My last blog post was short and sweet and focused on spring cleaning with a twist. Instead of focusing on decluttering or organizing a certain way, I challenged readers to make their surroundings pleasant to them, whether that meant being a minimalist or comfortably cluttered and cozy. My premise was that since we take care of what we love, the words cleaning and loving ware interchangeable. That meant the phrase, spring cleaning really meant spring loving and that gave the whole concept a different meaning!
What if we applied that very same twist to cleansing and caring for our bodies?
What would you do for your body if you loved it beyond measure?
How would you treat your body if it looked and felt exactly as you wanted it to look and feel? How often would you cleanse or work out if you had gloriously ripped abs that you loved to show off? Would the idea of a detox be more exciting if you know that you would get a huge energy boost, and clear, glowing skin as a result? What would you wear, if you could wear anything at all, and what would you feed yourself if you were the most finely tuned machine you could imagine?
I’m not going into the specifics about why it’s important to detox, work out or cleanse our bodies. Nor am I providing you with details about working out or what to eat or why. Volumes have been written about keeping our bodies healthy, diet, exercise, detox and cleansing. There are a million different theories and what works for one person inevitably does not work for another. I am not here to tell you how to get fit or healthy.
I am here to challenge your beliefs about your body, your health and the stories you tell yourself about either. I am here to provide you with a slightly different perspective about health, cleansing, and loving our bodies.
We are what we Eat, Breathe, and Surround Ourselves With
Everything we eat, drink, breathe or put on our skin is absorbed in our bodies. We are truly products of our environment and everything around us and everything we interact with literally becomes part of our bodies in some way. Unfortunately, we have little control over many aspects of our environment and it’s exhausting and expensive to monitor every cleaning product, personal care item, and food and beverage item we ingest.
Which is why detoxing or cleansing is important. But for many of is, the idea of cleansing or detoxing is challenging or confusing. But not if we focus on spring cleaning with a twist, and exchange the word cleansing for loving! It doesn’t matter what program you use or don’t use. Clean eating doesn’t have to be complicated! Common sense goes a lot further than fancy pills or complicated meal plans.
Loving our body means doing what feels divine and wonderful and cutting out that which feels negative, bad or unhealthy. It’s not about some program to be followed for a prescribed period of time or cutting out anything in particular. Your personal preferences are your personal preferences and nothing is right or wrong. Take some time and notice what feels good to you and make changes based on that.
Body Love & Intuitive Cleaning
Do cleaning products make you feel ill? Do they make your hands dry and cracked or your lungs and eyes burn? Then get rid of them and find an organic line that you adore. Does eating meat make your stomach feel full and heavy? Then quit eating it or reduce the amount you eat until you figure out how much sits well with you. Does alcohol or soda make your mouth and sweat sticky? See how it feels to drink sparkly water with fruit instead. Does your soap, lotion or shampoo make you itch or feel clogged up? Invest in a line that doesn’t.
It doesn’t matter if you buy a water filter and improve the quality of your water, if you cut out meat, dairy, wheat, caffeine, sugar or alcohol or if you start using organic cleaners or personal care items. What matters is that you notice what feels bad and you stop doing it. Notice what feels good, healthy or what makes you happy and start doing that.
Make changes that make you happy and that honor your body, don’t worry about somebody else’s program. Do what makes you feel good and stop eating/drinking/using/breathing anything that doesn’t. It’s that simple!
