In this modern world our bodies, minds & spirits must cope with more toxic input than at any other point in human history. From chlorine & pharmaceuticals in public water supplies to xenoestrogens in plastics, to the majority of our food supply being laden with glyphosate and heavy metals (from pesticides)…the list goes on. And then there’s the emotional toxicity – the daily news. Doom and gloom seems to be all we get if we tune in to mainstream media, despite the fact that there are also a lot of phenomenal things happening on the planet right now – we don’t get that as part of our daily input unless we seek out alternative sources.
Our bodies and minds can deal with a tremendous amount, but with 1 in 3 people getting cancer or struggling with chronic stress, depression & anxiety, it pays to make cleansing & detox a regular part of your self-care rituals.
2 of my tips are specifically about lymphatic cleansing. Hint: Cleansing the lymph is a major key to avoiding cancer (especially breast cancer) and many other chronic diseases.
Here’s my top 5 tips to turn your shower into a deeper cleansing experience:
- Dry Skin Brushing is a quick, easy and really cleansing & rejuvenating routine to add before you shower. As the name implies you brush your skin DRY before you get into the shower. You can get a dry skin brush at almost any health food store or bath specialty shop. You want the bristles to be hard enough to brush off dead skin cells but not so hard that they are too abrasive – more sensitive skin types will want a softer brush.
Brush from the fingertips to armpits and toes to hips using long strokes and get in all your cracks and crevices.
You want to brush all your body parts TOWARDS the belly where the lymph drains into the digestive tract for the ultimate lymph detox.
Brushing also helps remove dead skin cells which becomes even more important when you follow my next tip! - Use Less Soap – This tip is less about cleansing and more about nourishment. Did you know that in order for our body to make vitamin D we actually need to have a certain amount of healthy natural oils on our skin? That oil when exposed to sunlight allows our skin to make vitamin D, and so if we wash it all away with soap in a daily shower, we are going to end up vitamin D deficient even if we are getting enough sun!
I’m not saying don’t use soap. Soap is great – where it belongs! Nadine Artemis, skin care expert, recommends only using soap in your “pits and bits”…armpits, neck & (as my grandma always reminded me) behind your ears and pubic region. Maybe toes and feet if you’ve been barefooting it;-) Everywhere else just use the dry brush and a good rinse with water to remove sweat. You can also scrub but just don’t use soap regularly on the rest of your skin. You’ll find the natural oils also make your skin smooth and silky! - Hot and Cold – To flush your lymphatic fluids even more, try turning the water from hot to cold at the very end of your shower. You can even do this a few times getting it very hot and then very cold and especially aim the water at any areas in your body where you have chronic inflammation or pain like joints. Armpits and groin are also good to hit with cold/hot/cold because there is lots of lymph glands in those spots and the temperature shift will help flush the lymph. Cold water at the end of your shower is also better than coffee and will leave you feeling really ALIVE…so you may not want to do this practice if you’re showering in the evening before bed when you want a deeply relaxing experience. The other great thing about turning the water to cold though is that then when you step out of the shower the air will feel warmer. It’s also incredibly strengthening for the immune system.
- Prayer, Gratitude & Visualization – I love using the water to cleanse energetically as well as physically, and I love to imagine the water washing away any emotion or experience that I want to let go of. Mmmmmhmmmm – works so good. Also I always feel incredibly grateful that I have access to beautiful, clean running water to bath in when so many in the world don’t even have clean water to drink. We are truly blessed and it’s super important to remember that, especially since water holds vibrational information and so when we give it our gratitude that energy is carried out to the whole world through the amazing vibrational transmission of water. As well as gratitude we can intend our prayers for both our own lives and the world through water. All while showering!!!
- Get a Filter – if you live in a place where the water is chlorinated or especially if you live in a larger city where there may be pharmaceutical residue and other scary things in the water I recommend one of two things. When I travel and stay in hotels in big cities I just dry skin brush and use a cloth for my “pits & bits”…here’s why:
We actually absorb more stuff through our skin than through our digestive system – especially if it’s coming through hot steamy water that opens up all our pores. You can actually really affordable simple carbon filter that fits on your shower head for $35-40 and it will take out 90% of the chemicals that would otherwise go into your skin. If you’re bothering to buy organic food this is SO worth it. Or you can do what I do when I travel.
And/or you can follow tip #4 and imagine the water purifying itself as it comes out your shower head…it’s up to you.
Here’s what not to do – freak out because you can’t afford a filter and stress yourself out more, because as we’ll talk more about next week chronic stress ultimately has a bigger impact on your health than anything else.
Remember – if you have hot water coming out of a tap at all you are richer than most of the world – we are truly blessed.
What are you grateful for? And which of these tips did you find most useful? Please comment and tell me below.
