Spring Cleaning

It's spring cleaning time, Body Talkers, and I not talking about garages and closets. I'm talking about the most important asset you own, your most important piece of machinery......your body!

How about it?!

We spend a lot of time and energy cleaning our homes, cars, garages, offices, etc., but we actually spend very little time thinking about, let alone actually cleaning out ourselves!

Here in Sonoma, we are fortunate to enjoy a culture of food and wine unlike anywhere else in the country.  Combine this with the greatest community of people in the nation and we have one big reason to party, and we do, which is why we need to find a way to have healthy balance in our lives, so we can live longer, better quality lives in this great city of ours.

If you're like me, it may never have occurred to you that the inside of your body may actually need a good scrub down. 

The truth is, when working properly, the body is an amazing cleaning machine all on it's own.  One that is a thousand times more sophisticated than any drive-thru car wash you have ever seen.  Even the ones with pretty psychedelic colored soap. :) 

But no matter how effective a cleaning machine it is, a combination of environmental and lifestyle factors over the past 5 or so decades has made it difficult for even the healthiest of bodies to keep up with the job.

Here's a dirty little secret for you........our exposure to toxins is over 100 times greater than it was 100 years ago.  The amount of chemicals that have been created over the past 75 years is in the hundreds of thousands and these chemicals are taking a toll on our poor cells daily.  Disease is on the rise at alarming rates, and for the first time in history, life expectancy is going backwards.  This, along with poor eating habits, high levels of stress, poor sleep habits, sedentary lifestyles, etc., creates a toxic burden greater than what our bodies can handle.

That's the bad news. 

The good news is there is a solution. But it takes YOU to be willing to take charge of your health.  Are you?  This is important because it's going to take you, along with everyone else, to get educated and to be proactive about taking care of your health from the inside out.  Most people care for their health from the outside, focusing on the things they can see, rather than the things they feel.  Your body talks to you long before you end up in the Dr's office.  You just have to learn to listen.

The SOLUTION:

1)  Get inspired.  Something has to spark inside of you that says, "I am ready....bring it!".  (Hopefully it will be before you are on the pharmeuceutical highway of no return :)

2)  Get motivated.  Either find a buddy to get healthy with or a coach to guide you.
3)  Make a plan.  One that involves what you eat, when you eat, quality of sleep, proper exercise, stress management and relaxation.
4)  Get educated.  There are numerous books, classes, DVD's, and websites out there promoting healthy living.
5)  Get committed.  Set goals and commit to living a healthy lifestyle. Put them in writing and have an accountability person working with you, making sure you are walking your talk.

Spring Cleaning is a great place to start.  The best way to do this is to eat and/or juice clean, fresh, local organic fruits and veggies from all colors of the rainbow.   Give your body a break from alcohol, processed sugar, fried foods and other toxins that build up in your system.  Go to bed early and get 8+ hours of good quality sleep, rest, relax, exercise appropriately and engage in spiritual practice daily, such a sprayer or meditation.

Now is the time to focus on you.  Become part of the healthy living revolution and start enjoying each day to it's fullest.

To hear more about how to make positive lifestyle changes, listen in to my radio show on SUN FM, 91.3, Sonoma, every Tuesday at 2pm.  You can stream this on your computer or download my radio show podcasts on itunes for free!

QFTD:  The human body is the only machine for which there are no spare parts.  ~Hermann M. Biggs

Yours in living clean,

Heather