Here are some of the changes I have set out to make in my life (and how I am trying to keep them up):
1. Make better food choices- If I can’t make my own food, I try make healthier choices when I eat out (note: Wellness Warehouse in Kloof street has a fabulous buffet). When I crave chocolates I rather buy a yogurt or some fruit to get a sugar fix. I try to eat smaller portions. I try to stay away from anything deep fried, frequent caffeine drinking and processed food.
2. Do more exercise – I found that I was starting to get into a life routine that didn’t make any time for exercise. Now, I have started trying to do some form of exercise nearly everyday (yup, I said everyday). I have started jogging and walking in the evening when the weather allows - I try to go out for at least 15 to 20 minutes (its great thinking and music listening time). I try to head to the gym at least twice a week (for a change). When I feel too unmotivated to get out and exercise, I do my own home exercises (like: stretching, ball exercises, squats and lunges)
3. Drink more water - I now take a bottle with me to work everyday and try to drink at least 1 litre of water during my work day. Having a bottle on my desk reminds me drink water at work. Click HERE to read tips on how to drink more water everyday.
4. Pop good pills - I have started taking vitamins daily. As much as I try to eat healthy I don’t always get all the nutrition I need from my diet. I also find that taking Salmon Oil (Omega 3)has been making a huge difference to my hair and nails.
5. Clear all the clutter –When my environment is cluttered I find myself less productive and more anxious. Its amazing how good it feels to walk into a organised space. I have resolved to keep my work and home spaces as free from clutter as I can (notes: I have found its best to set out a whole day to just focus on cleaning and sorting out a cluttered space. Start with one room at a time. Dont be afraid to throw away things. Donate things that others can use).
6. Stop sweating the small stuff- It seems so easy to say but so hard to do. The way I have started to help myself stress less about silly, little things is by changing my attitude. Now I am starting to see if it’s something little and not actually a crisis its best to just remain calm and let it go. Life is too short to sweat the small stuff.......which leads me to my next change....
7. Think positive things - Its so easy to let the world get you down and make you negative. I dont want to be negative anymore... I dont want to hold onto negative thoughts and feelings. I have resolved to speak more positively, think happy thoughts and let go of things that make me think negatively. Like Budda says: "We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.”
4. Pop good pills - I have started taking vitamins daily. As much as I try to eat healthy I don’t always get all the nutrition I need from my diet. I also find that taking Salmon Oil (Omega 3)has been making a huge difference to my hair and nails.
5. Clear all the clutter –When my environment is cluttered I find myself less productive and more anxious. Its amazing how good it feels to walk into a organised space. I have resolved to keep my work and home spaces as free from clutter as I can (notes: I have found its best to set out a whole day to just focus on cleaning and sorting out a cluttered space. Start with one room at a time. Dont be afraid to throw away things. Donate things that others can use).
6. Stop sweating the small stuff- It seems so easy to say but so hard to do. The way I have started to help myself stress less about silly, little things is by changing my attitude. Now I am starting to see if it’s something little and not actually a crisis its best to just remain calm and let it go. Life is too short to sweat the small stuff.......which leads me to my next change....
7. Think positive things - Its so easy to let the world get you down and make you negative. I dont want to be negative anymore... I dont want to hold onto negative thoughts and feelings. I have resolved to speak more positively, think happy thoughts and let go of things that make me think negatively. Like Budda says: "We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.”
Some people say a change is as good as a holiday and I am finally starting to believe that is true…..
What positive changes do you want to make in your life?
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Going Wild
Every now and then it is a good idea to go wild!
Going wild in a sense of disappearing into nature – into the middle of nowhere, into the wild.
I have just come back from the Lebombo Eco trail in the Kruger Park.
Being in the bush and being in nature was so refreshing for me. Even though it was the dirtiest I have been, there was dust everywhere, I felt totally cleansed.
Five Landies covering 500km, one ranger, no campsites, no tourist roads, no water, no flushing toilets and a shower only twice out of the 5 days – what an experience!
I learned so much and saw so much. I have been to the Kruger Park so many times before but always as a tourist looking for the big 5. This trip we were learning more about the environment, the geology, biology, historical and cultural information of the park.
We saw the reality of the national park – we experienced helicopters following poachers, we saw 3 illegal immigrants crossing the boarder from Mozambique into SA, we heard about the issue that the Kruger has with too many elephants and the effect it is having on the rest of the park. It wasn’t the Disney version that I have always seen… this was the behind the scenes, this was the reality.
By seeing the Kruger Park in this new light it made me realise how far removed we are from nature and what effect we are having on nature.
I know everyone is going on about being “green” - and I do my bit as much as I can - but when you are surrounded by nature, seeing your affect on nature directly and actually EXPERIENCING your carbon foot print, it really does hit home and open up your eyes.
In our society we are so used to convenience so we are not directly affected by the effect that we are having on nature. We buy our meat beautifully packaged rather than going through the process of having to slaughter it ourselves. We have water on tap whenever we want it rather than having to walk for kilometres to the closest river. We can just switch on a light whenever it is dark rather than having to find firewood to make a fire.
This week of ‘going wild’ and being in ‘full-on’ nature really made me think. When you are transporting your own water in your own vehicle and only have so much of it for 5 day you are soon aware of how much you use and how much you waste. When you are brushing your teeth outside your tent and spitting in onto the ground leaving a white toothpaste mark, you are quickly aware of if you tooth paste is bio-degradable or not.
When you have to take all your rubbish with you in your car and only dispose of it when you get back into civilization you quickly realize how much we throw away and how much rubbish we have… and how much it smells.
When you are actually experiencing nature rather than going through the motions of city life you soon realize what your part in the world is and how you can make a difference.
Going wild was an inspiring and thoroughly enjoyable experience for me. I had fun, lived life well and felt myself again.
I am so glad I set the time aside to connect to nature and go wild!
"I love Life.
It is my birthright to live fully and freely.
I give to Life exactly what I want Life to give to me.
I am glad to be alive.
I love Life!"
Louise L. Hay
Going wild in a sense of disappearing into nature – into the middle of nowhere, into the wild.
I have just come back from the Lebombo Eco trail in the Kruger Park.
Being in the bush and being in nature was so refreshing for me. Even though it was the dirtiest I have been, there was dust everywhere, I felt totally cleansed.
Five Landies covering 500km, one ranger, no campsites, no tourist roads, no water, no flushing toilets and a shower only twice out of the 5 days – what an experience!
I learned so much and saw so much. I have been to the Kruger Park so many times before but always as a tourist looking for the big 5. This trip we were learning more about the environment, the geology, biology, historical and cultural information of the park.
We saw the reality of the national park – we experienced helicopters following poachers, we saw 3 illegal immigrants crossing the boarder from Mozambique into SA, we heard about the issue that the Kruger has with too many elephants and the effect it is having on the rest of the park. It wasn’t the Disney version that I have always seen… this was the behind the scenes, this was the reality.
By seeing the Kruger Park in this new light it made me realise how far removed we are from nature and what effect we are having on nature.
I know everyone is going on about being “green” - and I do my bit as much as I can - but when you are surrounded by nature, seeing your affect on nature directly and actually EXPERIENCING your carbon foot print, it really does hit home and open up your eyes.
In our society we are so used to convenience so we are not directly affected by the effect that we are having on nature. We buy our meat beautifully packaged rather than going through the process of having to slaughter it ourselves. We have water on tap whenever we want it rather than having to walk for kilometres to the closest river. We can just switch on a light whenever it is dark rather than having to find firewood to make a fire.
This week of ‘going wild’ and being in ‘full-on’ nature really made me think. When you are transporting your own water in your own vehicle and only have so much of it for 5 day you are soon aware of how much you use and how much you waste. When you are brushing your teeth outside your tent and spitting in onto the ground leaving a white toothpaste mark, you are quickly aware of if you tooth paste is bio-degradable or not.
When you have to take all your rubbish with you in your car and only dispose of it when you get back into civilization you quickly realize how much we throw away and how much rubbish we have… and how much it smells.
When you are actually experiencing nature rather than going through the motions of city life you soon realize what your part in the world is and how you can make a difference.
Going wild was an inspiring and thoroughly enjoyable experience for me. I had fun, lived life well and felt myself again.
I am so glad I set the time aside to connect to nature and go wild!
"I love Life.
It is my birthright to live fully and freely.
I give to Life exactly what I want Life to give to me.
I am glad to be alive.
I love Life!"
Louise L. Hay
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