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What is a detox?
by Neva J. Howell Detox occurs whenever the body begins to expel and eliminate toxicity, whether it occurs naturally as a function of a strong immune system or whether the detox is brought on by some type of supplement which stimulates the systems of the body to let go of poison and move back toward a state of balance, or homeostasis. In a sense, we are detoxing all the time. If we were not, we’d soon die. Particularly given the state of our air and food, not to mention the chronic wear on our system from stress, which was the beginning point of this article and something I’ll go back to again and again.
One reason the body gets overly toxic is that there is not enough energy left for proper elimination and repair after we spend so much of our precious stores in worry, doubt, fear, anger, resentment, guilt, shame, and anxiety. If you’ve ever been suddenly and totally thrown into fear, you may well remember that your stomach knotted up instantly. You may even have gotten sick at your stomach for a short time, or very dizzy. Think of a time when you may have almost had a car accident, or even when someone jumped out of a closet or the bushes, just having fun and scared you almost into a panic attack. That’s your body’s instantaneous fight or flight response to perceived or imagined threat. Notice that last sentence: perceived or imagined threat. The truth is that your system is designed to protect your life at all costs, even if it means the system is temporarily shutting down all other functions so that the muscles are primed to move and the body is ready to avoid danger. The body doesn’t care if the threat is true or not. If you believe it is, the body responds instantly. Digestion stops, repair and rejuvenation stops, muscles tense in preparation for sudden movement, etc.
If we only went into fight or flight when there was true and immediate danger, our body would have no problem (assuming we are reasonably healthy) readjusting to normal functions quickly. However, this is not the case with most of us. In fact, many of us STAY in fight or flight. Imagine what this does to our system over time. It is as if we have hired a guard to alert us to danger and told the soldier be on the ready whenever anything moved anywhere near us. Soon, the guard would be exhausted because something would always be moving near us. This is the way life is. Something is always moving near us. Somehow we have to stop waking the guard every time something moves.the healing crisis. Although there are definitely things you can do to minimize a healing crisis during detox, there are times and situations where one is unavoidable. This is why I always encourage people to make their health enough of a priority to schedule the first few days of their detox at a time when they can rest more, perhaps even be away from work entirely.
Detox symptoms can include skin rashes or eruptions, headaches, bad breath (sometimes, very bad breath!), unusual body odors, dizziness, nausea, feelings of fatique or even slight depression, gas, diarrhea, colds, ear infection, insomnia, boils, itching, etc. You can experience temporary periods of confusion, and lack of appetite. You may be very thirsty at times. Why is this a good thing? Well, assuming the detox doesn’t happen faster than the overall system can handle it, the symptoms indicate that the immune system is working properly, that toxins are being eliminated and that the body is working toward balance again. Usually, a healing crisis should last no more than three days.
Helpful tips to minimize the healing crisis: There are definitely ways to decrease the level of healing crisis that occurs during detoxification. One of the very best ways I’ve found in my personal experience is to take very frequent hot showers, scrubbing the skin well, and buffing dry with a towel afterwards. If I am detoxing heavily, I may take three showers a day, for example. Another important factor is drinking enough water to help the kidneys, skin, liver, colon and spleen process waste. In particular, your skin and kidneys need lots of good, pure water to flush the toxins. I definitely would not use tap water during a detox. You want clean water to assist your system in cleansing.
Understanding The Healing Crisis from a Spiritual Level: We are spiritual beings, coming into physical reality to have a human experience. The density of this dimension is perfectly suited to register and imprint on the body system, any deviation we take from our spiritual highest good, from slight to severe. When we step far enough away from the path of honoring what we came to do, and how we chose to serve, our body tells us by sending an alarm of illness or dis-ease. Our job then becomes to pay attention, make the adjustments necessary to get back on track with our own higher self purpose, and give the body what it needs to heal and restore perfect health. Neva Howell is a wellness counselor, Reiki Master/Teacher, and reflexologist. She has studied natural medicine extensively for many years and counseled thousands of people in matters of spiritual balance and whole-being healing. She is the author of "Moon Lodge Visions: An Acceleration Handbook" and webmaster of a very comprehensive site on Alternative Healing and Holistic Health. Her website is http://www.healthynewage.com and contact email is postmaster@healthynewage.com
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