A Mini Mind & Body Cleanse to Reset

Hey my beauts!

Do you ever feel like you're in a total brain fog?

Maybe you're trying to come up with ideas at work and they aren't flowing to you like they normally do. Or maybe you're just feeling kind of 'blah' and uninspired. Or you feel like you're spinning your wheels in circles and are super "BUSY" but aren't really getting anywhere.

Yep, that's how I've felt for the past month or so.

I've been in Canada for a little over a month now (already! where does the time go?) And while I came to Canada with some lofty goals for myself (i.e. running a half marathon, writing for 100 days in a row), it's all been such a whirlwind of excitement and adventure... but also stress, adjustment and madness.

Applying for permanent residency isn't the easiest thing in the world. Neither is finding a place to live, adjusting to a totally new country, switching bank accounts and insurance, all the small things that aren't really hard, but enough to be another annoying little thing on the to-do list.

All that being said, I want to get back in my groove with creativity and just release some of the stress and tension I've been holding onto.

What better way to do that than a total mind/body cleanse?!

The Deets of My Mind/Body Cleanse

I'm committing to my cleanse for 72 hours (Wednesday - Friday evening). Depending on how I feel, I may extend it, but I'll let you guys know on Friday.

Three days is not extreme at all. After having the idea to do this, I did some research and found that some people FAST (don't eat at all) for upwards of 7-14 days for religious/spiritual reasons. Props to them but 3 days seems to be just fine for me ;) haha.

Let's get into the details of how/why I'm doing this cleanse in the first place!

Mind Cleanse

I talk in my e-book about doing a social media cleanse a few times per year, because this has been a game-changer for me.

Why?

Because social media is my biggest distraction. I can spend HOURS on that ish without even realizing it. And the worst part? I look at my day and say 'WOW. I was so busy,' even if I didn't really get anything meaningful accomplished. Our brains trick us into thinking that just because they're 'busy' (aka occupied by a phone) that they're actually doing something. Yes, our brains are being stimulated, but not in a way that's productive or meaningful.

Alas, another mini social media cleanse!

I deleted Facebook and IG off my phone (sorry if y'all have been liking my IG stories haha) and I'm only going on Facebook to answer messages ONCE per day. Usually I wouldn't even recommend doing that but I get a lot of inquiries for coaching on Facebook, plus I love to share these posts with you!

Instead, I'm going to fill my days with work (still have responsibilities, yaknow), writing, brainstorming, coloring, being creative and a bunch of other things I list below in the 'hell yes' section.

Body Cleanse

Before we get into it, I just wanted to give a responsible disclaimer and say CLEANSING/FASTING and restriction of any sort is not for everyone. If you're doing it to solely to lose weight or you have a history of disordered eating that is not fully recovered, it's probably best to avoid anything like this. Everyone could benefit from the 'mind' portion of the cleanse, but be delicate and careful with your intentions of the 'body' portion, please. :)

Y'all know I'm a very balanced person overall. I loooove eating well, and I also love the occasional treat (pizza and ice cream are my go-to's). I'm very careful about over-indulging/restricting and can say with 100% confidence that I've found balance in my life when it comes to food at this point - HALLELUJAH! I don't feel guilty or shameful when I have a treat like I used to. I eat well 90% of the time to nourish my body and fuel my workouts. I love cooking, having a great meal with friends/family, and just overall love the way healthy food gives me so much life and energy.

I want to emphasize the reason I'm doing the 'body' portion of this cleanse is NOT to lose weight.

My goal is to avoid as many distractions as possible in order to do some deep, meaningful, soul-enriching work for my business and my life.

Food is a HUGE distraction for me because I find I spend a LOT of time thinking about what to eat, when to eat, how much to eat, where to eat, etc. And while we obviously do need to eat, sometimes it can become a huge distraction that keeps us from being productive.

So... what's the plan?

During the cleanse, I plan to only drink liquids (you can find my 'approved liquids' in the section below).

I'm starting off by fasting (not consuming anything but water/black coffee) with no time frame intended here, just going along with how my body feels; and once I feel I want to start drinking smoothies, kombucha, whatever... I will.

Side story: I'm no stranger to doing the occasional fast, actually. I'm not a pro by any means - I think my longest fast has been 36 hours, and I sort of practice intermittent fasting by accident every day (some days I'll work out and get busy and not eat until noon). In the past when I've fasted, it's been kind of a trippy experience. I've had some of my MOST creative ideas during my fasts (because my mind isn't distracted by food, tired from digesting, etc.).

So even though I'm not doing a total fast, I'm just trying to eliminate all the thought that surrounds what to eat, when to eat, how much to eat... and focus solely on my life goals/choices/etc.

My Personal HELL YES & HELL NO's for the Cleanse

Here are a few items from the list of things I can/can't do during the cleanse, because yo girl loves lists and it's just easier for me to live off of tangible, clear examples.

HELL YES (Do this!!)

Movement

Long, leisure walks
Yoga (gentle, no vinyasa)
Run (if I'm feeling ok... but prob will wait til the weekend)
Playing/having fun (i.e. basketball, frisbee, etc.) Read more about my playtime in this post!
Swimming

Creativity

Journal
Color (if you don't have an adult coloring book, what are you actually doing with your life?)
Read
Write
Brainstorm ideas for biz

Self-Care

Face masks
Long, hot showers
Bath with candles (my fav)
Prayer
Meditation
Lots of sleep/naps
Spend time in nature

Nutrition

Bone broth
Kombucha
Organic juices
Smoothies with protein
Apple cider vinegar
Tons of water

Hell-to-the-NO

Absolutely no social media (FB, IG)
Minimal emails (check once in morning & once at night)
Avoid computer time unless working
NO YOUTUBE VIDS/PODCASTS unless super empowering, inspirational and enlightening (this was a huge shift for me because I was watching sooo many pointless youtube vids a few months ago and it totally altered my opinions on things - I'll write more on that in a later post.)
Making food choices (i.e. how much to eat, when to eat, etc.) It's so much easier when you know you only have a few options.

So, that's all folks!

I'll report back and let you know how it goes and if I have an enlightening ideas come my way.

Have you ever done a cleanse or fast? How was your experience? Why'd you do it? Tell me all the things!

Sending all my love, always!

Julie

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