Salaam alaikum sisters. I trust that, by the grace of Allah (SWT), you are feeling healthy, and vital in every aspect of your life. I would like to begin this series by asking you to notice how vital you are. Please take a moment to answer the following questions:
• On a scale from one to 10, how healthy and vital are you feeling right now?
• How do you know this?
• What might the obstacles that are hindering your health and wellbeing be?
• How might you remove these obstacles?
• What can you add to your life that will allow you to enjoy better health and energy levels?
What are you discovering? Are you as vital as you would like to be? You are not alone if you feel that your energy levels could be better. Perhaps you get tired easily, or feel that there’s just too much on your plate. These may be causes that need to be looked at, but there could be other things playing a part as well. Have you been able to distinguish exactly what’s getting in the way? I come across lots of sisters who know that something is missing, or out of sync, but they aren’t quite sure what that is. It may even be that a toxin is lurking in the background, causing havoc with their physical health, and they don’t know that its there. So what is a toxin exactly? A toxin is any substance that causes disease in the body when we are exposed to it because it acts like a poison in the body. The body’s normal function gets hindered or inhibited resulting in health problems over time. We usually associate toxins with substances that can we can see such as metals, or pesticides, however, I invite you to consider that a toxin can be of a mental or emotional nature as well. These toxins either enter our system from the outside, or occur within the body, often causing problems if they are not properly dealt with.
The disease may be physical, or manifest in emotional and mental “dis-ease.” Emotional or mental dis-ease will manifest as anxiety, pain, fear, and negative thoughts to name a few. In this series we will explore how to remove toxins from our system to allow ourselves to feel good and enhance our potential. The first aspect we will focus on is the physical bodies and our environment.
Today’s lifestyles are busy, and we are exposed to numerous toxins every day. When our bodies are healthy, they can do most of this on their own, however we can sometimes give ourselves a helping hand from time to time. A few small changes to our environment, food, or sleeping patterns can really give the body a boost in its ability to heal and remove toxins. Remember that Allah (SWT) has blessed us with an inner healing potential, subhan’Allah. So let’s begin with some basic tips on creating a physical detox.
Look at your environment
I imagine that you use a mobile phone, and wireless Internet. Perhaps you have a cordless phone next to your bed? Technology is wonderful and I can’t imagine what we would do without it. In fact, the human body is somewhat like an electrical appliance itself; electrical impulses run through it all the time. In fact, our heartbeat is generated by an electrical impulse. So imagine having several, often-conflicting electrical signals bouncing around both inside and outside the body. What impact will this have on the body? The outside signals may interfere with the body from time to time. I invite you to do your own research on this if you choose, but in the meantime you may choose to make small adjustments that will help your body to maintain its natural rhythms. How about turning the Internet off before you sleep, and keeping the cordless phone away from the bed. Small changes will help your body to recuperate from the day, and help the environment too.
Remove clutter
Do you have lots of stuff that you perhaps don’t need? Maybe there are things that you’ve been meaning to get rid of, but haven’t yet. I invite you to consider that your environment is an extension of who you are. What is going on within reflects in your environment. At times, your environment may also impact on your mood and thinking process as well. Take a moment to reflect on the quality of your environment by answering the following questions:
• Is my environment a true reflection of who I am?
• What does my current environment say about me?
• How would I like my environment to be?
• What do I need to add/remove within my work (home) environment that will help increase my energy?
I invite you to take a good look around and notice what clutter there may be lying around. Removing clutter, or excessive items will help clarify your thinking. It will also support an inner clearing to begin taking place.
Drink water
I imagine that you’ve heard people tell you to drink water before. Perhaps you heard it on TV or read it in a magazine. So what’s the hype about water? Water is unlike any other liquid. First of all, it helps make up to 70% of the body. In addition, water is the vehicle that takes nutrients and messages from one part of the body to another. It allows nutrients to go into the cells, and allows toxins to come out. Sip water slowly and avoid gulping it. That way it enters the tissues far more easily. I encourage you to drink up to two litres of water a day, especially when you are aiming to detox. You will notice that this will also help to reduce stress.
Move your body
We all hear that exercise has lots of benefits, the most obvious one being weight control, however exercise plays a vital role in the detox regime. It helps the body eliminate toxins through the lymphatic system. With exercise, the lymph moves with greater ease, allowing the toxins to end up being removed from our system efficiently. In addition, exercise helps improve mood, and relieve stress. The body doesn’t recognise the difference between physical danger and mental stress. It releases hormones that are very valuable in fighting off any physical threat. However, mental stress doesn’t require the same physical exertion, so it leaves these hormones floating around in the body. This can then cause health problems. Light exercise will allow these chemicals to release so the body can go back into a restful state. Plan a little bit of light exercise into your routine. I invite you to choose something that you enjoy so it doesn’t feel like too much of a chore. You will enjoy the activity, and it will lift your mood too!
Get your beauty sleep
I imagine that you’ve heard how important it is to get 7-8 hours of sleep a night. Every person is unique and I imagine that you know the amount of sleep you need to feel rested. Getting the hours in is only one part of keeping your body healthy. Sleeping early plays a crucial role in healthy detox. Your body heals and repairs itself during sleep, and each organ of the body recovers at its own pace. Your detox machine, the liver, begins its renewal process around 11pm, and it needs time to rest and recover. This process allows the liver to be effective in releasing toxins out of the body (your liver is your inner filter so to speak). I know that we all have our own rhythms, and some people prefer to stay up late. It is important to honour your rhythms, but do aim to sleep before midnight at least while you are embarking on a detox routine. It will be even better if you are able to incorporate one or two blissful nights into your weekly schedule. You will feel more energetic, and vital insha’Allah.
I hope that you have found these tips useful and easy to incorporate into your routine. I invite you to start with the one that inspires you the most, work with it for a while, and then implement additional ones if you choose to. We will go a little bit deeper and explore how to create a detox from a mental perspective in the second part of our series. It is my sincere hope that we can all take steps towards enhancing our potential insha’Allah.
Sayeda Habib is a highly qualified professional coach. She coaches Muslim women to help them feel empowered and create results in their lives. She coaches clients one to one and also runs group workshops. She holds the Professional Certified Coach (PCC) credential issued by the International Coach Federation. She is the author of “Discover the Best in You: Life Coaching for Muslims.” She also contributes to various online and print publications. She has been featured in the media in various countries including Pakistan, the UAE and the United Kingdom. To find out more, log on to www.makelifehappen.com or email at Sayeda@makelifehappen.com
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