Top 3 Tips for Spring Cleaning your Body

After a long cold winter, most of our bodies are ready for some more sunshine to kiss our skin, and more movement and time spent outside, breathing in fresh air. Before you hit the ground running with your Spring activities, consider these "Top 3 Tips for Spring Cleaning your Body" to prepare for this season of renewal! 

1) Water your Internal Garden! 

Hydration is key when increasing your activity level and being outside for longer durations. Not only do we need H2O for all of our cellular processing, but our gut health depends on it for helping to flush out all the toxins from our system. Using a re-usable water bottle is helpful way to transport your water where ever you go. Personally, I use a glass or non-BPA plastic bottle daily and try to keep track of how many times I have filled it up to be sure I am getting the proper amount of hydration in a day. If you need a little flavor to keep you motivated, throw in a slice of lemon, cucumber (or both), or other fruit to liven up your hydration experience. 

2) Walk before you Run!! 

Some of you may be ambitiously planning to participate in a 5K or other type of actual race this year. For others, tackling house cleaning projects or yard work may SEEM as daunting as running a marathon! Regardless of your activities, be sure to actively warm your body up before heading into more strenuous movements. If you are following a "Couch to 5K" program, or working with a coach to train for your races, good for you!! Listen to your body and take breaks as needed as it is much easier to steadily increase the demands on your body than to pick up the pieces after "over-training" injuries may occur! For those of you tackling the home/yard projects, most of them are done in front of the body or "flexed" positions. To counteract all of the sorting, lifting, scrubbing, raking, planting, and pulling positions, be sure to include some Extension activities in your routine: Stand up straight, reaching your leg back behind your body (one leg at a time). Reach your arms all the way up overhead, or out to the sides like you are forming a letter "T" to open your chest and shoulders. These will help to reduce tightness and soreness from the forward flexed postures that are required for your Spring Cleaning tasks. 

3) Wring out your Waists & Wastes!!

Many of you know that our muscles MOVE our bodies from place to place. Did you know that our muscles are also responsible for pumping our Lymphatic Fluids out of the body? The lymphatics are the waste removal system of the body. They rely on the pressure from muscle contractions to serve as pumps for the flow of the waste materials out of the body. Regular movement is required to keep our "pipes" clean. Even more reason to get back in for a session to make sure that ALL of your muscles are functioning efficiently!  Some other ways you can help the lymphatic flow are by dry brushing your skin, or bouncing on a trampoline (also known as rebounding). Since many of our lymph ducts are in our armpits, abdomen and groin, marching in place and bringing your opposite elbow toward your knee will allow your core muscles to massage your internal organs and flush those major lymphatic ducts.  Ask me at your next session to teach you my favorite Lymph blaster, "The Jiggle" as that one is easier to teach (and funnier to watch) in person. Hee hee! :) 

Looking forward to helping you MOVE into Spring and beyond!

Keep Moving Well!