It's (almost) Spring: Cleanse your Liver

Springtime is seriously the best, especially in a cold climate. I am so ready for it. It's also a great time to cleanse your body of all those winter SAD toxins and immune system fatigue that have built up while hibernating and warding off the plague. 

I love to focus on cleansing the liver this time of year, a springtime ritual in many traditional cultures. I do this three ways: taking herbs, eating liver cleansing foods, and doing a series of self-care rituals. 

HERBS: I love drinking nettle tea this time of year. Nettles are amazing at cleaning out the liver and kidneys, and they are a gentle herb that is safe for almost everyone to consume. Make a big quart of it and sip it throughout the day.

FOOD: I love to up my green veggie quota and focus on eating spinach, kale, and broccoli to boost my folic acid, vitamin A and all the other good stuff that these contain. I also make a big batch of fermented veggies. My favorites are Baek or Hwang Kimchi (see my recipe) and one I just posted, for "Red Cabbage & Apple Sauerkraut". I make my sauerkraut "special" with lots of ginger. So is it more a kimkraut hybrid? You be the judge.

RITUAL: This is a great time of year to step out and into your body, occupy your flesh and skin, and improve your circulation after that long hibernation. I love doing a weekly self-massage, focusing on the abdomen/uterus area, that culminates in a hot bath with epsom salts and a combo of lavender peppermint bergamot essential oils. You can see my post on "Self-Massage" for instructions. 

Good luck getting yourself awakened to springtime and a healthy, alive, resilient body/mind/spirit! 

In the best life we trust,
Laena