By Suzanne Norman CNC, CHt
Spring is traditionally the time of year for detoxification diets and cleanses. For thousands of years, body purification has been a part of humankind’s rituals for health and well-being. Nearly all modalities of healing use purification protocols as a foundation.
Today we tend to think of detoxification as a way to clean out environmental pollutants or drug residues trapped in the body. Historically speaking, however, detoxifying was used as a way to reconnect with the divine and as a pathway to spirituality.
A detoxification program is time-honored way to keep immune response high, elimination regular, circulation sound and stress under control, all of which help the body handle the enormous amount of environmental and stress toxins to which it is exposed. Residents of Western societies are exposed to chemicals and toxins on an unprecedented scale; no one is immune to unhealthy lifestyle choices. Such exposure negatively affects every system in the body, with issues ranging from tissue damage to sensory deterioration.
The challenge is to remain healthy in a destructive environment. Detoxification leads to continued health and is one of the most basic automatic functions of the human body. Every day the body detoxifies naturally. Its natural metabolic processes continuously dispose of accumulated toxic matter.
In today’s world, however, our bodies are fighting a losing battle. Systems and organs once capable of cleaning out toxic material are now overloaded. Every year, hundreds of new chemicals are introduced to the exponentially growing number of chemicals already in the environment. Between 80,000 and 100,000 active synthetics currently pollute our world.
The effect that these chemicals can have on the human body is debilitating. Environmental pollutants can enter into the cell membrane and negatively affect the transfer of information in all systems of the body. Detoxifying diets and cleanses are a vital step to finding and keeping balanced health. But are they enough?
Psychoneuroimmunology is a branch of medicine that deals with how immune function is influenced by emotional states, particularly how stressful emotions relate to the onset and progression of disease. Research in this field over the past 30 years has evidence that thoughts create emotions, which in turn influence the physical body.
The ground-breaking work and research of scientists Candace Pert and Bruce Lipton reveal how beliefs control behavior and gene activity. The natural chemicals within the human body form a dynamic information network that link it with the mind., which directly affects the dynamic of our lives and health.
Science has now established a biomolecular basis for emotions and how they, in conjunction with thoughts, influence the functions of the body and the ability to create a state of health or disease. These molecules of emotions, created by thoughts, run every system in the body and, if used properly, can potentially keep us healthy and disease-free.
Everything that is registered in the mind is registered in the body. In his book “Perfect Health” Dr. Deepak Chopra writes, “the mind is in every cell of the body. Every thought we think causes a release of neuropeptides that are transmitted to all the cells in the body.”
The mindfulness practices that we undertake to reduce stress and calm the mind are like a computer that programs directions to the systems of the body for both psychological and physical accord. These practices can help with processing bottled-up emotional pain, anger and fear that, by their very nature, may be aggravating health problems.
True health is a dynamic state of vitality along with physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being. No cleansing ritual is complete without also addressing the thoughts and emotions that create consciousness. While unhealthy or debilitating unconscious emotions and thoughts can easily make a healthy body diseased, the proper use of consciousness can bring health to an ailing body.
Suzanne Norman is trained in the Natural Health Sciences, with education in Yoga, Yoga Therapy, Ayurveda, Holistic Nutrition, Hypnotherapy and other healing modalities, Suzanne has earned the qualification as a Traditional Naturopath.
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