Welcome to It's Just Stuff's #whatsonyourmindwednesday guest blogs. Every week #TeamIJS is inviting one of our Preferred Partners to share what is on their minds as it relates to the services they provide and the connection to helping anyone struggling with organizing and executive functioning skills.
This week we invited Mitten Lowe of Journey To Wellness to write the first guest blog for Mental Health Awareness Month. She provides a very holistic approach to both mental and physical health as a wellness coach. Our very own COCTC aka Chief of Chaos To Calm, Beth Blacker, has shared her own journey to wellness over the past several months in a recent blog thanks in large part to Mitten and we felt she was the perfect person to tell us what has been on her mind this spring as millions of Americans have and will continue to be vaccinated against COVID19. Her "magic potions" will help reduce the side effects from the vaccine so if you are still waiting to get one or both doses, contact her ASAP! There was a time when holistic health was viewed as witchcraft but we promise...Mitten is one helluva very GOOD WITCH!
5 Simple Practices For Your Mental & Physical Health
Spring cleaning is for the body, mind, and spirit, not just your home or garage! I absolutely love this time of year for healing and transformation. We feel a sense of growth and re-emergence. We have the energy to take steps, to look at things anew, and to sink into nature. There’s a combined feeling of heaviness as we come out of the winter, the surging energy and wanting to clear every single thing out of our homes and lives! This desire to “clean house” includes physical stagnation and emotional clutter! They are all connected!
During the Spring Cleaning ritual (or any other time for that matter!), we don't separate the physical, spiritual, or emotional. Our spirit is housed in our body, and our bodies are housed in our homes. During this time of year, our bodies move from the hibernating energy of winter to the emerging, cleansing, throw-all-your-shit-out energy of Spring!
When I am guiding groups through gentle cleansing, I always bring attention to the deep connection between the internal and external environment. They are deeply linked. The physical, spiritual, and emotional bodies work together on everything! If you’re feeling stuck, stagnant, and lazy, for goodness sake clean out your external environment! Next, be sure that you are eating cleansing foods and drink cleansing teas. We feel our best, and embrace the vibrancy of the season, only once we have cleaned up holistically.
Spring cleansing/cleaning should feel good. However, sometimes the beginning of the purge (physically and emotionally) can feel messy! I recommend seeing every Spring as an opportunity to cleanse, open, and grow!
Below are my 5 very simple practices/suggestions for a gentle approach to Spring cleansing. Keep in mind that this is the season to cleanup the "framework" you relied on throughout the cold and dark days of winter. Release anything that is not serving you! Seriously ask yourself if the item, relationship etc. is in your greatest and highest good!
Cleanse your BODY! Clear out processed foods and increase fresh fruits and veggies. This is the time of year in Chinese medicine related to the liver and gallbladder. Give these amazing organs a break! If you would like to learn more about gentle liver cleansing, you can see my protocol here. Spring is the time to increase movement and physical activity. Our lymphatic system requires movement to clear out old stagnant lymph and cellular debris. Clean food and increased physical activity can help you Spring clean your body quickly and efficiently!
Clean up your calendar! Remove anything that is not moving you towards your wellness and wholeness. Ask yourself if the event or commitment is in your greatest and highest good. We move from good to great when we are honest with ourselves and others about how we desire to spend our time. Cleaning up your calendar can lead to deep emotional and physical healing.
Clean up old stuck stagnant emotions! The only way through them is to feel them, my friends. Whether or not you want to deal with old emotions, they are always there. Old unprocessed emotions are stuck inside of you, aggravating the nervous system and draining vital life force. You might as well deliberately clear them out and create space for your new Spring intentions! Otherwise, you may be losing the space that you need to heal and grow. If you’ve got old stagnant emotions, this is the season to release them! Try these 9 Simple Habits for Energy cleansing.
Clean up old or stagnant relationships! Old relationships that are not serving you, or current relationships that need to be cleaned up and updated, are holding you back and keeping your system operating at a low frequency. I recommend doing a relationship inventory in the Spring. Ask yourself what is serving you, and what is serving the other person. Be sure that where you invest your time and energy is for your greatest good and the greatest good of those that you are connected with!
Clean up your space! The deep physical desire to SPRING CLEAN comes from the seasonal need to purge what is old and create space for new. You can systematically go through one room at a time or just start purging. Follow your preference! When I run my cleanse groups, I always recommend that people clean up their extra space as well. The impact of cleaning up our external space on the internal cleansing is significant! But if you truly do not have any idea where to begin, well, that is why organizing services like It's Just Stuff exists. If you can give yourself the gift to hire Beth and her team...DO IT!
Mitten Lowe is a Biologist, Certified Master Clinical Herbalist, and Intuitive Healer. She loves guiding people and groups into vibrant, expansive wellness. She has been providing virtual consults since the pandemic began and will no doubt continue to offer that service but hopes to start to see patients again in person in the near future here in the Boulder area. You can find out more about her by clicking HERE.