When it comes to getting fit and healthy, life can get expensive. So here are a few of my favourite free and cheap ways to stay healthy this summer.
1. Hot and cold showers
Run a warm shower, then cold, warm again, and finish on cold. This is wonderful for our overall health as it improves circulation which helps the whole body by getting the blood and nutrients to all the cells in the body, it helps activate the lymphatic system to help remove toxins, improves will power, our immune system, great for recovery, as well as wakes you up in the mornings. Strangely enough, it also helps some people sleep too!
My favourite fact that I’ve learned is that it helps make you happy. Coldwater activates temperature receptors under the skin that releases hormones such as endorphins and adrenalin.
2. Greens powders
This is my favourite multivitamin. Greens powders are made from real vegetables and whole foods. They are full of natural vitamins, minerals, and natural phytonutrients that our body can easily absorb. A lot of supplements are made synthetically in a lab and although they can help, natural options are always my go-to first.
3. Detoxing beverages
I like to wake up with cold or hot water with fresh lemon, cayenne pepper, and apple cider vinegar, it gets the system moving.
Instead of sugary drinks, make ice tea with herbs. To make herbal teas therapeutic, I like to get in three-plus cups in a day, this isn’t always easy so a great way to get them all in during summer is to make a big jug and put it in the fridge or your water bottle. Fresh herbs or teabags work well together.
Taking the time to sit and relax. Take 10, slow and deep belly breaths. Breathing in and out of the nose. Making sure to expand that belly and breath out slowly too.
You can do this when you wake up, before you sleep, before you meditate, on a bus, or anytime!
4. Salt therapy
Ask any surfer or most people who have grown up near a beach about the benefits of an ocean swim after a few drinks the night before.
Ocean water has high amounts of minerals including sodium, chloride, sulphate, magnesium, and calcium. So why not jump in the sea for a swim to improve your mood and health for free!
5. Those unused shower brushes
You know those big bristly brushes that hang in most people’s showers but never get used. Well, use them!
They are a fantastic way to get the lymphatic system moving and help your body remove the rubbish. The easiest way is to brush towards the heart, and don’t forget the bottom of the feet. They really do get your skin looking better.
6. Move and sweat
Whether it’s via exercise, movement techniques, or any type of sauna, traditional or infrared. Moving the body and sweating helps to break up blockages, get the energy and blood flowing, and removes toxins.
Many traditional cultures have been using sweat lodges for centuries and still do, there is definitely something in it.
7. Baths and buckets
Using a bath and adding herbs, herbal tea bags, Epson salts or even organic fresh flowers can make a wonderful relaxing and detoxing option. Don’t have a bath? Easy, use a bucket, add cayenne pepper, and pop your feet in!
8. Meditation
While we sleep our mind still works, taking the time out during the day to give your brain a little rest can work magic, especially for our nervous systems.
It’s simple, free, and painless.
There are also some amazing free apps, websites, and YouTube videos to help you get started if you are not quite sure where to start.
9. Self-abdominal detox massage
And lastly my favourite. I now teach all my clients self-techniques to rub their own tummies, in most massages everyone avoids the belly… yet it’s so powerful and a wonderful way to detox.
Slow, gentle spirals starting from the belly button, in a clockwise direction are a great way to start as a beginner. To learn more stay tuned on my website for free tutorials coming soon.
Happy detoxing!
Photo by Maria Orlova from Pexels
