In our everyday lives, we are faced with an onslaught of toxins. Whether in the air as pollutants or in our foods and beverages, most of us are likely to encounter a variety of toxins every day. These harmful substances can build up in our bloodstream over time, causing everything from fatigue to weight gain and headaches. Additionally, toxins in our bodies are linked with more serious diseases and chronic syndromes. Skin problems and digestive problems are closely linked with excessive toxins in the body as well.
If you are feeling sluggish and out of sync, take steps toward gently and naturally detoxifying your body. Strategies for detoxifying the body have been practiced for hundreds of years across many cultures. Generally, detoxification is a long process that can take weeks or months to work. In general, detoxifying involves resting and nourishing the body, and removing harmful elements through elimination. By cleaning the body from the inside out, the blood becomes purified and the body can heal itself more readily.
While it is not possible to fully detoxify the body in one night, there are many practices that support overnight detoxification processes. The following are some basic steps you can take to rev up your body’s natural detoxification in the course of a night. By making these strategies into habits, you will see profound improvements in your health, vitality and energy levels over time.
Rest Your Body, Rest Your Organs
When we sleep at night, our cells are busy repairing themselves. Sleep is essential to all human functions. If we are constantly deprived of sleep, we can develop serious mental and physical health problems. A key to deep, rejuvenating sleep involves creating the optimal situation for your inner organs to rest. This includes giving your digestive system time to relax and repair itself, without the presence of food. A simple way to do this is to avoid eating for at least three hours before sleeping. When the digestive system can rest overnight, you wake up with more energy — as your body has had time to undergo the processes of elimination and not only digestion.
Stimulate Your Liver
The liver is the key to removing impurities from the blood, so liver support is a mainstay of any detoxification process. While there are many ways to stimulate the liver through herbal supplements — and even certain yoga postures and breathing exercises — one of the simplest is to drink a detoxifying herbal tea before sleep. Thus, dandelion tea is an ideal choice for a bedtime detox tea because of its delightful taste and liver-cleansing properties. You may choose to have it as an early morning tea as well as it helps with elimination and kidney support. Detoxifying herbal teas are nature’s remedy for driving toxins from the body, gently and safely.
Improve Your Circulation
While we sleep, we tend not to get as much circulation throughout our bodies as when we are awake and active. To assist the overnight detoxification process, you need to improve blood circulation during sleep. Luckily, this is possible without having to do calisthenics while you snooze. Before sleeping and upon waking, you can improve circulation by practicing dry brushing or self-massage techniques. Dry brushing is done with a specialized brush, and self-massage can be practiced using your hands with a body oil or silk gloves. In addition to stimulating circulation manually or with a brush, you can practice some yoga-stretching for several minutes before sleeping and upon waking. With this habit, your circulation will improve while you sleep and allow your body to detoxify more efficiently.
Rise and Shine
When you wake up in the morning, it’s time to feel the vibrant energy from your overnight detoxification. To assist your body in morning elimination, drink warm water with lemon. This is one of the simplest and most effective things you can do for your body. The water needs to be at least room temperature, as this helps your body immediately rehydrate. Lemon is a natural astringent that alkalizes the body and soothes the digestive tract. It also helps to practice your physical exercise routine in the morning rather than at night, as this starts out your day with a nice sweat — one of the body’s main methods of detoxification.
About the Author: Heather Dell is a nutritionist, herbalist and holistic health coach. With a background in acupuncture and massage, she takes a unique approach to well-being that focuses on the whole person. When she needs quality herbal teas, she favors www.buddhateas.com.
