Love It Body - INTENSE!

Join me at Love It Yoga for Love It Body INTENSE, our Spring Detox Program - a 21 day clean eating and exercise challenge.

This program is a spin off of our 8 Week Love It Body Program and is designed to kick start you into a clean eating and exercise regime. The program runs for 3 weeks and includes weekly information sessions to help keep you on track and a one month unlimited yoga membership at Love It Yoga.

Love It Body INTENSE is a diet and exercise challenge and so participants are encouraged to challenge themselves to as many or as few of the guidelines as possible. Participants are provided with dietary guidelines to follow as well as recipes and meal planning recommendations.

The benefits of this program are far reaching and will be unique to each individual and their health concerns as well as their commitment to the program. In previous programs participants have experienced weight loss, energy increases, fewer digestive complaints, reduced pain, lowered blood pressure and many other improvements to their health.

For more details please join us Wednesday May 1st at 8:30pm at Love It Yoga in Amherstburg for a free information session. The program will begin on May 4th (however, this date is flexible) and weekly meetings will be on Wednesdays at 8:30pm beginning Monday May 6th. The cost of the program is $120 (plus hst) and may be partially reimbursed by your extended health care provider. You may also phone the studio 519-736-4500 or email us for more information: drjanicedaviend@gmail.com or ena@loveityoga.com.

Individualized cleanse programs are also available through the office, during your naturopathic visit. For patients, additional liver cleanse supplementation is optional. Just give us a call!

Organs of Elimination

One way we can all improve our general level of health is by supporting our organs of elimination.

Our primary organs of elimination include the lungs, the skin, the kidneys and the digestive system. Through these four organs we eliminate waste products from our body. From the lungs we eliminate carbon dioxide, from the skin we excrete sweat, urine is voided by the kidneys and stool is eliminated from the digestive system. These are all of the natural and normal ways our body eliminates that which we have no use for: by-products of our metabolism and toxins that we accumulate from our environment through our air, food and water.

Proper elimination is essential for health. When these waste products are not eliminated efficiently from the body, they will accumulate and contribute to ill health. Many common symptoms can be cured by simply supporting our organs of elimination.

To support our kidneys we need to drink an adequate amount of water each day. I recommend drinking half of your body weight(lbs) in ounces. See blog post "Water" for more information.

To support our lungs we need to practice deep breathing. Aim for 100 deep belly breaths over the course of the day.

For the skin we need to promote sweating (think exercise) and allow the skin to breathe by practicing dry skin brushing each day.

For the digestive system we must ensure we are having a minimum of 1 bowel movement each day. Anything less is considered constipation. (see blog post "Improving Bowel Regularity")

One other system that plays a key role in elimination is our lymphatic system. See previous post entitled "The Importance of the Lymphatic System" for more information.

By enhancing the function of our organs of elimination we can more efficiently eliminate the toxins we are exposed to on a daily basis and we can begin to eliminate waste products we have stored in our body. Supporting the function of our lungs, kidneys, skin and digestive tract is paramount to good health.

By improving your body's ability to eliminate you can expect a reduction of symptoms, improved energy levels, enhanced weight loss, a general sense of well-being and prevention of future disease.

Rebounding for the Lymphatic System

Rebounding basically means bouncing on a mini trampoline and is an excellent way to improve the movement of the lymphatic system!

Movement of the lymphatic system is important for detoxification and immune system function. By improving lymphatic movement we can improve circulation of the immune system - important for warding off the everyday cold and flu as well as prevention of cancer.

The lymphatic system consists of vessels throughout the body however unlike the vascular system, the lymphatic system lacks a pump and one way valves to control movement. To move the lymphatic system we largely rely on the action of our muscles.

When the muscles of our body contract, they pump the lymphatic vessels and move the lymph fluid throughout the body.

While any type of exercise will improve lymphatic movement, rebounding is known as one of the most effective exercises in accomplishing this.

Try rebounding for 10 minutes each day and incorporate as much arm movement as you can. Aim for small, controlled bounces while swinging the arms as if swimming, doing jumping jacks, boxing, touching your elbows to your knees, etc.

Rebounding for 10 minutes has a cardio effect comparable to jogging for 30 minutes. Additional benefits to rebounding include: weight loss, improved energy levels, reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, improved oxygenation of the body and stress reduction.

The Importance of the Lymphatic System

The Lymphatic System is an additional circulatory system found throughout the entire body. It is composed of vessels, lymph nodes, lymphatic tissue, and several organs: the spleen, thymus and bone marrow.

The lymphatic system plays a very important part in our immune system function as well generalized detoxification of the body.

The cells of our immune system are produced by the lymphatic organs, are stored in the lymphatic tissue and are circulated throughout the body in lymph fluid. By improving the circulation of the lymphatic system, we can improve the function and circulation of our immune system. This is beneficial in warding off your everyday infections, colds and flus but also extremely important for the prevention of ALL cancers.

Improving circulation of the lymphatic system also supports the body's capacity to detoxify. By-products of our metabolism, toxins, and other wastes accumulate in the fluid surrounding our cells and tissues and the lymphatic system is responsible for mobilizing such waste products for elimination. Impaired movement of the lymphatic system can result in accumulation of these toxins and waste products and over time, can result in disease.

Stimulating lymphatic movement will improve immune system function and the body's ability to detoxify. This is a very important component of health promotion and disease prevention.

Five Fantastic Ways to Increase Lymphatic Circulation

1. Exercise
2. Contrast Showers
3. Dry Skin Brushing
4. Rebounding
5. Deep Breathing