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BEAUTY AND MOVEMENT

To gain the detox benefits of exercise, you don’t need to run a 5K three times a week. Even the simplest forms of exercise stimulate an increase in blood flow throughout your body. There are many ways to move your body, and all of them help in the detoxification process.

Detox Benefits of Exercise

One of the side effects of toxin accumulation is that you may begin to feel sluggish or low in energy. As a result, you may find yourself exercising less often, which will only exacerbate the problem. Exercise is actually a very efficient method of detoxification for a number of reasons. Primarily, it causes your body to sweat, which eliminates toxins from your body through your pores. Exercising may also cause you to breathe more deeply, allowing more oxygen into your lungs so it can be carried by your blood throughout the body.

With increased blood flow, your organs begin to work more efficiently, which enhances the detox process. With increased blood circulation comes increased circulation of lymph fluids, which help remove toxins and other harmful substances. An added benefit of exercise is that it helps you to lose weight by burning fat cells, where toxins are often stored.

Get up and get moving! Any form of exercise will help to improve your circulation, which will increase the amount of blood flowing to your organs. This will help speed up the detoxification process and cleanse your body of harmful toxins.

If you are not used to getting regular exercise, it is a good idea to start off slow and build up as you increase your endurance. Start with a fifteen-minute walk three times a week, eventually building toward a daily walk of the same length (or longer). You can also try shorter periods of jogging at a moderate pace or riding a bike, if you prefer. Another exercise that is beneficial for detoxification is yoga. By manipulating your body into different poses, it drives blood deep into your muscle tissues and holds the blood there for the duration of the pose. When you release the pose, blood that has been newly aerated by the lungs rushes in, helping to flush the old blood out. Deep breathing is also a component of yoga, which helps eliminate toxins from the blood.

Skin Brushing

In addition to eating detoxifying foods and drinking plenty of water, skin brushing can also help increase your body’s natural detoxification ability. Skin brushing is quick and easy and is an incredibly effective detox tool that you can implement at home. All you need to incorporate this technique into your detox routine is a natural bristle brush.

Skin brushing is typically done with a dry brush and it is safe to do on a daily basis. To start, hold the brush in your hand and rub it gently over your skin in small circular motions. You may want to start with your feet and work your way up over your lower legs and thighs. When you reach your upper body, raise one arm at a time in the air and brush down toward your armpit. To brush your stomach and chest, brush toward your heart. Do not forget to brush your armpits as well—this is where many of your lymphatic nodes are concentrated. Avoid brushing the skin on your face, but feel free to include your neck and shoulders.

Skin brushing can help increase your body’s natural detoxification ability. It is quick and easy and is an incredibly effective detox tool you can implement at home.

When you first start your skin-brushing regimen, your skin may be sensitive in certain areas. Avoid brushing over cuts and bruises to prevent your skin from becoming irritated. Over time, your skin will become more resilient and it will be able to withstand more vigorous scrubbing. The entire process should take about five minutes, after which you should take a hot shower to rinse away the dead cells. In a matter of days or weeks, you should begin to notice improvements; your skin may appear more supple and radiant. Skin brushing may also reduce the appearance of cellulite.

Benefits of skin brushing may include:

• Enhancing lymphatic flow
• Exfoliating pores
• Improving cellular regeneration
• Increasing the resilience of skin
• Reducing the appearance of cellulite
• Removing dead skin cells
• Stimulating circulation and blood flow

Deep-Breathing Exercises

As you already know, your lungs are instrumental in eliminating toxins from your body. The more deeply you breathe, the more carbon dioxide you will exhale, and thus, the more toxins you will expel. Gas exchanges in the body play a significant role in detoxification. As you take oxygen into your lungs, it passes into the blood and moves throughout the body. As blood travels through your body, cells absorb the oxygen in exchange for metabolic waste (carbon dioxide). The blood eventually makes its way back to the lungs where it exchanges carbon dioxide for oxygen.

Spending just a few minutes a day performing one or more of the following exercises can boost your detox and help you relieve stress and anxiety. By relaxing for a few minutes, taking your focus off the stressors of your daily life, you can detox not only your body but your mind as well.

Deep-breathing exercises improve the oxygenation of your blood. Many people tend to breathe at a fairly shallow level, especially when exercising. By concentrating on these simple exercises, you can stimulate larger portions of your lungs and increase their detoxification power. Try the following breathing exercises.

Exercise 1

1. Sit on the floor in a position you find comfortable—fold your legs in front of you or bend your knees, placing your feet flat on the floor.
2. Close your eyes and try to relax your body, keeping your spine straight.
3. Let your shoulders relax and fall.
4. Release any tension in your face and jaw.
5. Focus on taking even, regular breaths—feel the rise and fall of your chest and abdomen.
6. Continue the exercise for several minutes.

Exercise 2

1. Sit on the floor in a position you find comfortable—fold your legs in front of you or bend your knees, placing your feet flat on the floor.
2. Close your eyes and try to relax your body, keeping your spine straight.
3. Breathe in over a count of seven, then hold your breath for seven counts.
4. Exhale slowly for a count of seven. (If you cannot make it to seven seconds at first, you can use a lower number.)
5. Try breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth—if that is uncomfortable, try the reverse.
6. Focus your attention on your breathing. Do not become distracted by thoughts.
7. Continue the exercise for several minutes.

Exercise 3

1. Lie down flat on your back with your arms at your sides.
2. Breathe in slowly, allowing your abdomen to expand.
3. Exhale slowly through your nose, pulling your abdominal muscles in as you exhale. This will help push the air out of the deepest parts of your lungs.
4. Continue the exercise for several minutes.

Exercise 4

1. Lie down flat on your back with your arms at your sides.
2. Exhale as much air as you can without straining. Count the number of seconds over which you exhale.
3. Squeeze the muscles in your chest and abdomen as you exhale.
4. When you can exhale no further, inhale and repeat the process.
5. Continue the exercise for several minutes.

Exercise 5

1. Sit or lie down in a position you find comfortable and close your eyes.
2. Imagine that your lungs are divided into two sections—one upper and one lower.
3. Inhale deeply, filling the lower section of your lungs (your abdomen) with air.
4. Continue to inhale, filling the upper section (your chest).
5. Reverse the process for exhaling. Start by deflating your chest and end with the abdomen.

These breathing exercises can be incorporated into your life very easily. Spending just a few minutes a day performing one or more of these can boost your detox and help you relieve stress and anxiety. By relaxing for a few minutes, taking your focus off the stressors of your daily life, you can detox not only your body but your mind as well.

Massage for Detox

Your lymphatic system is part of your circulatory system, and it serves to carry lymph fluid toward your heart. As part of its daily function, your lymphatic system serves as a pathway for plasma that has been filtered out of the blood through capillary filtration to be returned to the blood. This is an important part of detoxification, and one way to enhance it is through massage. A form of massage called manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) is designed to stimulate your lymphatic system using gentle strokes that encourage the lymphatic system to eliminate waste products, including toxins and bacteria.

The repetition of even pressure and rhythmic strokes to your tissues, muscles, and organs will help stimulate blood circulation.

The MLD massage technique was developed by physical therapists in the early 1930s, and it continues to be popular today. In addition to enhancing the detoxification benefits of massage, MLD may also help promote the healing of scar tissue, clear areas of swelling or puffiness, and speed up post-operative healing. It is possible to administer your own MLD massage at home. To do so, position your fingers on either side of your neck below your ears. Gently massage your skin down toward the back of your neck. Repeat the motion ten times, repositioning your fingers slightly lower below your ear each time. Next, position your fingers on either side of your neck at the top of the shoulders. Massage your skin toward the collarbone and repeat this motion five times.

Other types of massage such as Swedish massage and deep tissue massage can also be beneficial for detox. The repetition of even pressure and rhythmic strokes to your tissues, muscles, and organs will help stimulate blood circulation. One way to think of it is that when pressure is applied, the toxins are squeezed out and released into your circulatory system so they can be eliminated. In addition to boosting your detox benefits, massage can also help with soreness, stiffness, and recovery from injury.

Take a hot bath once in a while to help yourself relax and to boost the cleansing effects of your detox. Add a cup of Epsom salts to the bath to increase your body’s absorption of magnesium. This essential mineral helps to neutralize acidic toxins in the body and also helps relax your muscles.