I recently took a vacation to St Louis. I took 4 days off for the trip, and then came home for five days to work at home before I had to return to work.
When I am on vacation, there is only so much driving, walking, shopping, and dining that you can do before you finally return to your hotel room. In the hotel room there is reading, napping and writing. I totally get why writers go on retreat to write. At home, there is so much that needs done to distract me. In a hotel; there is not much to do.
So after a damp cold day-I decided to take a hot bubble bath. I started thinking about all the things that I have learned about detoxing. In the last year, I have made it my business to get to know several naturopath doctors (and some naturopath students). I have picked brains, and I have researched on line. I am very careful what sources I use for my information. I am not that blogger who copies other bloggers. I dig just a little bit deeper, and I suggest that you do too.
I just might do a few blogs on detoxing. Even though we detox from the inside out, I am going from the outside in. Just because I can. This is my blog after all.
So lets start with the bathtub. We all know that the skin is the largest organ of the body. It is there to protect the body from the outside, and to help the body detox from the inside. Sweating is the most common way that we know about. But over the years, we sweat less, do less moving around, and we are exposed to more toxins. The air that we breathe, the food that we ea,t and that water that we drink contain more toxins than ever before.
All this talk of toxins is making me feel stressed out.
So what do I usually reach for? My candle, a good book and my bottle of bath bubbles. I am not a perfectionist in anything. I have too many interests for that. I love bubbles, I loves suds, I really love me some hot wash rags. But I will be taking a lot less bubble baths, because I know that there is something better for me to put in the tub.
Prior to any detoxing event, we need to make sure that we are hydrated. Water with lemon, water with mint, Matcha tea. bring a cold glass in with you to your bathtub. You will see why later.
While I am running the hottest bath that I can stand, I light an unscented candle (for ambiance). I choose my essential oils depending on what is going on in my body. The recommendation of essential oil is about 20 drops to a tub full. I use oils that combat inflammation, 2 cups of Epsom salts, 1 cup of bentonite clay and 1 cup of baking soda. Sometimes I put coconut oil in the water too.
I put on my favorite relaxing music. For me-that is Andre Buccelli (the voice of an angel). Arrange your fluffy towel, your bath pillow and put your hair up in a shower cap. Now slowly sink into that hot water.
It takes about 2o minutes for detoxing to occur. So when you get down into that hot water, stay there. If you get too hot, sip your cold drink . Lean back and close your eyes.
If the music makes your eyes leak (like it does me) then let it happen. That is emotional detoxing, it will cleanse your eyeballs and help if you have dry eyes.
When your 2o minutes are over, step into the shower and use that cute little scrubby thing that hangs in your bathroom, to scrub off all the weird stuff that came out of your pores. Sip some more of your all natural hydration drink, wrap yourself in a big fluffy towel and go take a little nap.
Detoxing in hard work after all.