Naturopaths have a reputation for liking detox. And while there may be huge value in detox or cleaning the body, we simply cannot step over the mind as worthy of this vital practice.
My first experience with Detox Flow, a yoga workshop by Seane Corn, was while I was in Naturopathic Medical School, and it turned my concept of detoxification upside down. Seane explores the idea that the most toxic thing we consume is our own thoughts – the continuous stream of judgment and reproach that fills most of our minds
I had a sense of what to expect from this immersive weekend with Seane, which allowed me to receive the insight in a deep and impactful way. I went in with one request in my heart – let me become more aware of my judgments and tendencies toward self-reproach so that I may heal what is asking to be healed within and become free to step further into a life by conscious design (yeah… I was a bit of a hippy back then).
I left this workshop with questions around how my beliefs and physical symptoms were connected. Were my doubts around self-worth contributing to my challenged digestion (both governed by the 3rd chakra, both connected to boundaries)? Was there a relationship with authentic self-expression and thyroid function (both governed by the 6th chakra).
While I still (13 years later) don’t have clear answers, this is what became clearer to me: No deep and lasting healing can occur on the physical level until healing occurs on the energetic or spiritual level. If I am not able to examine the limiting beliefs and subconscious programs at play in my life, any physical healing that I do will be superficial at best, suppressive at worst. In either case, the imbalance is likely to emerge in another way.
Most of my patients come to me wanting to increase their energy, lose weight, and find the long-lost sparkle in their life. Marianne Williamson speaks to how deep healing applies to weight:
“If your ‘weighty thinking’ does not change, then even if you lose weight you’ll retain an overwhelming subconscious urge to gain it back. It’s less important how quickly you lose weight, and more important how holistically you lose weight; you want your mind, your emotions, and your body to all ‘lose weight.’ Weight that disappears from your body but not from your soul is simply recycling outward for a while but is almost certain to return.”