The Detox Bath Tested

A couple of weeks ago, during Holy Week in fact, I tried the Detox Bath my aunt had told me about. I was blessed to have had a full-body massage on Palm Sunday, so it seemed the perfect time to accelerate & assist my healing with the bath. Guess what - it worked great!!! The baking soda is the secret and necessary ingredient. I kicked it up a notch by laying on my heating pad when I crawled under the covers, and it was wonderful. If anyone is thinking of assisting your body with a detox option, I recommend this bath. Here's the recipe again for reference:

1 cup baking soda
1 cup epsom salts
bath water as hot and as high as you can stand it
washcloth (optional)
towels and/or bathrobe
time in bed under the covers

Draw a bath as hot as you can stand. Add the baking soda & epsom salts & dissolve with your hand and/or a washcloth. I recommend stepping into the bath early so your body temperature can rise as the water rises. Fill the tub as high as you can to cover as much of your body as possible. Remain submerged in the tub for 20 minutes. To help the time pass, I also scrubbed my body with the washcloth. I could reason that it helped with the detoxing, but the bottom line is it felt good.

Exit the tub and wrap yourself in towels and/or your robe. Get to your bed as fast as you can and cover yourself with warm blankets. Remember, this is to help your body sweat off the toxins even more, so I'd suggest a sheet under the covers if you're not completely covered in towels. I also laid on my heating pad to assist in keeping my body temperature elevated. Remain in bed, covered, for 20 minutes. Of course, if you fall asleep and are in bed longer than 20 minutes, it's okay. This isn't baking brownies. Enjoy the quiet time.

Happy Detoxing!!

Cleansing Bath recipe

As you are all aware, I am always open to natural remedies and prefer them to AMA recommendations. This week my Aunt Linda visited on the occasion of Samuel Gordon Price's birth (Feb 15), and we again got time to chat. She was telling me about a book she's read entitled Ultra-Metabolism, by Dr. Mark Hyman. It sounds interesting, and I look forward to reading it.

In our discussion, though, she was telling me about how the author recommends sweating out our toxins. I've long known about the power of releasing toxins through the skin, and of the power of a hot bath. However, my experience has been that a plain hot bath isn't enough. There has seemed like something missing. I think it is because of an incomplete "recipe". Hyman's recipe just might have the missing ingredient.

Per my talk with my aunt, Hyman recommends doing the following:
Submerge as much of your body in a bath as hot as you can tolerate. In the bath water, pour 2 cups of Epsom Salts and 1 cup baking soda. Soak for 20 minutes. Get out of the bath, but do not rinse off. Wrap yourself in towels and/or robes and then climb into bed. Cover yourself in blankets & keep yourself as warm as possible. Lay in bed for another 20 minutes. If I remember correctly, she also said that you do not need to rinse off afterwards, but I would guess that it would be good to exfoliate, either with a dry brush or a damp washcloth. Her recommendation was to dry-brush beforehand so as to stimulate your glands, but I'm also cautious about afterwards. My thought is this: our skin is porous so what comes out can also go back in. I suppose we should both see Dr. Hyrum's book for a more complete description, huh!!

I look forward to trying this as I've been meditating on doing a cleanse & a salt/soda bath just might be the right solution for my body. I'll keep you posted.


NOTE: I've had a few friends express concern that I might be ill. I want to say that I'm not ill, but my body is mildly toxic. In my effort to prevent illness, I'm doing things now to help my body return to and stay in balance as much as possible. It's easier to do when you're mostly healthy than when you're mostly not. Remember: disease is really just DIS-EASE. No wonder laughter is still the best medicine!!

No longer nesting... Now it's resting

I remember when one of my friends went through a gut-level purging of her belongings, it seemed like it was as a result of a traumatic physical move rather than a sign of her times. Now that I've been bit by the "Bye-Bye!" bug, I'm starting to think that this stage I'm in is a natural progression of women in their early 40's.

Earlier this month, I was compelled by something much greater than myself to establish a serious and professional writing space for myself. It is as if I'm no longer apologizing for myself, no longer chasing the social expectations for my life, and I'm blazing my own trail. I always have, but now I'm too old to feel guilty. As an unexpected side effect, my home is undergoing a very serious and root-level change. I've rented a storage space for the short-term, and am decorating my home as if it were a home, not a storage unit or a dorm room. (See http://www.everybodyscousin.blogspot.com/ for more.)

But this is more than just a natural progression related to age. I'm realizing this is an opening up of my spirit. I'm starting to remove the insulation that my stuff has provided for me, and I'm learning how to live more leanly. And not because it's more economical, wiser, environmentally friendly, or what I'm supposed to do. Nope. This is because it is coming to me naturally.

So what do I mean by my title of this entry?
Since I'm no longer nesting, my energy is being redirected, resulting in more rest. Rest in every sense of the word.

Updated Breakfast Smoothie Recipe

As all cooks do, I've fiddled more with this recipe and here is the latest version:

8oz Vanilla Soy Milk (calcium and Vitamin D fortified)
1 scoop Vanilla Soy Protein Powder with Spirulina (I recommend Whole Foods brand)

Blend well.

Add:
2 ice cubes (or add a splash of water to thin the soy milk, no more than 2 ounces)
1 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup frozen mango pieces

Blend until the pieces are uniform. I've found blending the frozen ingredients without the banana isn't as hard on my blender's motor.

Add:
1 banana, sliced in pieces.

Stir the mixture & blend until smooth.

I find it yields about 16-24 ounces so I just always drink it in 32 ounce cup.
Make sure you drink your recommended amount of water (1/2 your weight in ounces)!!!
Feel free to switch up your fruit options, although I recommend not omitting the banana unless you're eating one at another point in the day. It's just too good a source of potassium to overlook!!

Happy Blending!!

The Big Four Oh

Well, I've crossed over the threshold into the 40's club, and I'm actually happy about it! It's still a wild thought to think that my thirties are over, but I'm learning to be grateful for that, too. I guess it has something to do with the fact that my 30's were so much better than my 20's and I loved them dearly, that I'm sad to see them go. But, as each day comes, I'm growing in confidence and joy. I had to renew my license, and, I know this may be shocking, but I love the picture. I look happy. In my license picture. Crazy ain't it?

So, I will always love my 30's, they will always be a part of me, but simultaneously, I look forward to what beauty and delights this decade will bring. I'm thankful to have my health, and while my body has changed a lot in these past couple of years, my breakfast shake has helped me rebound very quickly. Getting those nutrients has been life-changing, and I continue to lose weight. In fact, rather than gaining weight as can be the case, my body is losing inches. It almost feels as though I meet a new woman each day I get dressed!

So, keep drinking half your weight in water every day - don't let up - and keep the nutrients flowing. Keep moving your body, and health can remain yours. Yea!

Until next time...