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Spring Well-Being Kit: 5 Tips for Renewal this Season - Simply Woman

By on March 17, 2015

By Randi Ragan from NaturallySavvy.com

Spring is a time of renewal, of starting over, of rejuvenating and transforming. The plant world is coming to life again, and the animal world is birthing its new generation. Our human impulse is to follow along and take our cues from nature. Therefore, Spring is an excellent time to shed the mustiness of winter, to come out of our metaphorical hibernations into a new phase of life.

It’s time to do a literal ‘spring cleaning’ from top to bottom. I’ve put together a well-being “kit” which focuses on elements of purification, detoxification, cleansing, lightening up, and generating a new energy with our daily habits. Holistic well-being means being able to connect action vs. reaction in mind, body, and spirit. It’s all related, it’s all important to pay attention to.

Read more about detoxing in Spring

1. Get outside
Walk around and notice, from day to day, the incredible changes in nature going on all around you, right under your very nose. Take along a camera or sketch book and record the things you spot which are the harbingers of Spring’s new growth. Keep an inspiration board or scrapbook with your photos, drawings, and other mementos from your walks that symbolize new things you’ll try this season, new adventures you’ll attempt, new habits, new changes you can make in your life.

2. Practice “Everyday Detox”
No need for punishing exercises in deprivation or foul-tasting concoctions to panic-crash your way to better health. Try incorporating two important habits that naturally cleanse and detoxify your body. Drink 30 – 40 ounces of purified water every day, and take liver detoxifying herbs on a regular basis. My picks are milk thistle or burdock root. Both cleanse and protect the liver and can be found in capsule, tea, or tincture form at every health food store.

3. End each day with a Crysanth (Chrysanthemum indicum) tea
This herb (really a flower) is used extensively in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) to calm the liver and resolve toxicity. Drinking tea quietly and with focus is part of an ancient ritual of meditative mind-body care. The aroma of crysanth is gently floral and the smell is instantly calming. A crysanth ‘time-out’ moment creates a chance to re-set our emotions, particularly if our ‘bile is up’, and we are feeling on edge, angry, or resentful.

4. Create your own organic face cleanser.
Parsley Mint Face Wash is my recipe for a simple, purifying face cleanser. Parsley increases blood circulation to the skin, and is rich in Vitamin C, B5 and chlorophyll, all great skin rejuvenators and nourishers. Mint is instantly uplifting and refreshing. Make an infusion by pouring 2 cups of boiling water over 2 fistfuls of fresh, flat leafed, organic parsley and 7 – 8 organic mint leaves. Let the water cool, strain out the infused herbal water, and store in a spritzer bottle for up to 5 days in the fridge. Use by spritzing the mixture on a cotton ball and cleaning face with it. Pat dry, do not rinse. Follow with your choice of moisturizer.

Read more about DIY Spring facials

5. Eat spring detox food
This is my go-to: Spring Detox Pesto. Made from cilantro, which accelerates the excretion of heavy metals from the body, and basil, which has anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties, I spread this delicious paste on crackers, toast, pasta, and sometimes just eat it with a spoon out of the jar. Make sure you use organic, highly aromatic herbs; if there is no aroma, it is old and of no use. Combine in a food processor or high-speed blender: 1 packed cup of fresh cilantro leaves, 1 cup of basil leaves, ½ cup of raw almonds, 1 clove of garlic, juice of half a lemon, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 3 tablespoons of grapeseed or flax seed oil, and ½ teaspoon of sea salt. Blend until you get a smooth creamy paste. Will keep for up to two weeks in a glass jar in the fridge.

The first day of Spring is Friday, March 20. Here’s to your good health and renewed sense of well-being this season.

randiHolistic Wellbeing expert Randi Ragan can be found at randiragan.com, her mindful living almanac and blog, and @randiragan on Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook, with daily inspiration for inspired seasonal living. She is also the founder and owner of the award-winning GreenBliss EcoSpa, named one of Los Angeles’ Top 10 Holistic Spas its very first year in business (2006).

Prior, Randi was a yoga and meditation instructor for 12 years, during which time she led yoga and spiritual retreats in California, Mexico and Hawaii, and formed The Blessing Works, which specialized in the creation of customized healing ceremonies and rituals for its clients. She has just completed her first book, A Year Of Living Mindfully: Seasonal Practices to Nurture Body, Mind and Spirit. It will be published in 2016 by Quest Books. Randi lives in Los Angeles with her husband and 13 year old daughter.

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