Pre-tox to my De-tox

In 2 weeks and I’ll be off to The Spa Resorts in Koh Samui undergoing the 7 day “You’ve Changed My Life” fasting program. I’m a little bit scared but REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO IT. Check out pics here:

 

 

The cleanse itself is going to involve fasting on special detox shakes, teas, supplements and juices, with a set schedule: regular intake of the juices every 3 hours and meditation and yoga every morning. Massages, the steam room and and colonics (eep) are daily norms. I can’t wait to see how I feel after this, it’s going to be a challenge and a half!

Prior to the fast the resort recommends to do a pre-cleanse which will help my body be ready for the cleansing. The website recommends:

Avoid heavy proteins, white breads, cakes, sugar & other highly processed foods as well as coffee, alcohol & soft drinks. Plenty of vegetable & fruit juices are best. We suggest you eat and drink alkaline-forming foods such as: all fresh fruits, raw vegetables & juices, salad greens, sprouts, apple cider vinegar, dates, dried apricots, dried figs, grapefruit, melons, raisins, millet, molasses, lima beans and lentils.

So that’s what I’m gunna do! In addition to this, I recently attended a seminar on Hormonal Health by Dr Sam Warner, which gave an incredible amount of information on what to eat for great hormonal health. It’s my aim to be in balance, so I have incorporated some of her tips as of late and will continue to apply them in the pre-tox. I thought I’d share my little plan plus give you the additional info I picked up in the hormonal health seminar.

MEAL PLAN

Rise & Shine: Supplements time

I’m a big fan of waking up to a large glass of apple cider vinegar diluted in water and then taking my supplements first thing. ACV alkalizes the body and mixed with water gets your digestive system ready for the day. My morning supps consist of:

1 Herbs of Gold Women’s Multivitamin (has grapeseed oil)

2 Fish oil caps (Omega 3’s)

1 Probiotic & (Digestive health)

A Royal Jelly Capsule (Explained below)

This ensures any nutritional gaps in my diet are filled. The benefits of Royal Jelly really piqued my interest in the hormonal health seminar as it included reversing the signs of ageing, increased vitality, hormone balancing and the list continues. Apparently it’s the stuff the worker bees create to feed the Queen Bee, this is the ONLY food the Queen Bee will eat. Since taking this stuff for a couple of weeks I have noticed my vitality has increased and skin tone has improved.

Breakfast: Super Powers Smoothie

I LOVE SUPERFOODS! & the fact you can whip them into a super yummy smoothie rocks my socks off. Here is the one I’m having at the moment and will continue to during the pre-tox.

1 scoop Herbs of Gold natural Pea Protein Isolate (All natural, has green tea and veggies in there, sweetened with Stevia)

1 TBS Flax seeds (Hormonal health and aid digestion)

1 TBS Raw cacao powder (Magnesium)

1 cup frozen berries (Vitamin C)

1 TSP Chlorella, Spirulina & Barley Grass powder (Protein, omega 3 and cleansing)

1 TSP Maca Powder (Hormonal balancing – note really really good for women with menopause, iads the symptoms)

1 TSP Coconut Oil (Digestive aid, antiviral, good for skin and hair)

1 TSP Bee pollen (mood booster and anti ageing, see here for further benefits: http://www.mercola.com/article/diet/bee_pollen.htm) its amazing

Water

It’s Choc-Berry goodness and I am in love.

 

Mid morning snack

Goji berries (major antioxxident, Vitamin C, stimulates the Pituitary Gland and increases Human Growth Hormone)

Green tea (anti cancer, appetite suppressant)

STOP - HGH Time.

Since I just mentioned the increase of Human Growth Hormone from Goji berries I thought I‘d let you know why it’s important. As we get older our HGH levels decline, but it’s HGH that maintains our tissues and organs throughout life. With enough HGH we remain youthful, can lose weight and increase your energy.  Men will find that their muscles grow, though women won’t have to worry about this. It’s becoming increasingly popular to get a jab of HGH from the Dr, & celebrities are onto it too, but why not try and keep it natural. You can increase HGH naturally by eating Goji berries, doing sprints (activating the fast twitch muscle fibres assist this), and only eating a small protein meal in the evening. Fasting also stimulates HGH.

Lunch

Chicken salad

Hemp seeds (Protein, omega 3)

Cucumber (skin on for the silica)

Tomato (lycopene)

Oregano

Lemon

Chicken

Afternoon meal

Chicken salad

Chicken

Carrot

Sprouts

Spinach leaves

Dinner 

Another blended protein shake but no fruit

I’ve requested raw vegetarian food for the plane ride, and will bring some natural snacks with me as well.

My preparation for the detox is planned and ready to go. I’ll get myself a diary to jot down all I experience on the retreat, and will be sure to post!

If you’ve had a detox retreat experience, I’d love to hear from you about it!

http://www.thesparesorts.net/samui
http://www.facebook.com/TheSpaResorts/photos_albums#!/TheSpaResorts?fref=ts 

The Spa Resorts have an awesome Facebook page with lots of inspirational health info if you'd like to sign up! Link above!

 

 

Meditation for the new generation

 

 

 

I'm a little flustered when I think about just how IMPORTANT meditation is in this day and age of fast paced EVERYTHING, yet how many people just dont take the time out to do it. Too woo woo, too spiritual, too ancient & images of holy men sitting in awkward positions chanting I'm sure has turned a lot of people off. However - meditation is for EVERYBODY, especially our new young generation where we are experiencing a world very different from 100 years ago (note stress and anxiety is at its worst). & there is a practice out there for any type of person you are. I recently completed my studies in meditation teaching & holistic counselling via the International Institute of Complimentary Therapies. If you are new to meditation, I wanted to share with you some info and tips to help you along in your meditation journey.

First, you might want to know why the heck you’d even want to start a practice of taking 10 or more minutes out of your day to just sit there, focusing on blank space in your mind. Surely you could just have a nap, zone out watching TV or attend to the one of the gazillion and one other things that you just HAVE to do! Let's lay it on the table, there is nothing that can happen in 10 minutes that is going to cause the world to stop with you not being there. Second - napping, watching TV or choosing any other relaxation method will not bring you the benefits that meditation does. Meditation is a  unique tool of its own that brings your mind from focussing externally to internally - & it’s in the internal arena where all the magic happens, before you see it in the external world. Your mind can be a tricky little monkey and tell you a lot of reasons NOT to do something, when you know very well deep down somewhere that it’s going to be really beneficial for you.

WIIFM (What’s in it for me??)

Consistent meditation practice causes the following:

·        Counteracts the effects of that super bad boy stress. Stress if extended over a long period of time can cause fast forward ageing of the body, weight gain, lead to mental disorders like depression and anxiety, lead to illness including heart problems, cognitive dysfunction… and the list goes on and on… proactive management of stress is essential today, and 10 minutes of meditation is the perfect antidote for it. Meditation counteracts stress by activating the parasympathetic nervous system. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy clinically uses basic meditation CDs and mindfulness practice to reverse a whole range of disorders related to stress, that’s how powerful it is.

 

·        Meditation practice might seem like NOTHING IS HAPPENING, but that’s kind of the point. & it takes a lot of effort to FOCUS ON NOTHING. Our brains are super whirring all day, every day - the average person has 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts in a day! We’re so used to THINKING that even when we rest our brains are still going! Sometimes obsessively! Meditation helps you to control the level of thinking throughout the day. In turn this makes you more FOCUSSED AND PRESENT. Being focussed and present leads us to greater happiness in our lives.

·        You’ll get in touch with your true self. When you start to get more and more into your meditation practice, eventually you’ll find quiet and stillness and in this space you will start having epiphanies and a sense of your true self. I don’t know what you believe, but I believe that we all do have a soul that is of divine intelligence. We don’t always access it because our minds are always chatting away, but in this stillness, we find it, embrace it and it starts to guide us.

IN MY OPINION THERE IS NOTHING MEDITATION CAN’T DO FOR YOUR HAPPINESS LEVELS AND GETTING YOURSELF OUT OF A RUT. IN MY OPINION MEDITATION IS AN ESSENTIAL TOOL FOR COPING IN THE HECTIC WORLD IN WHICH WE LIVE TODAY.

As a meditation newbie, there are some usual frustrations you may find. But keep the goal in mind of how beneficial meditation is and you will soon get over it. The main problem we have is finding the sweet spot, because our brains are still learning to be QUIET. The streams of thoughts do come, and they may appear in thoughts such as:

“Am I doing it right”

“Is this really for me”

“What’s next”

“I’m bored”

Notice how they are all trying to get you right back into your thinking habit? This tends to happen if you have issues with control. Not thinking for a lot of people means you somehow don’t have control over yourself. Funny thing is – it’s the complete opposite! You will have MORE control over yourself if you can exercise LETTING GO of all your thoughts & know that it’s completely ok.

Top tips for when thoughts like these come:

1.      Don’t judge them, be the neutral observer

2.      Remember to see them just as thoughts and nothing but thoughts, this includes words, images, feelings etc.

3.      Acknowledge them and let them dissipate naturally, don’t try to fight them away

4.     When thoughts start to run havoc - focus deeply on every aspect of your breath in the very present moment. The way it feels, the way it makes your rib cage expand, how your belly rises etc. Be mindful, be present.

 

 

Meditation for the first time is kinda like riding a bike, we’re all a bit wobbly at first but soon enough we’re smooth sailing. If you’re not experiencing these things and you’ve slipped right into the meditation sweet spot – congratulations! Keep going and you’ll probably want to expand your practice as you go – 20 minutes twice a day is the ideal. If you’re not quite there yet, remember the above and keep going, we’re talking about self mastery and happiness here.

There are many meditations you can try, including - guided, visualisation, walking meditations, zen meditations, mantra etc …it’s about finding what suits you. As a newbie I’d recommend guided meditations and mindfulness exercises. There is a huge library on YouTube of meditations you can do. Anything from Deepak Chopra and Eckart Tolle is good! Here are a couple of links you might like to initially try:

 

FINAL RECAP AND TOP TIPS

1. Don’t judge yourself

2. Practice first thing in the morning when you wake up – it allows for smooth sailing and focus for the rest of the day

3. Sit in a comfortable position with your back straight up – this ensures the relaxation messages from your brain are travelling throughout your body properly

4. Bring yourself back to your breath whenever you feel off whack – not just during meditation but anywhere & anytime throughout the day when you need to re-centre and focus

5. Be patient

6. Remember that this is a special practice just for yourself, as part of making you the best you - right here, right now

 

 

 

Get your meditation on people, NOW

Have you tried meditation before? If so what are the biggest challenges you’ve found in your practice? Leave a comment in the box below.