Most people use Jan 1st to start their promise of attaining optimum health. Whether that be through a series of fasting, cleaning/organizing or letting go of the people that have no place in their current and future situation, the New Year marks a change for most of us. Regardless of what choice is made, the ritual of cleansing and shedding is not only good for the body but it’s good for the mind and spirit.

So, what exactly does it mean to be healthy? How and why should a person prepare for the season ahead?

I developed a New Year’s cleanse some years ago, and it has served me well each year, so much so that I now do it quarterly. This fast hits on every level. It touches on the physical, the mental, and spiritual. It is said it takes 21 days to make or break a habit. After 21 days of this fast a person is guaranteed to have some revelation and spiritual growth.

Here’s what I do:

A. I start my cleansing detox by eliminating sugar, fried foods, bread, animal flesh, and dairy products from my diet. This allows my body to take a break from toxins and it gives my liver, kidney, spleen, and gi tract a chance to reset.

B. I also increase my water intake as well as my raw veggie and fruit consumption. While my body is detoxing all the bad stuff I had put into it throughout the last year, I have to make sure that I also give my body the appropriate fuel to help it do what it needs to do. When I decrease the toxic foods and increase my water intake and consumption of veggies and water, my gi tract becomes unclogged, my skin looks better, my energy is elevated, and my spiritual energy begins to vibrate higher.

C. In this fasting period, I also increase my amount of exercise. People will be amazed at how much energy they have once they let go of the things that hold them back. The removing of stagnate energy helps with releasing both stagnation in the womb as well as in the mind.

D. I also make sure to meditate for at least 30 minutes every day of this fast and practice journaling every day. The ability to self-reflect and forgive is a powerful thing. Tapping into the inner voice and having the internal dialogue to examine where things went wrong and how to make things right moving forward is a monumental, yet scary thing. However, you come out of it as a better version of yourself. Acknowledgment of the missteps you took, forgiving yourself for allowing the errors, then pledging not to repeat the same steps again is genuinely a revolutionary act of self-care.

 

Let’s start this year off to a new year, new you!

 

“A sustainable self-care practice is about creating moments within each day, week, month, season, and year to practice the kind of meaningful self-care that makes you feel healthy and joyful in mind, body, and soul,” says Shel Pink, author of Slow Beauty, a book on mindful self-care. “When practiced over time, these small rituals add up to a healthier and more joyful life.”