I really should say, how do we know when our body is NOT toxic? If you feel energized when you get out of bed with clear sparkling eyes, you are likely NOT toxic. If you eat food and you digest it well, with little gastrointestinal upset, you are likely NOT toxic? If you rarely have any aches and pains or stiff joints, you are likely NOT toxic? Feeling tired? Overwhelmed? Irritable? Anxious? Sluggish? These are all signs that your body could be overloaded with chemicals and debris that it no longer needs. If we lived in a world that was not inundated with chemicals, we might not ever need to clean out our pipes, but the truth is that we really are inundated with chemical exposure in every facet of our lives.
There are so many reasons to assume that most people are walking around in toxic overload. Between the various chemical exposures at any given moment, pesticides in food, exhaust, and off-gassing to name a few. Emotionally we can get build up a toxic overload. Since our body, mind, and spirit are interconnected those emotions can back up our system as well.
Even if we have been diagnosed with a medical condition the pharmaceutical drugs all create a toxic overload. Any kind of antibiotic is going to change the gut bacteria, which affects absorption and elimination, thus building a toxic overload. Any of these experiences below could be the sign that you may need a detox.
Tired upon waking, feelings of sluggishness
Irritable, cranky, and quick-tempered
Fatigued, especially after a meal
Constipation, which means if you have a bowel movement less than once or twice a day, you are constipated.
Chronic diarrhea, mucousy stool, or feelings of dampness
Swelling of the hands, feet, eyelids, and face
Painful periods and PMS
Migraines, Sinus Headaches, Tension Headaches
Aching joints, muscles,
Do you have an Emotional Clog?
In Five Element Acupuncture, each organ is viewed as having not only a physiological process but an emotional process as well. The major organs that help detoxify the body are the liver, kidneys, lungs, colon, and the skin.
LIVER: when our vision gets blocked by anger
The liver's archetype is known for being the General of all the organs. The great director of what goes in and what comes out. Emotionally, the liver is all about decision making and holding the vision of our future. It is what processes everything we have experienced throughout the day. I am not talking about what we ate for dinner, either. The Liver is responsible for seeing to it that our soul's destiny comes to fruition.
When the liver gets overloaded with life, a person will experience feelings of irritation, frustration, short-tempered and judgemental. They will have a difficult time sitting still and being calm. Agitation seems to never abate with a continual sense of uncertainty and direction.
KIDNEYS: when the vital lifeforce turns to anxiety
When the kidneys are bogged down our own vital life force is affected. The kidneys hold the vital life force known as, Jing. When we tell a person, "you are glowing!", we are noticing their Jing. This vital life force is what gives us energy and keeps the waters in our bodies running smoothly. Water is what moves this life force around. When this gets clogged up, we not only get swollen physically, but we get flooded emotionally. Exhaustion and fatigue are the body's way of saying that something isn't in alignment. If we keep pushing without changing anything it begins to wear down the kidneys. We stop drinking water properly. We don't rest well. Naps elude us as something like a luxury vacation. Then we start to doubt and fear seemingly everything we are doing.
Anxiety and depression start to creep in and if we keep going along our life without creating a lifestyle adjustment, the kidneys are going to start talking.
LUNGS and COLON: we've lost our self-worth, clinging to the past and can't let go
These three organs are thick as thieves. The lungs are all about the value of life and grieving what we've lost, never acquired, or long to have. The colon helps the lungs to let go of what no longer serves us. The skin is the outward expression of what is going on between these two organs.
When we've struggled with big losses, they affect these two organs. Grief can feel like heavy blanket on the body, taking our breath away. Struggling with letting go can cause our colon to grip too tightly, creating a toxic overload of emotions and waste that are supposed to be released. When we aren't supporting the body to release toxins, we're also not allowing the body to release old, stagnant emotions.
SKIN: the whistleblower for our organs
The skin reveals so much of what is going on inside! They say, beauty is only skin deep, but we equate beauty to health. Oh, to have the coveted glowing skin.
Well, to have glowing skin you need three things:
1.) A toxic-free environment inside your body. 2.) Plenty of water.
3.) to be emotionally clear.
The skin will show us when we are dehydrated in our faces. The kidneys start "talking" around the eyes. When someone has puffy eyes or skin that starts to droop under the eyes and cheeks and their skin has lost its ruddy hue, the kidneys are talking. That means there is chronic dehydration happening. We can't clean a house without water, so how can the body clean the house without water?
The skin will tell us the liver is talking when boils, cysts, stinky body odor, and blemishes start to surface. That means there is too much oil, hormones, and other debris floating around that the liver can't handle. So, the liver starts to turn it over to the skin to process. Too much anger and hostility will also be converted over to the skin in red blemishes, particularly on the chest, neck, and face.
Major skin disorders such as psoriasis, eczema, dry, flaky skin, fungal infections, and yeast all point to the lungs and colon. There is something unprocessed surrounding self-love, self-worth, and feeling supported. These emotions will start to come to the surface of the skin, like scales wanting to be sloughed off. The body is asking to shed the skin of that perception and see the real value that you possess inside.
Our body is always talking to us, we just haven't learned the signs of how to listen. When we can start tuning in and paying attention to how our body, mind, and spirit are showing up every day we then can seek the tools to maintain ourselves. Taking the time to address these subtle symptoms will prevent our body into be forced into shouting at us louder, with a more serious illness.
Check out the other blogs and tips I have to help you stay tuned to you.
To learn about ways you can cleanse yourself, body, mind, and spirit, schedule an appointment with Sahara at www.saharasun.co/book-online or email info@saharasun.co
