Happy spring!

Spring is the time for re-emerging. It's also the season to clear the winter cobwebs and get ready for the buzzing months of growth and harvesting ahead.

I like to think of how much we actually are a part of nature, and play with the idea that what happens in nature is also applicable to us.

What if like tulips, we can blossom from the same bulb into a completely new flower each year?  

And what if like soil, every spring we can integrate last year's compost, leaves and mulch so we can be stronger and richer?

Cutesy metaphors aside, I like to believe that we humans can in fact do just that.

In fact, Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda take this approach to creating health. Let us look at what nature does at any given point and use that wisdom for our own health.

Spring is about regeneration and preparation. And your body in fact regenerates quite quickly. So much so that no less than 15% of your cells right now are completely new ones. Your lungs are only 6 weeks old. Your skin only 4-6 weeks old. Your liver about 6 months. Your red blood cells, 4 months.

In both Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda, renewal means to help the body eliminate the stuff that is stagnant and freshen up everything that needs refreshing.

And the spring offers the perfect tools to facilitate that:

• Lot's of water

• Bitter greens

• Sprouts emerging from the ground

Not coincidentally, these are key elements that help regenerate some of your key organs involved in detoxification: your liver, blood, lungs, colon, kidneys and skin.

My spring renewal basics would include:

1. Lots of spring water - 2 oz per lb of body weight (i.e. 75 oz a day for someone who weighs 150 lbs)

2. Lots of fresh greens: spinach, asparagus, fiddleheads (harvested sustainably)

3. Bitter spring greens: dandelion greens and ramps (harvested sustainably)

4. Spices: turmeric, ginger, cinnamon for cleansing mucus at a cellular level

5. And sprouts of all kinds

As many of you know, doing a spring cleanse has also been a must for me every spring. This year, I'm starting my group on April 17th. So if it's the perfect time for you, I'd be thrilled to have you join us.

Now, the spring also calls forth a cleansing of our mental and emotional cobwebs.

Like the old clothes in our closet that need to be donated or turned into cleaning rags, our old habits, beliefs and emotional patterns also need to go.

Here are some simple steps to help clear the mental, emotional and energetic clutter:

1. List the thoughts, emotions, habits and people from which you would like to detox. For each, write down one action you can take.

2. Plan a mini retreat, a day at a spa or a 'stay-cation' and spend it reading, journaling or meditating on uplifting, inspiring subjects

3. Unplug from all electronics for 1-5 days including TV, computer and personal devices.

4. In my world, a spring detox is also about setting powerful intentions as well as clearing mental and emotional junk. This is what Lent, Yom Kippur and Ramadan are all about. When we undertake fasting from meat, chocolate or all food for a few hours AND we combine it with a powerful spiritual intention, the shifts can be significant.

Other simple steps that can have a surprisingly significant effect on your energy are cleaning out a closet or the garage, re-arranging the furniture in a room... and of course getting rid of clutter.

And if you're sensing that you could use the powerful spiritual, mental, physical and emotional renewal of a well-planned spring cleanse, then join us. We start the week of April 17th.

I'll be supporting people in live Q&A calls AT NO EXTRA COST! If you'd like to join us, go ahead and sign up and I'll send you all the details.

Here's the link to sign up: Clean Start Detox