Get fit through sleep!

Do you know the feeling of getting up tired and not relaxed? You wake up but you feel like you haven´t had enough rest? This is what happens to many people when they go to bed too late. The saying “the hours before midnight count double” is not far away from the solution.

Let’s go back to where we come from – without electricity. For some reason the modern society enjoys the late night activities. But our ancestors as well as wild life or natural tribes all go to bed at an early time…mainly when the sun goes down. During summer time also before the sun set (depending on where you live). Unless you are a nocturnal animal you, too, should go to bed early – before 8 pm…or even earlier. At least don't eat anything late as the body needs its energy to recover and not to digest! If you eat only until it get's dark - around 5 or 6 pm - you will feel the difference the next morning!

Our bodies have been programmed for many millions of years to live with nature. All our organs recover at night…if they are allowed to and get the necessary rest. The result is a well rested body and a refreshed mind. It is a different start to the day! Try it. As an extra bonus you won’t need an alarm clock anymore. You will wake up happy at the right time. As you’ve slept during the early evening hours you are likely to sleep less…but still be rested and fresh the next morning. Sleep before midnight is known to be deeper and better. A personal plus for me is the quiet time… If you go to bed at around 7 or 8 pm you might wake up at around 3 or 4 am to the first birds singing…and a peaceful morning…sooo relaxing. Enjoy a meditation, listen to the birds and soak in that fresh clean air. It feels soooo good. It is a different standard of life!

Now you want to know how to start? Hihi….you lie in bed rolling over and over at 7 pm not being able to go to sleep? Yes, your body is not used to it yet. Most people in western society are used to staying up ´till at least 10 pm. In order to change your rhythm, set your alarm for early in the morning. Don’t worry you won’t need it for much longer. Get up at around 3 am! If you get tired again take a refreshing nap later in the morning or in the afternoon (but not a long one – especially in the afternoon!!). Do the transitioning at the weekend (maybe even a long one). Soon you will be tired enough to go to bed early. When you have managed to do this give your body the necessary rest…and sleep until you wake up. If you go to bed at 7 pm that might first be around 5 or 6 am…but it will get shorter and better in a couple of weeks. Just give your body time to adjust…you will feel the difference…and soon you will start your day fresh and bright at 4 in the morning! That´s a promise.

Oh, so you can’t see this working in our society? Your partner wants to talk to you at night? The best movies come on at night? You want to go out at night?? All life seems to take place at night??? J Don’t worry you will get used to it quickly…and so will your friends. They will still lie in bed drowsy while you have already done your chores …waiting for everybody else to get up! Show your partner how great it is…and get up together in the morning. If TV is that important to you, just think of the creative hours you miss through it,…live life instead of watching it ;)…) you can always tape shows etc. and watch them in the morning… TV doesn’t attract me anymore. In fact the opposite is the case…as soon as I got rid of this habit, I felt sooo much better…as I can use the hours I gained to write you nice letters ;)…or do many other things. A soon as I opened up my mind to creation instead of observation I got active instead of passive in front of the TV. My creative juices started to really flowing. It’s like you allow your soul to finally talk to you…you give it the time to open up to universal energies…and that - to me – is worth more than anything. Life is fun again. I feel alive and don’t like to vegetate anymore. But that is just my personal opinion. Feel free to share your opinions, too!
I also found out that many people try to live life…acting (yes, like the actors on TV!!) they are living…but don’t seem to feel it… They might say “I love you”…but can’t connect to you. The bond is not there. They lost it…through their habit of passive living! Do you know what I mean?? But enough about TV (that is another article again…).

Go to bed early and don't eat too late. Try it…just for a couple of weeks. If you don’t like it you can always go back…but I doubt you will want to.. ;). If you have children…go to bed with them. As a mother of two active little ones I am often tired enough anyway…and am glad to lie in bed falling asleep with them. It helps them to build a healthy habit, too.

Happy sleeping! .

Sonja

PS: For all who celebrate Easter, similar fests or for any other special occasion: I will send out the recipe for this yummy but easy made cake in my next newsletter! If you don't receive it yet please sign up for it here: http://www.rawfunfamily.com/.



And a great video for homeschool interested ones:

Detoxifying your life!

by Sonja Watt (www.rawfunfamily.com)

How does your body get rid of toxins?

Many people don’t seem to understand their bodies. In order to shed some light, I wrote down some facts about your body’s signs. There are different ways of detoxifying:

- through skin
- lymph
- blood
- mucus (nose, throat, lungs)
- colon
- breathing
- feet
- sweat
- nails
- mind


Let’s go through them. The skin is the biggest organ. Through it you detoxify a lot. You can see it when you have pimples, rashes, different colors, itching, etc. It is the mirror of your soul. If you are not happy it shows through your skin. If you take care of yourself and your body, eat lots of raw, fresh - and no artificial - foods, you will soon have a great skin. You also need to drink a lot of fresh juices or clean water. (No alcohol, soft drinks, chlorinated water, etc., please! That makes it worse!). A bath with Epsom salt helps to draw out the toxins. You might feel tired afterward...but good the next day.

The lymphatic system is a very important one, too, and often not recognized. The lymph’s work is to move toxins out of your body. That’s why lymph nodes swell when you are sick; they work extra hard at this time. To help it move the toxins out better you can exercise or brush your skin in the direction the lymph flows.

Blood is the river of life. It delivers lots of toxins out of your body. That’s why blood tests can only tell you about the health state of your body at a particular moment. It might look totally different again tomorrow or even an hour later when you’ve had something to eat, etc. Here as well, exercise and drink lots of fluids to thin the blood in order to help it flush out all the waste ;).

When you are coughing or have a runny nose, again…be happy. Your body is just trying to throw it all out. (There is no need for ear tubes…the body solves it by itself.) It will more or less depend on how you live. My runny nose, coughing, etc. pretty much disappeared after I went raw… Remember, if you put toxins in they have to come out…yes, even through puke…yuck. Listen to your body and act appropriately. Drink lots! And don’t take medication! That stops the process…but doesn’t complete it!! Learn to understand your body’s signs. Be your own doctor. Only you can understand what is really going on! Take responsibility. We try to give it away often enough. See the truth and go for it!!!

Colon: our second - or even first - brain. There is so much to say about your intestines it would take another book. I’ll make it short. Your colon is one of the most important centers, if not THE most important. If your colon is messed up you can’t be healthy. It’s also the place from which your body operates, the center of your immune system and much more. It is very sensitive and reacts to every one of your misbehaviors. It definitely cannot deal with artificial chemicals in food or drinks. Most importantly, stay raw, or at least as natural as possible. Stay away from processed food if you want to heal!! Colon dis-Eases are healable….if you are willing to change your lifestyle!! To help it during extreme detoxifying (you will feel nauseous, weak, etc.) or to give a head’s start when transitioning to raw foods, etc. do hydrocolonic therapies or enemas. (Enemas are said to be less efficient than colonics.) If might feel awkward first…but do it anyway. Lots of fresh juices and water do help, too! You will love the feeling of lots of energy afterwards…a clear mind, a happy body and overall health.

Through air your body cleans as well. Every time you breathe you blow out toxins. You can smell it, too, sometimes…especially if you know people who smoke…or eat meat, etc. It is important to breathe right…and you can even breathe away asthma! Make sure you always breathe out deep. Exercise! Hee hee…yes, and of course the air coming out the other end… You can smell immediately if you have a problem that way. ;) Actually, your skin is breathing, too. And it’s known that scouts were able to breathe only through skin…amazing, isn’t it? So, clean up your skin and pores…in order to breathe better. J

Hee hee…smelly feet…I think everybody knows those. ;) The bottoms of your feet are big detoxifiers. It’s said you can read the health state of a person by the bottoms of his or her feet. There are many things offered nowadays to show you how much comes out of there. Do these help?? I don’t know. A foot bath in warm or ionized water, or with Epsom salt, helps… as does lots of exercise. And drink, drink, drink! Most of all…put healthy stuff in you, as what goes in comes out again. ;) Simple but true!

Not only for the feet but for the whole body, it is important…to sweat! Through sweating your body washes out more toxins…Yes, you can smell it, too. If your liver (which has to deal with all those toxins) is overloaded, you might sweat extensively at night. Drink some water and again…put in raw fresh foods. The simplest way possible is best. (Not lots of raw food preparation in the kitchen, but the way God made them for us… Eat them like they are, and don’t forget the wild edibles!!).

You might also see a detoxifying process taking place through your nails! For a shorter or longer while your nails might turn yellow, etc. It is another outlet for your body. Especially, if you’ve consumed quite a lot of medication, you might have to deal with it for a longer while…but it will leave you again once its job is done! Don’t block it with more medication, but help it, through a healthy fresh and energizing lifestyle! Most of all – be patient!

And what your body can’t get rid of…it stores! Don’t let it get there; cancer, tumors, etc. are another form of protection! Your body will always make sure to protect the most important organs. It will store proteins (like from meats and other animal products) and chemicals (from processed and artificial foods), etc. that it can’t use in your system. It is stored first where it hurts least…like fat depots…arteries, etc., but the more comes in, and the more it can’t handle… the more it develops… so you get more and more seriously sick! Stop before you get there…and help your body detoxify! Rest! A good night’s rest is always important; please read about natural sleep (also written by me) to understand what I mean. Visit my website at www.wildedibles.wordpress.com to learn about the importance of wild edibles. They play a big role in detoxifying your body, too!

Now go on, live healthy and enjoy the abundance of joy and happiness you earn through it!! It is definitely worth the changing!! Always use your mind, too, to make it happen. Imagine yourself as that happy old person who is still actively running around, laughing and having fun!! Live as we are meant to live: made by God… Eat what He provides for us, grown through His love and light. But try for yourself! Always listen to YOUR body… I just offer suggestions. What you make of it is up to you! But if you don’t try it you’ll never know. ;)

Oh…I forgot an important one: Your mind! Yes, even your mind will detoxify if your body gets to the next level of health. You will go through different emotions. Go through them and don’t try to numb them! They are coming up to disappear. Observe them and let them go! And awake to a clearness of your mind you have never known before!! Your whole self awakes again and all your creative juices and energies will start to make you the happiest person on this planet. We can never have enough of those! So, enjoy the ride and look forward to your never-ending goal J…of a happy and fulfilling life, connected to nature and the spiritual energies again, this time not only through words…but through a deep feeling inside of you. You will shine like a light and everybody will be able to see it! Happy detoxifying!

Please make sure you visit my webpages at www.rawfunfamily.com and sign up for my newsletter with more tips and tricks about a healthy natural lifestyle for the whole family!