Five Keys Toward Detoxifying Your Body

To detoxify your body simply means to cleanse your body of any toxins it may be harboring. We know, for instance, that some chemicals and pesticides, or certain fumes we breathe, can be toxic to us. In addition, many of our modern day food choices can create a toxic environment that slowly lowers our overall immunity. The phrase Toxic Load refers to the condition of our cells and tissues - the inner terrain - that develops when we consume, year after year, highly processed foods. While the liver and the kidneys are natural detoxifiers, organs whose job is to filter out impurities, there are several other ways to help your body detoxify itself. While some of these ways may be viewed as extreme, such as dialysis or a lengthy juice fast, there are several every day things that can be done to detoxify your body with subtlety and consistency.

Nutrition
No amount of great nutrition in the world will work very well until our body stops receiving the massive amounts of processed and fake foods that create a toxic inner terrain. Fortunately, it's easy to learn what is hard on your body; there are no complex charts to memorize. Rule one: the more processed a substance, the larger the toxic load. Simply examine your weekly intake. Eat less of them. Find healthier substitutes. Or, better yet, drop them altogether.

Select organic, whole, unprocessed foods, whenever possible. Stop eating foods with additives and preservatives. Get your oil needs from olive oil, nuts, seeds, such as flax, psyllium, etc. Slow down or eliminate: processed meat (highly processed beef, chicken, lamb, sausages, pate, luncheon meats, bologna), most seafood (bottom feeders, such as mussels, clams, lobster, highly processed anchovies and sardines), pasteurized dairy (milk, butter, cheese, ice cream, yogurt), processed oil(hydrogenated, lard, canola), flour products (bread, pastries, cookies, cakes, pies, donuts, crackers), caffeine (coffee, black teas), tap water ( use filtered or bottled spring water), alcohol (beer, wine, sake, scotch, gin, vodka), processed sugar (candy, sweets, chocolate), sodas (diet coke, sugared drinks), and fake foods (artificial anything!).

Re-hydrate
Our bodies and our world are both largely composed of water, making water a vitally important element to the human race. Thus, its no surprise that water is a huge factor in overall health, as well as detoxification. Re-hydrating helps detoxification in several ways. First of all, water is a natural appetite suppressant, keeping people from ingesting things, such as fast food meals, that may add toxins to the body. Secondly, water stimulates the kidneys, helping them to do their job of filtering. Water also aids in digestion; without water, digestion can not occur, leaving the intestines without the ability to remove waste.

one of the most important reasons for re-hydrating is the lymph system. The lymph system is the often overlooked set of vessels used to transport metabolic waste out of the body. Drinking water to re-hydrate helps prevent the lymph system from becoming overwhelmed with old, necrotic material.

While it is recommended that the average person drink at least eight glasses of water a day, people often forget to do this, compromising their bodys natural health driven abilities. Some suggest taking your weight in pounds and dividing it in half. This is the number of ounces of water you should drink a day. Buy a bottle, somewhere around the size of a gallon. Fill it each day, and drink it empty each day. It is a great way to measurably know how much water you are using. If you don't have access to spring water, then filter your tap water with a carbon filter.

Brush Your Skin
Brushing your skin may seem like an odd concept, an act that is typically reserved for a head of hair. But, the pores in our skin are often an open doorway to innumerable toxins we may encounter. Because our skin absorbs whats on it, it will absorb any toxins present. Brushing these toxins away, however, can minimize the amount of toxins that enter the body through the pores. Our skin can be considered our largest elimination organ, especially during a change in nutrition. To help this process along, purchase a long handled skin brush and dry-brush your entire body for two or three minutes before bathing or showering each day. It may sting a bit the first few times, but you are conditioning your skin to breathe more. This also improves circulation, releases toxins and stimulates new skin production. For some, wet-brushing while bathing can be just as effective.

Take Alkalinizing Baths
Another good idea is Alkalinizing Baths. For these, toss a cup of sea salt or a cup of baking soda into a bath. Get in and slowly increase the heat until you are sweating. The object is to make the outside water more alkaline than the body and blood itself. It is relaxing, and very powerful when combined with skin brushing.

Do Yoga, Be Yoga
Yoga is one of the best detoxifying exercises you can practice. Because one of the foundations of yoga is breathing, and one of the ways to detoxify yourself is to simply breathe, yoga can teach you correct ways to breathe, giving you the ability to make the most out of every breathe you take. The poses, or Asanas, practiced in yoga also aid in detoxification. Freeing the body of restrictions, these Asanas stretch muscles and limbs, loosening them and letting the muscles and limbs become more relaxed and nimble, freeing the toxins that muscle knots may harbor. These Asanas aid in circulation the circulation of blood is greatly enhanced through flexibility and these poses make you physically and mentally flow better. When things flow correctly, the body rids itself of toxins much more easily.

Yoga also circulates positive thinking, which removes toxins from the body in more ways than one. A person bent on negative thinking will not only perpetuate thoughts laden in toxicity, but they are also more likely to engage in an overall unhealthy lifestyle, a lifestyle that invites impurities rather than fights them. Yoga, however, because it helps people feel physically, emotionally, and spiritually better, allows a positive life force to circulate within, a life force bent on removing toxins. It also arms people with a mindset that allows people to embrace and embody health and wholeness, adopting an internal environment where toxins dont want to remain, packing up and leaving instead.

TWISTED is a medical yoga studio at the Center for Osteopathic Medicine in Boulder, Colorado. Twisted integrates osteopathic medicine, hatha yoga and mindfulness practices to teach optimal balance between physical, mental, and emotional health. It aims to educate and help people to live a healthy life from the inside out. Rehabilitation programs offer a comprehensive treatment regime for the whole being, empowering each person one breath at a time to stimulate the bodys natural healing potential.

jennifer Jordan is senior editor of http://www.yogatwisted.com. Specializing in articles that not only teach yoga techniques, but also teach techniques on fulfillment and enrichment, she aims to educate students proudly enrolled in the school of life.

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Belly Fat - How To Lose It And Tone Those Abs

The key to losing belly fat lies in a combination of reducing calorific intake and aerobic exercise. The importance of losing belly fat cannot be over emphasized; a slimmer waistline not only looks and feels better, but has significant health benefits too.

Research has found that waist size rather than overall body weight is a key indicator of heart disease(1). Belly fat is much more dangerous than fat around the hips. So what can we do?

Consume fewer calories than you burn off and YOU WILL lose weight. Unfortunately where you lose it from first is largely dictated by your genes. This may be disheartening, especially if the weight comes off your face or bust first and you still have that belly fat to contend with. However its unlikely that you will continue to lose fat from areas that you are satisfied with without losing it from your belly.

There is little evidence to support the theory that eating certain foods will help you lose fat. A well balance diet is essential in any weight loss program. Quick fix diets often rely on cutting out certain food groups, depriving the body of essential nutrients. A diet low in fat is certainly preferable, but, for example a no fatdiet will cause the body to store any existing fat (natural defense mechanism)making any fat loss extremely difficult. Alternatively a diet high in fat and low in carbs( fuel) such as the Atkins dietmay have serious health implications and leave you feeling exhausted. Plan your meals according to your lifestyle: if you work days, make breakfast the main meal of the day. Night workers are best making their evening meal their main one. Whenever possible avoid eating a main meal 4 hours before you go to bed.

Eat wisely and incorporate healthy eating into your lifestyle; that way the weight will not only come off but more importantly, stay off.

Aerobic exercises are great for burning fat and are therefore imperative for any weight loss program. If you prefer not to exercise alone but dont have the time, means or inclination to join a fitness class, why not organize a game of rounders/baseball or a kick-about in the local park. Your kids will love it-especially if they can beat you!

running, cycling, swimming and brisk walking are great ways to burn fat . These activities may be easier to build into your program because you can do them on your own. Be sure not to overdo things, particularly if you are grossly overweight, of advancing years or simply havent exercised for some time. Dont take any unnecessary risks-if in doubt consult your doctor.

Toning is important at all stages of your weight loss program. Toning exercises unlike aerobic exercises can be performed by those of us with a low tolerance to exercise.. Toning is site specific. leaving you firmly in control. Strengthening the abdominal muscles will help you to hold your belly in. This will automatically make you look slimmer. Lose the fat and show off those well toned muscles.

Try out the following toning exercises and enjoy the instant gratification.

stomach Crunches

Lie on your back with your feet as close as possible to your bum.

Place hands on chest and lift your shoulders off the floor whilst keeping lower back on the floor and the neck still to avoid straining. Hold for 5 seconds then relax. Gradually increase reps and length of holds.

Aim for tolerable discomfort

Sit-Ups

Great for the abdominals. Follow my simple guide to avoid putting pressure on the lower back.

Sitting on the floor with knees bent hook your toes (soles down) under a secure fixture such as a wall rail, ideally no more than 3inches high because youll need to keep your bum and heels firmly on the floor.

Clasp hands behind the back of the head and lean back keeping the back straight, until you can feel the abdominal muscles working, hold for 10 seconds then using the toes as a lever (this will put any pressure on the legs rather than the back) return to position 1.

Aim to increase repetitions and length of hold.

Leg Raises

I have found this exercise really affective over the years because it works on all the abdominal muscles from the stomach right down to the pelvic region. Be warned, its not for the feint hearted. You will need a watch that shows the seconds.

Lie flat on the floor or a hard surface, feet together with toes pointed.

Raise both legs together till you feel your heels are roughly 7 inches (18cm) off the floor - hold for 5 seconds.

From position 2 raise legs a further 7inches (18cm) so that the heels are roughly 14inches (36cm) off the floor hold for 5 seconds.

From position 3 raise the legs so that they are at right angles to the torso hold for 5 seconds (this will give some relief so best not to omit this stage).

Use the same stages as 2 and 3 above (omit stage 1) lowering the legs to 14 inches then 7inches holding for 5 seconds at each position.

Hold the left leg 7 inches from the floor whilst raising the right leg to 14 inches hold for 5 seconds. Hold the left leg at 7 inches from the floor and raise the right leg to right angles to the torso hold for 5 seconds.

Use the same stages as 6 and 7 above to lower the right leg to 14 inches then 7 inches from the floor holding for 5 seconds at each position ( at this stage both legs should be 7 inches from the floor) Repeat stages 6, 7 and 8 this time raising then lowering the left leg whilst keeping the right leg at 7 inches from the floor.

Both legs should now be 7 inches from the floor, hold this position for 20 seconds before returning both legs to the floor.

This exercise is particularly strenuous so dont be put off if you cant hold positions for the time suggested above. For each different position you will feel different muscles being worked on so try not to miss any stages out, if you find it to exhausting reduce the length of the holds instead.

Plan your weight loss program so that it includes plenty of exercise and healthy eating, tailored specifically to your needs. Remember that losing a few inches off your waistline may add that vital few years to your life.

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