Cleaning the Slate for a New Year
January, 2010
by Morella Devost
Let's face it, we usually overindulge during the holiday season - October 31st through December 31st tends to be one long food fest. If you didn't, then kudos to you as you are in the minority for sure.
The beginning of a new year is a great time to set your intentions for your body, work, finances, home environment, etc. What do you want to do? How do you want to start your year?
Since we're writing about health, how about beginning by allowing your body to rest from the overindulgence, not just from the season, but from all of last year? How about giving yourself the opportunity to clean the slate inside and out? I typically do a four-week cleanse that allows me to fully focus my energy on creating the internal and external conditions that will be most favorable for health, peace, joy, productivity and abundance.
To paraphrase Gandhi, how we approach something in life reflects how we do everything in life. So if you invest your intention and your energy into treating your body with ultimate care, you will see the benefits of it in other dimensions of your life as well. You might find greater productivity in your projects, greater order at home, more harmony in your relationships, who knows!
Here's what we suggest:
- Set a specific intention for your physical and mental health. For instance, endurance, agility, vigor, strength, serenity, vibrant health, etc.
- Set a relatively short amount of time to commit to this intention with full force to build momentum so that you can glide on the effort for a while or even the whole year. For instance, do a four-week detox, go on a health retreat, join a boot-camp group, hire a personal trainer for a few weeks or months, etc.
- Write your intention in a journal and set some time aside either daily or, at a minimum, weekly to record your thoughts, feelings, internal struggles, etc. The insight you gain on what you find easy or hard, and WHY will be your strongest tools to maintain your momentum.
- Choose to live the adventure of your life! Take the risk of taking action! Wouldn't you rather try and fail than never try? And the truth is that there is so much wisdom in failing that if you were to "fail" you would be so much the wiser and better for it.
If you feel your resistance is strong because you haven't been successful in the past, the next article (New Beginnings) will help.
So wipe that slate clean, leave the past behind, and start with a new intention. Choose to create greater harmony in body, mind and emotions.
We highly recommend our four-week detox program as a conscientious process to help you do that. It is tailored for every season, so a winter detox will look very different from a summer program. We start on January 19th! So click here if you'd like to learn more and register.