My Spring Detox: Grow A New Body
Why This Program, Why Now?
Many consider April or Aries (the first sign of the Zodiac) as the beginning of the year. Spring is the perfect time of year for a detox, a hard reset or cleansing. My body always feels much more ready & willing for a change, it may have something to do with my lapse in maintaining a gluten, sugar, and dairy free diet over the past few months. All those holiday parties & family gatherings in early winter, then the need for cozy, comfort food during hibernation season as we turn inward. Once the Spring Equinox comes around my body is seeking the light, sunlight & lighter food.
While it is often mentally challenging to even start a detox, I really took the time to prepare, particularly by releasing the sentiment that I am depriving myself of something. Instead I have been planting seeds of this being a gift to myself, a symbol of the love I have for myself. I always joke about how much cleaner my dog eats than I do… I realized there is some truth to it. So, I decided to love myself as much as I love my dog, Killer, and treat myself to this detox without cheating, but not beating myself up if I have a little slip up here or there. One of my main goals is to really listen to my body and in order to do that I really do need to clear out the allergens and toxins that have been building up.
Grow A New Body by Alberto Villoldo
The Grow a New Body program is a 28 day detox program, based in ancient wisdom and science, for your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. In as little as seven days (following the 21 day preparation phase) you can grow a new body, one free from dis-ease that defies the aging process. This program allows you to turn-on the codes stored in your DNA that help cells grow into full adult cells, igniting a healthspan that matches your life span. Indigenous tribes have been practicing this for lifetimes. Blending combinations of plants (in our case through the use of supplements) and a vegan diet (eliminating fleshy proteins, sugars, gluten, dairy, nightshades, etc.) you switch on your health genes while eliminating disease creating genes. I am completing the 21-day prep and getting ready to start the 7-day detox later this week. I’ll share more about my experience once I’ve completed the full program.
21 Day Detox Preparation
Here are the basics of the program:
16-18 hour sugar-fast whatever works best with your schedule.
First thing in the morning, drink 16oz of water with half a lemon.
Take a Prebiotic.
Move your body (see below) & get at least 10 mins of morning sunlight .
Shower - use a dry brush and non-toxic soaps.
Take a Probiotic.
If you are unable to make it to your eating window, have a green juice about 2 hours before, then you can have a morning smoothie 1-1.5 hours following the juice. This should help sustain you until your fasting window closes.
During your eating window (6-8 hours) focus on vegan, gluten-, dairy-, and sugar- free, and anti-inflammatory foods. Take your morning supplements.
Drink a glass of water with sodium bicarbonate 2 hours after your last meal of the day.
Take evening supplements before bed.
Exercise a minimum of 3 days a week (ideally more). Do yoga, walk / hike, bike, pilates, swimming, anything that gets your heart rate up & helps you to break a sweat. You may not be as strong while on the detox so don’t push yourself during workouts as much as you might, usually.
If possible incorporate an infrared sauna into your routine at least 3 days a week to really flush out the toxins from your body.
Journal to process what's coming up for you throughout the detox.
Take a detox bath as needed. It can be as simple as a hot bath (as hot as you can stand) with some epsom salt or you can add some sea salt, baking soda, and essential oils. My favorites are: frankincense, wintergreen, ylang-ylang, grapefruit, basil, and some lavender.
7 Day Detox Preparation
The only thing different during the 7-day detox are the supplements you take.
If you want to dive deeper checkout these resources:
The Grow a New Body program YouTube video
The Grow a New Body book by Alberto Villoldo
Official The Grow a New Body Program with The Four Winds Institute
