When I worked in health food stores, the most common questions from customers were their confused enquiry on cleanses. What sort of cleanses are the most important? When should you do a cleanse? Are cleanses even necessary? There is so much information out there on parasite cleanses, lymph cleanses, liver cleanses, bowel cleanses, mouth cleanses, lung cleanses, and I mean the list goes on. And if you aren’t someone who knows much about natural health yet, I can understand the confusion.
Now I do believe everyone has their routine that works for them, so I am not here to disrupt that; however, I will shed some light on what I have learned and believe to be true based on the natural rhythms of nature and ancient medicine concepts. I use the combination of medical astrology, seasons, Chinese medicine, and ancient humour models. And when it comes to March, I believe this is the time to nourish and cleanse our lymphatic system.
In medical astrology, the sign Pisces (which runs from February 19th-20th) rules the lymphatic system. This is an incredibly watery sign (symbolized by the two fish), and because they are more of a collective based sign– they tend to accumulate ALL emotions (which coincides with the water element). This can show up in the body as water retention issues such as edema, which can then increase blood pressure, cause respiratory issues, and increase weight gain. This can then affect lymph vessels and interfere with the lymphatic system — affecting the lymphatic tissues and organs that support our white blood cell production. It is common for those with heavy Pisces placements in their astrological birth chart to deal with chronic immune issues because of this. When we are within the Pisces season window (as we are now), we all can be affected by the energy at bay — unresolved grief can come up, we may feel lethargic and tired, and we may feel more emotional than normal.
Because we are nearing the end of winter, there is also the seasonal component to factor in as well. Our bodies are fatigued and lethargic after many months being stuck inside. We have experienced less exposure to vitamin D (with less sunlight), lack of movement (from the weather conditions outside), less social contact to regulate our emotional component, less fresh/local veggies and fruits in our day to day diet, and a disruption to our circadian rhythm. It is very easy to accumulate toxins in the winter, because we aren’t moving our body as much (preventing us from stimulating our lymphatic system), eating more carbs and comfort foods, and experiencing higher stress levels due to low mood and feeling “trapped” indoors. Therefore, our body is craving movement and stimulation, but we also are too tired to make those changes still.
This is why it is the best time to do a gentle lymphatic cleanse. First you must clear out the stagnation to make room for more energy to move in and support the body in building back up its energy reserves for spring. If you move straight into spring without tending to the winter stagnation first, you risk burnout period during the astrological Aries season (late March to April).
Here are the tips for an easy way to stimulate the lymphatic system:
- Dry brushing or lymphatic drainage massages — you can perform this yourself (youtube is a great source for direction). A lot of our lymph nodes are close to the skin and just need a gentle touch and circular movement to stimulate movement. This helps to clear out accumulated toxins due to stagnation.
- Movement! And I don’t mean go hit up the gym and over-exert yourself.. I mean start making gentle movements to get your body used to movement again. Remember (depending where you live), the plants and majority of wildlife haven’t fully woken up yet from their winter slumber — so why should we? We may start to see more activity, but it is gentle — we aren’t walking through fields hearing crickets and birds quite yet. Get outside and go for some long walks, do some yoga or stretching at home, basically anything that starts slightly warming up your body again. This will encourage and support the lymph system to wake up and get things moving.
- GREENS! This will be important throughout all of spring, but at this time of year I think it is good to start adding greens into our diet or teas. They are high in minerals–helping to rehydrate our body after winter draught. Provide the nutrients needing to wake up a system that relied more on comfort foods throughout winter. Many greens actually support lymph detoxification (like cleavers!) and support blood detoxification (which can help clear out skin issues such as eczema). In certain parts of Canada (West Coast I am shouting out to you), many of the nutrient dense greens start popping up at this time (nettle, yellow dock Leaves, dandelion greens, cleavers, false nettle, and more). Making it easy for those in that location to harvest and put in salads, juices, or soups.
- For those of you who don’t have access to that right now (aka the rest of Canada), go down to your local health food store or reach out to your local herbalists. Stock up on these herbs in teas or tincture form (work best for the lymph when it is in a liquid form).
- Eat simple. Try to get away from the comfort foods now. Start eating a bit lighter. It is funny, as this is the time where both two religions do their yearly fast period (Ramadan and Lent). Again everything pointing towards preparing the body for the lighter and more outward seasons to come. Sticking to light soups with greens and light meats like chicken, or warming salads. It isn’t a time to jump into cold salads yet (as it is still cold outside).
Nourish & Rebuild Tea
This is the tea that I have been sampling out at the markets this month. It is packed with high mineral greens (nettle and alfalfa) which contain high amounts of iron, vitamin c, potassium, calcium, and vitamin K. In addition, I add in oat seeds (which help nourish the nervous system after a winter stuck inside and which also contains minerals), and rosehips which are high in their vitamin c content. Nettle is a blood detoxifier, helping to detoxify out accumulated toxins that were stored during the winter–which makes way for the body to readily absorb and redistribute the minerals from the plants. I have gotten a lot of great feedback on the flavour, with folks comparing it to green tea without the astringent after-taste).
Available on my website, at markets, or select stores in Regina SK + Duncan BC for $15
