For almost four years now my body has been in a detoxing/healing process. And it's been a crazy journey! I never dreamed it would take this long, and I had no idea about all the strange things I'd experience along the way.
Often when I'm telling someone about my latest detoxing phase, their eyes glaze over like they have no clue what I'm talking about. And thankfully for them, they don't. If I hadn't lived through the last four years, I wouldn't understand it either.
So I thought it'd be helpful to explain a little about the detoxing process. Hopefully it'll help you in your own situation or at least give you better understanding and compassion for others.
When I first started detoxing, I was extremely ill. I couldn't speak or move off the couch. I had so many things wrong with my body that it seemed I'd never find a place to start. Thankfully, after we started doing the lymphatic massage and detox baths every day, my body began its own healing process.
Here are some things I've learned since then:
1) The body usually detoxes more recent toxins first.
One of the first things I detoxed was asphalt. I'd had a terrible exposure to asphalt a few months before we started the massage. So after a couple weeks of the massage, I noticed that my clothes and hair smelled like asphalt. That was the first thing I detoxed.
Many months later I was detoxing things I'd been exposed to in childhood, such as kerosene.
For me the detoxing process has worked more or less backward - detoxing recent exposures first then gradually working back to early toxic exposures.
2) The body detoxes through the lungs, liver, kidneys, bowels and skin.
While the lungs and liver are somewhat "invisible" detoxing organs, the kidneys, bowels and skin usually show more noticeable signs of detoxing.
As I said, my clothes and hair smelled like asphalt while I was detoxing it, because it was literally pouring out through my skin. (This is one reason why detox baths can be so helpful.)
If you never notice any changes in your urine, bowels, or skin, you're probably not detoxing effectively. There should be rather obvious signs that your body is getting rid of toxins.
3) The body is extremely THOROUGH in its detoxing process.
I have been astounded at how many things my body has detoxed in the last four years! Everything from mercury, formaldehyde and pesticide, to immunizations, viruses, and bacteria, to perfume, shampoo and lotion, and much, much more!
When the body deems something as unhealthy or over-abundant, it detoxes it. And praise God that this is how He has created our bodies! When we provide the assistance the body needs (lymphatic massage, detox baths, herbs, supplements, deep breathing, etc, etc.), it is very faithful in "cleaning house" and getting rid of the bad things that have accumulated.
Sometimes I wish I could "turn off" this detoxing process for a few days and take a break. =) But really, I'm very thankful my body continues to work on detoxifying and healing every day.
Well, I think this post is long enough for today. =) I have more thoughts to share, so be sure to tune in next week for Part 2 of understanding the detoxing process.
Any questions so far? Do you have any insights to share about the detoxing process?
Hi Joanna,
ReplyDeleteA question: Did you have to discard your clothing and bedding after detoxing?
Hi Lin,
DeleteGood question.
During the last few years, I often got two showers a day, or a shower in the morning and a detox bath at night. I washed my clothes after every time I wore them. As you can imagine, they wore out quickly. If I felt like they were getting a little too toxic, then I downgraded them to rags or threw them out.
As far as bedding, for a long time I only slept on my sheets for one day, then I soaked them in this special recipe to get the toxins out - http://supereigirl.blogspot.com/2012/09/coca-cola-recipe-for-clean-clothes.html
That meant I had to have about 3 sets of sheets, but it's worth it to be able to sleep on clean ones.
At the moment, I can use the same sheets for 2 days, then I soak them. This has helped SO much in getting the toxins out and enabling me to use them for longer than I could have otherwise. When I notice a sheet is getting too toxic, then it also gets repurposed or thrown out.
It's really important not to be wearing clothes or sleeping on sheets that are full of toxins, as you can reabsorb them. I buy cheap clothes at Wal-mart (they have many clothes that are 100% cotton and made in central america, which I have tolerated well). That way I can afford to go through them quickly.
The bedding I've bought from Janice's, http://janices.com/ so it's more expensive, but it's good quality and has lasted a long time for me.
I hope this helps. If you need more info, let me know or send me an email.
God bless,
-Joanna
Thanks so much for this thorough answer! Very helpful!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! I'm happy to help anytime. =)
ReplyDelete