Happy New Year everybody! I hope that you all enjoyed the holiday season and that you took advantage of that period to not only slow down but also to spend some much needed quality time with your family, friends and loved ones. I think that is pretty much all that I did :p. Now that the new year is here, I know that many of us are still re-adjusting back into our routines and some of us might feel off and sluggish after all of the holidays indulgences and most likely sedentarism as well. With that in mind, today I’d like to share with you 10 healthy ways to reset (mind, body & soul) in the New Year. I find that whether it’s a new brand new year, a brand new month or simply a brand new day, each of these tips always help restore back your vibrant, grounded and energized self. I can’t wait to share these with you!

Keep in mind that any and all of these tips can be used anytime you would like to hit the reset button and/or give your mind/body a little reboot in order to get out of dis-ease, temporary emotional funk, and physical sluggishness or discomfort.

These 10 healthy ways to reset your mind body and soul are my go-to methods to not only start the new year on a good note, but also to live a vibrant life full of vitality, happiness and energy!

Let’s jump straight into them, shall we? Here are my:

10 Healthy Ways to Reset (Mind, Body & Soul) in The New Year

1. Reset Your Sleep Cycle:

I’m sure many of you stayed up quite late throughout the Holiday season. As a result, your sleep might be a little off coming back to your regular routine. Sleep is so important to help regulate proper body metabolism, hunger cues, strong immunity, improve your mood and also to detox and rejuvenate! Thus, if you’d like to feel energized and rejuvenated for the new year, make sure you reset your sleep cycle! Here is what you can do:

• Create a winding down night time routine that does not involve any electronics at least 1 hour prior to bedtime. This could be reading a book, taking a bath/shower, massages, gently stretching or sipping on some sleep-inducing herbal infusion (e.g. chamomile or lavender).
• Try to keep the same waking hour and sleeping time for 6-7 days.
• Give your body at least 2 hrs prior to sleep to digest your dinner/last meal of the day.
• Check out this blog post for more tips on how to improve the quality of your sleep: HERE.

2. Move & Sweat It Off

Another great way to reboot your body, mind and soul is to make sure you (re) introduce daily movement into your lifestyle. Moving your body is a great way to ensure you stimulate your lymphatic system, which takes care of toxins removal. Moving your body also promotes a healthy immune system, proper digestion (aka more removal of toxins), a happy mood and better sleep! It’s a win-win in my book. Try these tips to make movement fun and consistent again:

• Dance every day like no one is watching! I mean this seriously. It’s such a fun way to break a sweat and it doesn’t involve any equipment nor requires a gym membership!
• Take advantage of the season to try seasonal activities of all kinds alone or in groups.
• Get a workout buddy to keep you motivated and accountable. Do so with a friend or join a group workout activity.
• Plan ahead with my free 7-Day Workout Planner (download it below) to design your own daily fun movement routine for the week. Remember that movement can be anything: gym, sport or dancing, hiking or playing with your kids! As long as you move, you’re good to go. Bonus: if you break a sweat. It makes even better to reboot and eliminate toxins.

3. Try a Nutritional Reset

You probably ate very differently throughout the Holidays. Either because you indulged in a few treats or you simply ate more of certain foods that are not part of your regular eating habits. If that’s the case, no guilt here! Doing a nutritional reset is a great way to help your body gently back on its path to vibrant health. So, if you’ve been feeling sluggish, bloated, constipated or sick, then trying a gentle but effective cleanse can be a great way to reboot your digestion and help your body get rid of any unwanted toxins, which may have accumulated internally… You can try removing certain trigger foods for a certain period, e.g. giving up alcohol, trying a sugar detox, going plant-based for a few days or committing to whole foods (no processed foods) for the whole month of January. These are all great ways to reset your body nutritionally.

Check out more information on nutritional cleanses:

4. Practise Breath Work & Mindfulness

Using deep breathing techniques (or mindfulness exercises) is another excellent way to not only help you feel grounded, but also help you expel toxins via your lungs. Try this daily for the next 10 days:

• Sit in a comfortable position (or lay down)
• Take a few deep belly breaths to calm your mind
• Then take a big inhale for a count of 4
• Hold your breath in for a count of 2
• Exhale for a count of 7
• Repeat this whole cycle 3 times (or more) until you feel more relaxed and calm

This is something you can practise throughout the day anywhere and anytime. Doing regular breath work will not only relax you, but it will also help you be more present, listen to what your body might needs and ground you. If breathing isn’t your thing, then try journaling, meditation or colouring as another way to relax and ground yourself.

5. Reset Your Kitchen Pantry/Fridge

If you’d like to reset and build strong and sustainable healthy eating habits, then I strongly recommend you go through your kitchen cabinets and fridge to toss out any food that does not promote health. Get rid of any junk food (e.g. chips, cookies, ice cream, etc) or any pro-inflammatory foods. Though these foods might provide you with some instant gratification when you eat them, they do not in the long run contribute to your health and vitality.

6. Try Intermittent Fasting*

Intermittent fasting can be another fantastic way to give your digestive system a much needed break, so that your body can use all of that freed up energy on other important metabolic functions such as detoxing and rejuvenating. There are several ways to try intermittent fasting* but I would only personally recommend these two methods:

• The 16/8 method: whereby you eat during an 8 hour window and fast for 16hrs. For example, you eat between 12pm and 8pm and abstain from eating before and after that period.
• Eat-Stop-Eat: whereby you fast for 24 hrs once or twice per week. For this method, make sure you ask the advice of a trusted healthcare provider!

Fasting is meant to give your digestive system a break from constantly metabolizing food, which takes up a lot of energy. While you fast, make sure that you stay well hydrated (water or infusions). And if you try the eat-stop-eat method, during your fasting days, make sure you are taking it easy and not doing any intense physical activities.

*Disclaimer: These recommendations are based on my own experience and studies of the human body. They do not replace the advice of your healthcare provider. If your health is compromised, if you’re pregnant or suffer from any weakening health condition, seek the counsel of your doctor or favourite healthcare provider.

7. Do an Enema**

What the heck is an enema? Well, its a simple and gentle way to cleanse your colon. Yes, colon! Did you know that there is a lot of waste (aka toxins) that accumulates within your large intestine? And no, pooping doesn’t remove all of it. If you’re like most people, then chances are that your colon could really benefit from a little internal cleanse. Doing an enema is a simple and (I repeat) gentle way to introduce clean water (some people use coffee or specific herbal concoctions, but water is just fine) within your large intestine via the anus. This in turn softens any accumulated (and hardened) stool within your colon. After a few minutes, you simply sit on the toilet and release all of that gunk. For more information on this subject, feel free to read “Dr. Jensen’s Guide to Better Bowel Care”. This book is full of information and helpful resources.

** Disclaimer: again this tip is based on my own personal experience and study on the topic of digestive and colon health. If you have any doubts whether this could be right for your body, feel free to talk to your favourite healthcare provider.

8. Take a Social Media Break/Digital Detox

You may not realize it, but constantly being “connected” to your phone/tablet/computer or TV is sucking the life out of you. Not only is it physically exhausting, but most of all, it is mentally & emotionally draining! Give your mind and spirit a break from constant stimuli from the outside world via social media notifications, text messages, emails, comments, Whatsapp chats, etc. Try doing a digital detox for at least 1 full day if not, more! You’ll have more time to reconnect to yourself (first and foremost), but also time to spend with your loved ones, time to explore your surroundings, get creative and have fun without being influenced by what’s happening out there…

9. Reconnect to Nature

Nature is definitely one of my favourite ways to relax and reset. Not only does nature provide you with some much needed oxygen, but it also contains negative ions, which have been shown to instantly put you at ease and relax your mind. If you’re ready to reboot your mind, body and soul, I would strongly recommend you take a “nature bath” of a few hours at least 2x per week. It could be scheduling a hike, reading in your local park, walking your dog, picnicking, going ice-skating (outside), or whatever else allows you to spend time in Nature (bonus: if you leave your phone behind or put it on silent/airplane mode;)).

10. Count Your Blessings Daily

I know this may not seem like an essential tip to reboot, but trust me I have included this gratitude practice in this blog post because it really makes a difference with your mindset, emotional/mental and physical well-being! Realize all that you already do have, all that your body does for you every single day (without you even noticing it), all that is going right in your life and all of the love that is constantly around you. So often, we get caught in the motions of life; too busy at work, too busy chasing the next best thing, partner, distraction to realize that our life is already very full and complete as it is.

So, this year, before you rush into making new goals/resolutions for yourself, take a moment to pause and reflect on all that 2018 has offered you, all that you learned and all that you already have. Take a few minutes to even journal it out. When you’re done, re-read yourself and see how good your life already is :).

And there you have, folks, my 10 healthy ways to reset (mind, body & soul) in the New Year. Again, these tips can be used at any point throughout the year and you can certainly incorporate them into your well-being self-care kit too!

If you’d like to dive deeper into how to reboot your mind, body and spirit, then make sure you join My 10-day Holistic Reboot by clicking below. You’ll not only receive additional resources and tools, but you’ll also join a private online community of like-minded people doing the reboot with you. To me, that’s one of the best ways to remain accountable and find support ;).

Click here to join my new year 10-day holistic reboot

Cheers to a brand new year and as always, stay vibrant!

Sarah.