Spring Cleansing: 9 ways to recharge your body

The Changing World Around Us spring cleanse cleansing energy clearing spring clearing detox tips

Planet Earth is in constant motion. It turns. It travels through an orbit around the Sun. And it tilts—to one side for six months of the year, and to the other side for six months.

The fact that Earth moves in all of these ways means that it is constantly being exposed to different energies.

We live on Earth, and so these energies cause changes inside our bodies, just as they cause seasonal changes in the weather.

In order to live in harmony with these changes, we therefore need to adjust our behaviors several times a year. Notably, we need to adjust the energies that we put into our bodies—in the form of food.

Seasonal Eating
This is all to say that it is most healthy if we eat in accordance with the seasons. And it is most healthy if we take care of certain organs in our body as those organs begin to change when the Earth itself begins to change.

Perhaps the most important time of year to deliberately focus on this subject is in the springtime. In spring, our bodies are waking up from the slight hibernation that they went through in winter. And as the body awakens, it finds that it can be sluggish and needs some help cleaning out old gunk.

This is why “spring cleanses” are popular: We need them, in order to be healthy as this seasonal change takes place.

Spring Cleansing
I highly recommend that you do some kind of cleanse either in the weeks leading up to spring or just after it has formally arrived. I know this sentiment is echoed by natural and holistic doctors everywhere.

So, with options ranging from quick and easy, to in-depth and intensive, here are nine ways to prepare your body for spring:

1. Probiotics

Take a probiotic. A very simple way to support the body and help it to cleanse itself is to make sure that the bacteria in your stomach–the gut bacteria–are in good condition. If the stomach and digestive system are not working properly, then waste can get backed up in the body.

When shopping for a probiotic, we’re making an investment because they can be expensive. On average, a good-quality probiotic can cost about a dollar per pill. We want to use one that is found in the refrigerated section of the store: Probiotics are filled with live bacteria, and bacteria don’t necessarily survive well at room temperature on the shelves of the grocery store. As well, we want it to have a good mix of different strains of bacteria; each strain has a different effect inside of us. Ideal is to make sure your pills have some “human strains.” This is not an indication of where the strain came from: It simply means that the strains are ones that are naturally found within the human body.

You will notice that probiotics contain millions or even billions of live bacteria in each pill. The most intense pills have the latter–billions. If you are new to probiotics, then that level of bacteria can be a shock to the body. Know that there is nothing wrong with taking the “daily” types of probiotics–those that have a more moderate number of bacteria.

2. Triphala

If taking a pill is all you have time for, then taking Triphala is a great way to cleanse your whole body. Triphala is part of Ayurvedic medicine. It is a mixture of three different fruits, dried and powdered. When used together, these substances have a wide range of benefits inside our bodies–with the main benefit being digestive health.

Triphala cleans our digestive system and also promotes regularity. As old waste gets cleared out of us, the “traffic” or congestion in all of our channels–including the lymph–starts flowing again.

For a full reading of the amazing benefits of Triphala, see here.

3. Activated Charcoal

Another body cleanser is activated charcoal. This is exactly what it sounds like: charcoal mixed with water. What charcoal does is absorb things. Here’s an example: If you had any kind of accidental poisoning or overdose and went to the hospital for treatment, they might hand you a cup of charcoal and tell you to drink it. What they want is for that charcoal to absorb from your stomach and system as much of the harmful substance as possible.

And so, we can use it for our personal detoxing, too. If used on a regular basis, then it will absorb some of the excess waste in our systems, escorting it out of our bodies through the colon. Half a teaspoon in a glass of water, daily, for at least a week, can be a good way to get the body ready for spring.

It is important to know that charcoal will absorb anything in its path–and this includes medications. Best is to take it on an empty stomach and to wait awhile before taking any pills or vitamins. As well, do check with your doctor to see if this type of detox is right for you.

It’s also important to note that you will need to drink extra fluid when taking charcoal. It absorbs things, and one of those things is the fluid in our body. Our colon can therefore become dry and this can lead to constipation. So, drink extra water to help ensure things keep moving.

Food-grade activated charcoal can now be found in grocery stores and health-food stores.

3. Seasonal Foods

We do well to eat the foods that Mother Nature provides us with in springtime. Great examples of spring foods are sprouts, leafy greens, berries, stone fruits, cruciferous vegetables, grains, and tea. The qualities of spring foods are light, dry, fresh, minimally processed or raw; and with flavors that are sour, pungent, and bitter.

This also means that we need to stop eating what we ate in the winter. If we had a seasonal diet during the winter, then in we consumed a lot of heavy, warm, cooked foods like stews and soups. There was much meat, dairy, fat, and root vegetables.

5. Eat for the Liver

In the spring, the organ that is most affected by this particular seasonal change is the liver. The liver is responsible for many functions in our body, primarily the process of carrying waste out of it. If the liver is full or sluggish, then we risk actually reabsorbing the waste that our digestive system is otherwise trying to flush out of us. In the springtime, the liver needs some extra help waking up fully and becoming able to flush our entire systems from the energies that build up over the winter when our systems are partially hibernated.

One way to do this is by eating foods that directly support the liver. These include dandelion greens; dandelion tea, beets, milk thistle, nettles, spring greens and sprouts, celery, carrots, and apples. (Caution: Some of these foods, like milk thistle, are contraindicated with medication. Talk to your doctor before using them.)

6. Liver Cleanses

If you would like to take your liver support a step further, then do a liver cleanse. There are products dedicated to helping flush the liver and stimulate bile production. These can come as liquids (such as homeopathic drops of milk thistle) and herbal capsules (such as capsules of dandelion root powder).

Caution: Many substances that cleanse the liver have serious contraindications with medication; check the ingredients listing against your medications and consult your doctor before using these products.

7. Fasting

Do a fast or a partial fast. Fasting—taking a break from putting food into our body—gives the body a break from the work of digesting. The body can then use its energy to digest all of the things it never got a chance to process, and also to rebuild itself.

There are different durations and types of fasting:

• • We can fast for a period of hours (such as for half a day), one single day, or one or two weeks.
  • Fasting can involve consuming nothing at all, consuming only water or liquids, or consuming just one type of food for days at a time (called a monodiet).

If you fast for more than a few days, it is best to have previous experience doing a fast and also to do it under the supervision of a doctor or someone who is trained in the procedure.

8. Full Cleanses

Do a full cleanse, following a predetermined plan. To get the most benefit from your efforts, you might want to do a full, multi-day cleanse that has been proscribed by a reputable company or natural doctor. My favorite example, which I have done before, is the 14-day Ayurvedic program by Dr. John Douillard, called the “Colorado Cleanse.”

In this program, you do a pre-cleanse for a few days (getting the body ready to stop what it’s been doing for months or years and gently beginning the detoxing process), a full cleanse for a week (going deep into cleansing mode), and a post-cleanse for several days (transitioning out of deep cleansing and back into normal life). The program comes with a book explaining the mechanics of what’s happening in the body and why, as well as Ayurvedic supplements that target things such as sugar cravings, liver detoxing, digestive health, and more.

Other organizations also host full cleanses in springtime. Another example is Banyan Botanicals, and their information is here.

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9. Energy Clearing

A final way to transition your body from winter into spring, and promote your best health, is to get a “spring clearing” done of your energy body. Just as our physical bodies get congested, full, sluggish, and overwhelmed with all the stuff we need to process, so too do our energy bodies get full. In fact, our energy field can hold a lot more than our body, so it can contribute a significant amount of fatigue and heaviness to our lives.

Any energy work–such as Reiki or Shamanism–that specifically intends to clear out of you anything unhealthy is called an energy clearing. Often, a good clearing can be done in a single appointment. I do clearings in nearly all of my appointments, because they are that important. They are also overlooked.

If your traditional cleansing and health-promoting practices are not making you feel much better, then it could be because you are missing a huge part of the problem. If you’d like to book an energy clearing, see the appointment options here.

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An Important Side Note

A side note about cleanses: A cleanse is designed to push old gunk out of our cells, into our digestive and eliminatory systems, and then out of the body. As that gunk leaves the cells, we might feel it. Specifically, we might feel it in the form of a) craving for the type of substance (like sugar) being pushed out of the cell, or b) the emotion that is leaving the cells (like anger or sadness). Thus, for the first few days of a cleanse, we might feel worse. If this happens, know that it is probably supposed to happen.

And: Don’t indulge it. If cravings are coming up, just drink more water to ensure that that substance gets flushed out of the system. Consider even taking activated charcoal, which can absorb that substance and make sure it indeed leaves the body and not get reabsorbed. In the case of emotions, make sure they leave your system: Use your preferred method of emotional healing, such as tapping (also called the Emotional Freedom Technique), meditation, energy healing, homeopathy (such as Rescue Remedy), or journaling.

That said, if something feels wrong, you may need to stop the cleanse immediately. If you have underlying conditions, best is to talk to your doctor before doing a cleanse. spring foods ontario seasonal foods

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The Bottom Line

Overall, keeping our body healthy is what keeps all aspects of our life healthy. It is in our best interest to do something—anything—in the spring.

I’ve outlined strategies ranging from taking a simple pill, to just skipping a meal, to spending weeks at a time involved in food prep and detoxing. Choose one. Try it. See if it helps.

If I can help you with your cleansing, I’d be happy to. Make an appointment here.

~ Jen

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