How do you unplug?

In a world ruled by screens, drones, instant messaging, on demand everything, how do you unplug?

And for how long? 

Have you ever noticed yourself becoming less distracted, with a brightened mood, as your mind calms, and your breathing deepens and relaxes as you spend time with nature? A recent study shows positive affect, restoration, connectedness and mindfulness increase during a 2.5 hour forest tour. 

Maybe you’ve tried walking barefoot on the earth or the warm, salty ocean shore, sleeping grounded or oriented to the cardinal directions. There are health benefits to these.

Have you been charmed by a waterfall in the forest? We’ve studied that too!

Is deep breathing, music or guided imagery your go-to? Research concurs.

Do you take a vacation or, better yet, a meditation retreat? That works.

Can you turn off your cell phone for a day? 10 days? Maybe you should.

Do you swear by sunshine to relax and restore?

How about a nourishing winter soup cleanse?

You can find all the getting started tips here & search my Cultivating Wellness Blog “soup cleanse” all the posts.

Do you unplug your wi-fi at night? Yes, I do.

Given each of our unique life situations “unplugging” may look very different. 

The key is to find ways to down regulate our nervous systems and up regulate our natural feel good pharmacy D.O.S.E. (Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin, Endorphin) for our best life.

After many years of healing myself with seasonal wisdom & the Element Wisdom Card deck in a location with four distinct meterological seasons, I am exploring winter residency in latitudes closer to the equator to further nourish and strengthen my constitutional Water Element.

I would love to teach you more about how to heal yourself through mind, body, spirit practices that harmonize you with the dynamic rhythm of the season.   Here we find our most wholesome & unique expression of our health. When we sync ourself with the macrocosmic expression of our external world, our internal microcosmic needs become clear.

I am  available for telemedicine consults now and

offer acupuncture services again January 29 – February 15. 

Special Reiki treatments are available while I am away.  Book all of those services here.

Have you ever considered your power, your drive or your will like unto water? I was raised up on the Tennessee River. The singing river has been harnessed to provide hydroelectric power to the multitudes at the expense of snails and darters and such.

In our highest, most healthy state our power is like a mighty river determined in it’s purposefulness. In our highest, most healthy state our drive is like a stream flowing around obstacles. In our highest, most healthy state our will is like a singular tributary merging with the ocean great.

#water #winter #fiveelements #river #ambition #power #will #drive #elementwisdomcards #wisdom#elements

Soup Cleanse recipes can be found  a few posts back (click here).

Wanna dive deeper into the cleanse with spices, soup toppers and self-care actions?  Check back in for our upcoming posts or follow our blog to have the posts delivered to your email

The soups can be created and enjoyed in any order.  However, the order of the soups as presented journeys you through the 12 organ network in order of energetic flow.  This and upcoming posts provide organ specific self care suggestions as well as spices and toppers to add to each soup to power up the effect of each vegetable combination. 

The winter soup cleanse as a method of preparing the body for a spring cleanse, resetting after over indulgence and a nourishing and gentle act of a self care to resent our habits. Our goal should always be to first optimize the functioning of our bodies to aid elimination when we undertake a detox.  

One of the most important and frequently overlooked areas of a cleanse or detox is to prepare the body to efficiently clear the toxins that are stored in the body. We eliminate waste via our

• lungs via carbon dioxide gas
• large intestine via feces
• skin via sweat
• liver via detoxification pathways
• bladder via urination

The first soup in the winter nourishing soup cleanse series focuses on the elemental metal pair of organs: the lung and large intestine. The onion/garlic base is a pre-biotic with their long fibrous strands of fructooligiosacchrides and insulin that feed the microbiome. Onions are warm in nature, promote sweating, resolve phlegm and act as a diuretic. Do you notice how many of the avenues of elimination just onions hit? Garlic is hot in nature was recognized as an antibiotic long before the advent of pharmaceuticals. In fact, it was a standard item in military ration kits through the ages. It also has anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti-helminth properties. If onions and garlic aren’t your thing, visit our post on soup stock variations. If onions and garlic aren’t your thing, visit our post on soup stock variations.

Beyond the base: concentrate your efforts on spicing and topping to enhance the power of the soups.

Spices: 

Black & White Pepper: 

nature: hot, pungent

action: warms internal organs, eliminates phlegm

direction: downward

affinity:  Large Intestine & Stomach

Nutmeg:

nature: warm, pungent

action: warms internal organs, eliminates phlegm

direction: downward

affinity: Large Intestine & Spleen

Toppers:

Avocado: 

nature: sweet, cool

action: moistens lungs, intestines, skin

affinity: lung and large intestine

Self Care:

To support the large intestine add abdominal massage.

To support the lung add breath work and  dry brushing

I hope you enjoy this journey!  Be creative.  Love your body with healthy foods.

xoxoxoxo Sarita

There are just a few basic ‘rulz’ and a lot of room for making it your own.  In my practice, I have learned that co-creating plans supports your wellness journey.

1. No Grazing. Allow 4 to 5 hours between each meal.  This allows the nerve complex known as the migrating motor complex to move food out of our stomachs through the small intestine, optimizing nutrient absorption, maximizing digestive power while sweeping misplaced bacteria into the colon for elimination.  The MMC starts two hours after eating. Snacking between meals slows or stops the digestive process.

2. Fermented Foods. Add one to two servings of non dairy fermented foods daily. I suggest 1-2 oz of kombucha, raw sauerkraut, miso soup, kim chee, etc

3. Whole Foods. You may choose to add these soups once or twice daily to a whole foods diet free of process and refined foods.  Another option is start the day with vegetable or bone broth or miso soup, a mid day meal of in season greens sautéed in coconut or olive oil sprinkled with seeds or nuts and evening soup. You may choose to rest the digestive system further with a week of ‘smashed, mashed, pureed, broths and teas’ or intermittent fasting. Make it work for you.

4. Water and Herbal Tea. Drink ½ your body weight in clean water daily including a cup or two of your favorite detox or calm tea and supplemental mineral water or drops. During winter I always cycle back around to calming and adaptagenic teas ~ watch for our upcoming post: Teas: Adapt & Calm to dive deeper. This is the time to shop local and buy from  your peeps.

5. Grocery Lists. I’m not a fan of grocery lists.  We live in a time in which all fruits and vegetables from all parts of the globe are in season all the time in our commercial grocery stores or can be shipped to our door. I’m inviting you to shop your local farmer’s market, harvest your yard.  Absolutely whenever possible buy organic – it’s richer in minerals and free from pesticides and chemicals.  No spray is also a better choice.  Fresh is better and frozen is still good. Really look at the produce when you are shopping. Which produce looks the healthiest? the most vital?  the most alive? Choose that one.  If one or two of the vegetables from the soup cleanse ingredient list is not available – skip it. 

6. Soup Share. Consider recruiting a friend or family member to parnter with during the cleanse week.  You all could each prepare 1/2 of the soups and together you have the whole with 1/2 the work.  Check in daily. Genius!!
7. Add One. Subtract Three. Add one external element of support.  In addition to one form of circulation/movement daily ~ dance time, qi gong shaking, yoga, stretching, walks, sauna, therapeutic bathing ~ add support like our Element Wisdom Water Deck or your favorite pod cast or inspirational.  Subtract three sources of overstimulation:  social media, radio, news, TV, netflix, all technology after sunset, etc

The number one question I get in January is “What do you think about this detox kit or that cleanse program or this product? My general answer is Winter is NOT the most harmonious time of the year to detoxify – save it for spring and fall.  And always, always prepare your body for a detox by opening the 5 avenues (emunctories) of elimination  ~ more on that later. Winter is for resting, restoring, dreaming, merging – hibernating in essence.

I do understand the desire, even the need to reset after the overindulgence of the holidays and to affirm our newfound, yearly commitment to healthier habits with action.  Over the next weeks, I will guide you through a simple winter soup cleanse with soup base modification, organ specific spices along with seasonally appropriate practices to feel better now. 

I will be delivering lifestyle and winter wellness tips, whole food hacks in a mini blog format. Click here to have the blog delivered to your inbox, so you don’t miss these insider tips. 

The soups journeys you through each of the the 6 yin/yang pairs of the organ network to gently cleanse and restore – a perfect winter way to care for yourself. 

The genius of this soup cleanse is that once you learn to make the base, you simply add different vegetables and spices to guide healing to the organs as suggested below:

Soups:

Lung/Large Intestine ~ Cauliflower / Cabbage

Stomach/Spleen ~ Butternut Squash

Heart/Small Intestine ~ Asparagus/ Turnip & Pumpkin/Chili

Bladder/Kidney ~ Lentil/Cilantro

Gallbladder/Liver ~ Beet/ Parsnip

Triple burner/ Pericardium ~ Kale/ spinach/ chard

Lung/Large Intestine ~ Carrot/ Leek /Ginger

All in a base of onion, garlic and sea salt

For 2 servings: combine one medium onion, 2-5 cloves garlic, seal salt to taste in 1 quart of filtered water. Simmer until onions are not quite clear. Add chopped vegetables until fork tender. Blend with immersion blender, blendtech/vitamix, or blender. Add a little olive oil.

If you are intolerant to sulphur or wish to vary from the detox base,

try these Stock Base Alternatives.

Spice to taste.

Be creative and enjoy.

If you wish to go deeper into seasonal wellness purchase your Winter/Water Element Wisdom Card Deck here for 73 unique messages of inspiration, affirmation, jedi mind tricks, inquiries and instructions and to support this restorative cleanse.