Pampering Yourself During Detox (3)

It is been a while since my last post.


I feel I have to complete the detox series before I continue with other topics.


At the end of the last post, I mentioned that having massages, facials and practising rhythmic breathing are 3 more ways to pamper yourself and blow the stress away. Having someone massage your body is a heavenly and relaxing experience. It is to be noted that even in hard times, spas and beauty salons enjoy good patronage. Women must stay young and pretty!

Massage


A good massage kneads toxins away from the tissues and improves lymphatic drainage. It also calms nervous tension and stimulates optimum glandular function. Skin and muscle tone improve while less cellulite is seen. A good massage relieves muscle tension and improves immunity to disease. While there are different types of massage available such as Thai massage, Shiatsu massage, traditional Malay and Chinese massage and not forgetting the Swedish massage; self massaging can also be practised if you could not afford the professional massages. Self massage must be done on parts accessible to you and all strokes must be towards the heart so that blood is pushed naturally around the normal body flow and not against it. The next best thing is to get your partner or close friend to give you a massage. Cheap practical courses are available for those interested to learn the art of massage. Perhaps a short training goes a long way and is a good investment for your long term health.

Facials

Once you detox your body, you would notice that your facial complexion also improves. To help the skin improve further, you should consider having a facial treatment for extra relaxation. It could also boost your image as you would look years younger.


A visit to the beauty salon would include not only facial cleansing, toning and moisturising but having a mask over your face and a shoulder massage at the same time put all the stress away. Some salons also add a facial massage before the cleansing session.


You could also do a DIY facial at home when you are alone. Don't forget to switch off your hand phone and put the home phone off the hook! You could relax with the facial mask on while listening to slow relaxing music. Before getting into detox, you could first stock up your favorite cleanser, mask and moisturiser products. Or you could raid your kitchen with natural products such as honey, egg whites, natural yoghurt and oatmeal.


A facial sauna using a big bowl filled with boiling water as a hot bath is a good idea if your face is not too sensitive and you are neither pregnant nor asthmatic. Your can put a towel over your head and place your face over the hot bath for short periods of two minutes each. Close your eyes and breathe normally.The steam will open your pores and when your remove your face from the sauna, pat it with warm water. You may add 6 drops of mandarin essential oil and 2 tablespoons lavender tea to the water if you have normal skin. For oily skin, you could add 6 drops of rose essential oil and two tablespoons of chamomile tea to the water.


Deep breathing


Learning to breathe naturally and properly is a good way to heal during a detox period. In fact, breathing properly during exercise will result in better benefits compared to panting and irregular breathing patterns. You could also appreciate the fact that in traditional qigong, proper breathing techniques are taught to improve overall muscle tones and sustain good body functions.

Deep, rhythmic breathing improves the lung capacity and increases the oxygen flow into the blood vessels and sets the nervous system into a healing mode. On the other hand, shallow breathing could lead to a state of fright and nervous tension and this in turn would lead to deterioration of overall health.



Simple deep breathing can relax the mind and recharge your energy. I remember the lamaze breathing I learn during my first pregnancy. You have to consciously tell every part of your body to relax while closing your eyes at the same time. The breathing method I learnt put me through 5 pregnancies and during my elder son's birth, I was asked whether I was a nurse since I was timing my contractions in order to know when to breathe the right way.



I remember same the breathing technique was demonstrated during an episode of the 'Oprah' talk show. You can practise it this way; while sitting comfortably on a chair or lying flat on the floor. Place your hands on your tummy with your fingertips touching the tummy. Close your eyes and take a few breaths while you tell your mind to calm down.



Now, breathe in through your nose, very slowly to a count of four. As you inhale, push your tummy up and out.Hold your breath to a count of seven, then exhale gently through your mouth to a count of eight. Repeat this process up to ten times. If you do this regularly, you could reduce your blood pressure substantially. Nowadays, I normally practise this while waiting outside the doctor's clinic or before an important meeting. It works, believe me.



Well, this post wraps up the ways you could pamper yourself during detox. Wishing you a safe and happy detoxification.