Your January shake-up tool kit
The theme I’m most picking up on at the moment from those I work and also those around me, is a sense of stuckness. A feeling of inner stickiness and not being able to refresh or shake things off.
This makes sense given we’re still physically stuck in lockdown, but also energetically, because we’re unable to refresh through our usual outlets, which might include meeting friends, going to a yoga class, enjoying a meal out or heading off for a weekend. All these activities are in a way a form of ceremony that we use to refresh and renew our spirits on a regular basis. Without them, we can feel stuck or stagnant, and when we feel stuck it not only affects how we feel mentally, it also affects how the body functions.
But in the absence of our normal ceremonies, there are ways to shake up and wake up through the foods and drinks you choose on a daily basis. And those same foods that shake you up also tend to be powerful immune boosters. In other words, you’re killing two birds with one stone!
And as a we move through these sticky winter months, just remember that everything shifts and changes. It is our human nature, both individually and collectively, to move from the mess to the ease and back again. But often it is through our mess and challenges that the magic occurs!
Wishing you much love, health and happiness.
Rebecca
DAILY TONICS
1. CELERY JUICE
Yes, yes I know, you’ve heard it all before, but I’m going to say it again……and again!
Celery juice revitalises your entire system from your brain to your toes. If you wake up feeling sluggish or sad or uninspired, this is one sure way to snap you out of that state, as celery’s sodium cluster salts flush through your body, waking up your cells, removing waste and bringing a flow of positivity.
Dosage: 400ml on an empty stomach daily. Children can also take celery juice from 6 months onwards. This is probably the greatest gift you can give to your child, to help them build a strong system from an early age.
2. CUCUMBER JUICE
Cucumber juice hydrates at the deepest cellular level and is the best rejuvenation tonic in the world. It is an incredible fever reducer for both children and adults, a bit like pouring water on a fire, but equally, it wakes the body up from sluggish, stagnant states. Try bringing in an afternoon or early evening cucumber juice and see how it makes you feel.
Dosage: aim for 400ml of pure cucumber juice on an empty stomach.
3. GINGER WATER
Ginger has the capacity not only to pull us out of a sluggish state but it also counters reactivity in the body. Reactivity from bugs and reactivity from living in a hyper-vigilant state, our most common state of being.
Add 1-2 inches of fresh ginger to 2 cups (500ml) of water and let it steep overnight in the fridge. Or, you can also grate fresh ginger and squeeze the pulp to release the juice into the water, if you want to drink it immediately, discarding the pulp once squeezed. Add the juice of half a lemon and a little raw honey, if you like. Sip throughout the day, or whenever you need a pick me up or a calm me down! Ginger is truly adaptogenic in this way, in other words it will work with your body to bring it back to a state of balance.
4. TURMERIC GINGER SHOTS
Turmeric, like ginger, has the capacity to shake things up and wake things up, and in combination with ginger, it is a force to be reckoned with. It also a potent medicine at the first sign of a cold or flu, or indeed once you are already ill, as this combination will help to move the bug out of the body.
Try juicing fresh turmeric and ginger together to make a small dose of concentrated serum either alone or as part of the recipe below. Then sip on this periodically throughout the day, taking little sips.
Ingredients:
• 4 inches turmeric • 4 inches fresh ginger • 2 oranges • 4 garlic cloves
Directions:
One at a time, run each ingredient through the juicer, keeping the juices separate. Combine 1 teaspoon turmeric juice, 1 teaspoon ginger juice, 1/4 teaspoon garlic juice, and 1/4 cup of orange juice in a small glass. Stir to combine and drink immediately.
5. RAW GARLIC
Garlic taken raw certainly has the capacity to shake things up! But rest assured that garlic does not disrupt anything that shouldn’t be disrupted. If you feel it strongly, it’s because it is moving things out that shouldn’t be there!
For best results, eat one to two raw garlic cloves per day, adding them to dressings, juices, smoothies or dips, for example.