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The spring equinox occurred on March 21st, and is often associated with spring cleaning.

I remember how every year, just before Easter, my mom would dust the highest corners of the kitchen and declutter and make all the windows in the house look sparkly.

It may sometimes be easier to see the clutter in our house than to see the clutter we carry around with us, not only on a physical level but also on a more subtle, energetic level.

What are the thoughts and stories that we’ve been telling ourselves on repeat, which have become toxic to our internal world?

What are our unresolved past issues? What are our outdated coping strategies?

Are we ready to let go and to make space for something new?

Here are some tips for starting a physical cleansing:

1. Intermittent fasting.

You might have already heard about intermittent fasting before. The basic structure of intermittent fasting is that you have your meals within an eight-hour window, and fast the other 16 hours of the day—some of which is done while sleeping.

This might mean: skipping breakfast and eating from noon to 8 p.m., or skipping dinner and eating from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. In case you don’t like the idea of skipping breakfast or dinner, there is also another way of doing it, which is to fast one full day per week.

The idea is that when the body doesn’t have food, it starts to metabolize excess fat and protein to burn as fuel, which is a good thing. Some studies suggest that by simply compressing your eating period to eight hours a day, you can get the same benefits as full-time fasting. And you can still enjoy lunch or dinner with your family without feeling as restricted.

During any fasting or cleansing period, it is recommended to drink lots of water in order to help the body release toxins out of the system. You can even use programs such as App Zero to make it easier for you to track your fasting hours, and document its effects on your body.

If you have any serious medical condition, consult with your physician first to know if intermittent fasting is suitable for you.

Other positive benefits of fasting include: 

>> Appreciating food more and understanding your body better

>> Identifying which foods are the primary cause of your feeling bloated, drowsy, or heavy

>> Becoming aware of certain foods and meals that you had been eating out of habit or boredom

>> Recognizing the difference between feeling hungry and cravings

>> Understanding that, sometimes, less is more

>> Practicing discipline

>> Clearing the mind

>> Improving your overall health

2. Bentonite cleansing.

If you’re not a big fan of fasting, you can use some specific supplements for two weeks that will do the job as well. These include:

>> 1 cup of water

>> 1 tbsp psyllium husk

>> 1 tbsp bentonite clay

(Drink three times a day, followed by an additional large glass of water).

Bentonite clay soaks up toxins, while psyllium husk helps to flush them through your colon. These ingredients don’t mix very well with water, so shake them up well. You can find them available in most nutritional or health shops.

Make sure to drink 2-3 liters of water a day, avoid processed foods and sugar, and eat whole foods.

Cleansing our energetic field.

As Einstein once pointed out, everything is energy, including ourselves.

We all have the electromagnetic field that encompasses our bodies and all living beings, which some people call the “aura.” We are constantly connecting with everything around us through this energy field that transmits and receives information from the environment.

Energy is more subtle, so we may not always be able to see it, but we can definitely feel it. To illustrate an example, imagine the difference in energy between walking into a music festival and walking into a prison.

It’s a good idea to cleanse our energy on a regular basis, as cleansing our energy field is similar in its effect to having a shower for our physical bodies.

Here are some tips for cleansing our energetic (auric field):

1. Breath of fire.

This breathing technique can be powerful to move and cleanse stagnant energy. Here is an instruction video on how to do breath of fire in case you’re not familiar with it.

2. Smudging with palo santo or sage. 

For many years, burning woods and herbs has been an ancient cleansing practice, particularly amongst the Native American tribes. But due to the increasing popularity of white sage and palo santo, they are at risk. You can opt for the ones that have been ethically harvested or use other alternatives such as black sage, garden sage, wormwood, cedar, pine, holy basil, mints, rosemary, lemon balm, juniper, or frankincense. You can use them to smudge yourself or clear your space with smoke.

3. Sound meditation.

Sound meditation with singing bowls or gongs can be a wonderful way to get your energy back in sync. Your favorite music could do the trick as well.

4. Visual meditation.

You can visualize a violet flame or white light filling your whole body from tip to toes. What I like sometimes whenever I feel low energy is to imagine sunshine filling me up, and then emanating out from me and around my whole body.

5. Using water.

Water is known for its purifying qualities. You can use intention during your shower to wash away anything that weighs you down. Alternatively, when you drink a glass of water, you can charge it with gratitude. In case you’re skeptical about the effect of our intentions and words on the matter, you can check some of the scientific research of Dr. Masaru Emoto and his experiments with water.

Emotional cleansing and releasing trapped emotions:

According to the latest research in neuroscience, it takes 90 seconds for us to release emotion. When it comes to heavily suppressed emotions caused by unresolved past issues, it can last up to 15 minutes.

It was first surprising for me to hear. Only 90 seconds? Really? Apparently, that’s all it takes, as long as we allow ourselves to fully feel the emotion, without resisting it or getting caught up in thought loops.

The key is to witness the emotion without judgment. Sounds simple, yet it’s not always easy. I’ve noticed that while working with my clients and advising them to just be with their emotions, they would ask me, ”What do you mean by just be with it?”

So I started looking for other alternatives. And that’s when I discovered some interesting tools such as tapping or the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), or emotion code, which is a modality that helps to identify trapped emotions through muscular testing, and, subsequently, release them through the governing meridian.

When we release one single emotion, we simultaneously release thousands of other thoughts that may have accompanied it.

You can learn the basics of the Emotion Code method by watching this Youtube link, or find a practitioner who can guide you with the process.