Detox habits: Find joy. Eat the elements.
By Ilchibuko Todd, Sedona Mago President, International Speaker
And Daniel Jung, Certified Health and Life Coach, Licensed Acupuncturist
At Sedona Mago, we’re often asked about our Revitalizing Detox Retreat, what it entails, and what detoxing does to and for the body. At first glance, it appears to be something purely physical: shocking your body by fasting and rapidly changing your diet to a strict regimen of liquified greens.
What you eat matters—this is true. But there’s so much more to your relationship with food than that. The colors, what each kind of food does to your body and spirit, the mentality behind preparation, even the exercises you do and emotional state you enter while detoxing; it’s all part of the experience that we foster here.
Many people approach our detox retreat because of something physical:
• Something feels “off”
• They want to eat a better diet
• They want to form better habits
• They want to live healthier overall
• They want to lose weight
But time and time again, our guests find a spiritual and emotional element to their detoxing desires. Eastern medicine and philosophy—what many of Sedona Mago’s teachings are based on—talks often about the relationship between our gut and our emotions. What you eat, the exercises you do, your energy and where you send it—all connected to your nervous system.
So what should you be eating to balance this relationship? How can you steadily alter your diet to empower your mind, body and spirit? This brief lesson will introduce you to Sedona Mago’s detoxing foundation.
Preparation—Movement and Fasting
Believe it or not, your gut health doesn’t start with food. Before incorporating “positive” habits, first you must rid yourself of the negative energy that resides in your system.
At Sedona Mago, that begins with movement. We instruct our guests to release negative energy that clouds their guts with exercises like whole body tapping, abdomen movement and Kegel exercises.
Your small and large intestine combined are about 15 feet long. Unraveled, the surface area of your digestive tract is over 15 feet long. That’s a considerable amount of space that needs cleansing, especially if your habits have led you to desire detoxing.
Our detox program also begins with light fasting and a diet reduction to ABC (apple, beet and carrot) juice. It’s a blended combination of the fruits and veggies that pushes toxins from one’s body and provides nutritional benefits like vitamin A, lutein, beta-carotene and more. It also contains minimal calories to boost energy levels and satiate hunger—ideal for weight loss.
You can try our ABC juice at home by blending:
• 100g apple
• 30g beetroot
• 100g carrot
• Water to desired consistency
Between these initial intake changes and exercises, you’re set up for success and ready to welcome positive foods into your system.
Eat the Elements
Here’s the unfortunate truth about detoxing and diet alignment: there’s no simple answer. The world is full of beautiful cuisines, thousands of dishes and infinite ingredient combinations. Even if we mastered the culinary arts and studied every culture’s recipes, we would never be able to say: “eat this food to fix this problem”.
However, Eastern philosophy uses the elements as a foundation for many teachings, including how each element affects different parts of your body. Our bodies are a product of nature. It is a mirror reflection of our planet, swirling with energy and teeming with the five elements our ancestors spent generations studying: Earth, Water, Fire, Metal and Wood.
When it comes to food, these five elements also correlate to a specific color:
• Green — Wood. Liver.
• Red — Fire. Heart.
• Yellow — Earth. Stomach.
• White — Metal. Lungs.
• Black — Water. Kidneys.
So, for example, to empower and heal your heart, you should ensure that your diet contains red foods like bell peppers, tomatoes or apples. To raise the energy in your liver, balance your diet with greens like broccoli, kale or avocado.
When talking about these foods and their particular benefits, it’s important that we use words like “balance”. We will never recommend eating a diet of solely yellow foods if you’re experiencing stomach issues. Rather, we believe a proper balance is critical to positively influencing your health, emotions and spirit.
In many ways, your body is a lot like the Earth (and the universe, for that matter). No one element rules over the other— and if it did, the world would likely be thrown into discord. That’s why we recommend balance. Ensuring your diet has a representation of these five elements will help you move towards a detoxified life.
Learning to balance your body’s intake, your energy and your health can be an arduous journey. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to hone your efforts, our Revitalizing Detox Retreat is ideal for anyone looking to live with more balance.
We hope you find success learning about the balance your body’s individual needs and, should it bring you here, we look forward to personally helping you walk your path at Sedona Mago.
