HBliss
The festive season often launches a detox / re-tox cycle, in which we over-indulge in various substances such as sugar, processed foods, alcohol, drugs or cigarettes,but then feel grubby and want to detox or cleanse in the new year. This is usually followed by another slow ‘re-tox’ and the process starts again. But this yoyo detox lifestyle is not good for your organs, as going from one extreme to another creates toxic overload. It is not necessary either as we all have a natural 24 hour detox available every day. Make small sustainable lifestyle changes daily instead.
For example, every morning between 5am and 7am, the universe and your body are working together to cleanse toxins built-up from substances, stress, overwork, negative emotions, pollution and other things, which make you feel stagnant, bloated, negative, emotionally weak and irritable. So, get up as close to 5 as possible, exercise, do your yoga or tai-chi and meditate, and actively support the natural detox. You’ll feel the breath of a new start.
Between 7am and 9am when your energy is in your stomach, eat a nutritious breakfast. The universal forces are supporting digestion, so take advantage of this and have something wholesome that can be processed into fuel for your day. Avoid the ‘toxic-bomb’ of sugary processed foods, wheat and coffee. Be highly active until 1pm. Move, achieve and do things, because beneficial stress right now moves stagnant energy.
After 1pm slow down, your energy moves to your heart, so eat nutritious foods for lunch. Take a few moments to get in touch with your soul, rather than thinking about stressful things. Then work on less critical tasks and finish at 5pm or by 7pm at the latest. You need time to switch off and be asleep by 11pm so that the second major natural detox of the 24-hour cycle, the Liver and Gall-bladder cleansing, can get underway from now until 3am.
If you stay up late, watching TV, working or trying to just have some time for yourself, you’ll miss the liver cleanse and wake-up with a toxic overload. If you can’t get going, miss the 5am – 7am detox, then feel you can’t face eating wholesome food, you snack instead and need caffeine for a boost. By the time you do get going, usually around lunchtime, you can’t afford to sit back, and end up feeling like you are always out of time. You stay up late again to catch-up, miss the overnight detox and the next day feels slightly worse.
We are not designed to live this way. It is unsustainable and creates symptoms such as fatigue, depression, bloating, irritability, itchy skin, anxiety and insomnia. 2013 is the beginning of the new. Try the 24-hour detox as many times as possible before Xmas as part of your plan for a sustainable future. You’ll gain time, feel better, look better and get an inner glow that will make your Xmas lights look dull!
Jost Sauer is a registered acupuncturist, therapist and seminar presenter, and author of Higher and Higher, Drug Repair That Works and The Perfect Day Plan (all published by Allen and Unwin).
www.jostsauer.com
www.urbandrugrehab.com
Hi Jost have red your book the perfect day plan and enjoyed it very much, I have 2 questions do u tire of oats every morn and you talk about your exercise regime taking just on an hour have you devised a plan that i could follow?regards kim
Hi Jost,
I have been trying to follow The Perfect Day Plan for a number of years now and it was great when I was single and able to plan my day for myself but now that I’m in a relationship and we care for an elderly lady with dementia and incontinence, I am not able to follow the morning routine.
We get up about 5.30, wash up from the night before, my partner then likes a coffee (but I resist as per The Plan!) and I have my shower. Whilst he has his shower, I prepare breakfast, then the two of us eat and whilst I wash up, he has his shower. He then gets the elderly lady up and showers her whilst I reheat her breakfast and put her sheets on to wash. The lady can feed herself but is messy and usually leaves some on her plate, so I help her to finish and clean up her and the table, put her sunscreen on and her hat and then she enjoys wondering around the garden whilst I do the final washing up and drying of the dishes. My partner leaves for work around 8.30 and I will then hang out the first load of washing and put on the second load.
By now it’s after 9 a.m. so is this too late for meditation and exercise?
Also, I am gluten intolerant so despite oats having a different type of gluten, I find I still block up which is infuriating as I LOVE porridge! Rice porridge simply does not taste the same. Any suggestions?
I’m in my mid 60’s and my partner is in his mid 70’s and we are both so tired despite going to bed around 9pm. I love yogurt but wonder if it’s too much dairy making me sleepy so have soy in my coffee and on cereal but do prefer cows milk in tea. However I have also read that soy every day is also not good for us and rice milk separates in hot drinks and is rather sweet on cereal. I have been having a variety of herbal teas for some years but recently I simply do not enjoy them as I do a coffee or milky tea.
My body aches, especially neck and shoulders, plus I have arthritis in neck, lower back and knees. I have just started walking again three days a week having had a torn ligament in my knee which has taken months to heal. Still not 100% but can walk now, so starting with 15 min a day x 3 days for last week and this week will increase to 20 min a day x 3 days for another week building up to 30 min x 5 or 6 days. I can barely squat due to the arthritis in my knees but am trying a few light weights x 2 days a week. Anything else you can suggest?
Kind regards,
Jennifer