By Kathleen H. Christ, NCMBT, LMT
New Year’s resolutions, Lent and other religious practices, all look to reestablishing health and wellness of body and soul after the shortest and coldest days of the year (less sunlight/Vitamin D). Interestingly, we also find Valentine’s Day right in the middle of these events as though to add more fuel to the fire. Many people have asked me what is the difference between cleansing and detoxification. Simply, cleansing is moving and breaking up congestion, blocked energy and pain. Detoxification is removing acids, toxins and pathogens from the body that are causing the congestion and pain. Cleansing begins the process and detoxification completes the process. The sequence and methods are important so the body is not overwhelmed, and you are able to continue working and functioning as normal or perhaps even better during the process.
Cleansing:
Bodywork, massage, Watsu, Jin Shin, acupuncture, energy work, frequency generators (the Rife machine) and exercise will all increase the movement of energy within the body, and will begin to cleanse various areas while breaking up congestion and pain. As these methods are used regularly, more energy flows naturally, one begins to feel more enlivened and physically more alert and aware.
If conditions – physical disabilities, injuries, disease, medications, and our toxic environment of air, water and soil – have been accumulating for years, you can imagine the time and energy that will be required to shift the body into higher levels of health and wellness. As congestion builds, toxins build and now the body, in an attempt to stay functional and alive, will dilute the toxic areas by holding on to fat and water. Yes, fat and water add more stress to the body, but that is much better than the toxins free-floating throughout our systems.
So, as you move energy and begin to break up some of the congested areas, your body is once again dealing with the release of these toxins into all the systems – blood, lymph, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, spleen, kidney, bladder, etc. Different emotions have been found to be associated with different organs, so when our biochemistry is toxic and our organs are stressed, we have certain negative emotions that begin to dictate our life. Worry and grief are associated with the lungs, fear and grief with the colon, anger with the diaphragm and liver, resentment with the gall bladder, sadness with the spleen and umbilicus, pretense, betrayal and grief with the heart, anxiety with the stomach, loneliness with the small intestines, survival with the kidneys and shame with the endocrine system. So, these actions are part of the body cleansing, or can be simply recycling our old garbage, if we don’t take our healing to the next level. Toxins, pain and congestion are being encouraged by various methods to begin moving from where they have been located.
Detoxification:
Without adding the critical component of detoxification, you will continue to just keep moving energy and toxins around within your body. Some will certainly exit through the urine, bowels and sweat, but if you are serious about moving forward, that will not be sufficient. You must add detoxification.
Over the years, many types of detoxification have been employed by our ancestors to rid the body of harmful substances. Today, in our age of technology and our understanding of the human body’s reactions, we are able to make this journey gentler with more options than ever before. And make no mistake; detoxification is also a powerful way to move energy within the body with the express purpose of toxic release and relief. And, many of the methods for detoxification are rapidly becoming home remedies.
When blood and urine analyses are taken before and after treatments, the primary toxins that are released are heavy metals, yeast, fungus and parasites. The pH is also critical to our health and immune system, and this is usually too low. Our ideal would be a pH on the alkaline side – 7.2 to 7.3. Detoxification supports these shifts. As the body cleans and detoxifies, the previously held fat and water simply go away, we lose weight very easily and naturally.
At St Louis Aquatic Healing Center we incorporate in our cleansing and detoxification therapies, the Alph-Stim Stress and Pain Control system to help with anxiety, insomnia, depression and pain. Our many modalities of cleansing include: Chi, Quantum Pulse, and Rife Machines, E-Power Belt, Lymphatic Drainage Massage, Watsu, Jin Shin and other bodywork. Our detoxifications include: far-infrared sauna, ionic foot bath, ear candling and many herbal supplements. Referral for colonics, acupuncture, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy are also available.
If you are interested in learning more, or experiencing a session, please call St Louis Aquatic Healing Center at 314-432-5228 or visit our website: www.watsu1.com.