Detox has played a crucial role in transforming my health, energy, and mental clarity over the years. Whether you're feeling physically worn down, mentally foggy, or just out of balance, detoxing offers a pathway to reset your system and start fresh. I’d like to share my personal journey of how seasonal detox became a pivotal part of my life—and how it might be the key to helping you, too.

Struggling with College Life: My Turning Point

In college, I was addicted to sugar, late nights, and social drama. It was the first time in my life I started dating and hanging out with my peers. Halfway through college, after a couple of years of failed relationships, late nights studying, emotional outbursts, and typical college kid stress, I started getting mysterious joint pain. Pain in my hips, pain in my shoulders, elbows, and ankles. The doctor didn’t know what was going on. He told me I have flat feet (I don’t). He said I’m too young for rheumatoid arthritis. He didn’t suggest testing it and I had never heard of it, so I didn’t look into it. He told me to get some arch support for my shoes, and that was that.

Uncovering the Patterns

It wasn’t until more than a decade later that I started studying holistic medicine. Deep down, I knew that my physical symptoms and mental stress were connected, which led me to study Ayurvedic medicine. The Ayurvedic texts described in detail the mysterious moving joint pain that seemed to come and go. My suspicions were confirmed. I learned the science of Ayurvedic detox and how to use diet and lifestyle to bring myself back into balance.

I started to notice cycles of inflammation around my menstrual cycle. Elevated stress and emotions during this time would always happen with physical symptoms like joint pain, canker sores, and oral and ocular inflammation.

I stopped giving everything 1000%, finally realizing that it wasn’t sustainable. I had burnt out. Not only was I in pain, but I was also a miserable wreck. My self-esteem was rock bottom. Detoxes and an Ayurvedic lifestyle brought me back to stability.

Discovering the Healing Power of Detox

I learned about detox in Ayurveda school. We were taught about the ancient practice of panchakarma. I did my first panchakarma at a clinic over a 5-week period. I had a lot of anxiety to purge and needed serious rejuvenation.

In school, we were taught the specific processes of how to detox and how to help others do the same. I was impressed by how each procedure was specially tailored to the patient’s individual needs and concerns.

Learning about Ayurveda piqued my curiosity about other types of detoxification and intensive holistic procedures like fasting.

My First Detox Experience: A Challenging yet Empowering Journey

The first detox can be the hardest. After all, you’re detoxing years and years of imbalances, build-up, and emotional wreckage. It was a challenge to get through, but at the same time, coming out of it, I felt empowered to keep going and find ways to continue healing my body and mind.

I learned to be patient with myself. Change takes time, and one short stint of healthy eating does close to nothing to heal a lifetime of bad habits. Detox, done correctly, is the kickstarter for a longer healing process but is an important step.

Building Connections: The Power of Community Detox

I continued to try different Ayurvedic detoxes through my professors’ clinics. I also participated in and started to run seasonal group detoxes with my local yoga studio. Doing the group detoxes was a completely different experience, and to me, a much more harmonious and motivating experience. Rather than focusing on the purging aspects of the detox, the group detoxes provided a more community-centered mental wellness environment that made the entire process more approachable.

Even doing a simple kitchari cleanse with a group helped me to see that most people would greatly benefit from changing their diets in a supportive environment for one week.

Making Seasonal Group Detoxes a Habit

Detoxes are now an experience I make time for seasonally. I start to notice it immediately when my habits fall off. I gain weight more easily, and I fall into fatigue. The closer I get to maintaining a more optimized level of functioning, the more my body and mind crave that homeostasis.

The Transformative Benefits of Seasonal Detox

Over the years, I’ve experienced and witnessed remarkable benefits from seasonal detoxes, not just physically but mentally and emotionally. Detoxing regularly has helped me and my clients achieve:

• Increased self-awareness about how behaviors, diet, and lifestyle choices affect overall health.
• Improved physical health, including reduced pain, stronger immunity, and more energy.
• Better mental clarity and emotional balance, resulting in reduced stress and anxiety.
• Sustainable lifestyle changes that lead to long-term well-being.
• Stronger resilience and coping mechanisms for managing stress.
• Decreased inflammation and improvements in gut health.

Ready to Start Your Journey?

If my story resonates with you, I invite you to join our community and start your own journey towards balance and well-being. Check out the Mind-Body Reboot page for all the juicy details on how to join our upcoming 21-Day Detox and secure your spot today!

See you around! ~Valerie