Hello everyone, I would like to tell you a little bit about this brief spiritual journey that I am taking in order to have a piece of mind and further discover how I can achieve “a better me.”
This detox is in no way a guide to lose weight nor promotes the juicing diets. I mean, those are okay if you are comfortable with them and are aware of the nutritional risks, yet I just want to state that I do not want to mislead anyone with the title. However, if you enjoy this article, I can also write one on how I stay in shape without neglecting my cravings and the beauty in body diversity.
Now that I am done with the procedure, let’s move on with the benefits of this method I created! First off, it can be customized according to your needs. Give yourself some time to think about what makes you feel like a zombie all day or influences your mood for the worse.
Think of my rules as a starting point: keep and modify the parts where we have common concerns and strike out the ones that do not bother you or are overly restrictive (the latter will probably not be the case as I adjusted it to my willingness to be more laid-back)
Furthermore, it does not have a time limit. Come back and try again later if you feel overwhelmed by the process. Do it for a day, a week, a month, years. It doesn’t matter. The only promise given is one-sided here and it is the commitment that you give to yourself to cherish it. Nevertheless, I recommend that you try it at least for a couple of days before deeming it useless: for example, it might be hard to compromise twenty minutes off your sleep at first but later on, you might as well find out that it is your fuel to make it happily through the day.
“Rules”
– Enjoy spending time with your friends, although you shouldn’t let it pass the two days week limit if you are fond of spending hours together but have a career to manage. You deserve a day full of laughter and achieved goals.
– Try not to use slang and swear words as much. It became a habit for me after befriending someone whom I no longer talk to. I believe that the first thing negative words do is to ruin the energy of the person who says them.
– No Instagram, Snapchat, Onedio, Buzzfeed. These are my guilty pleasures and I might just have cheated on it today but you will really thank me for if you manage to invest your potential in things you actually like.
– Do not ever feel guilty about eating but try to decrease the amount of your processed food intake.
– No-screen time after 10.30pm. Well, I have a lot of exceptions with this one but go ahead and attempt it, it is known to improve the quality of your sleep.
– Yoga/meditation each day and non-consecutive sessions of basketball and walking (1 session each) is urged.
– A calm mind in, trash pop music out. For me, it was the end of an immense headache and gave me the opportunity to find inspiration for my poetry.
– When you go to wash your face, look at your reflection in the mirror, lock eyes with it and give yourself at least one well-deserved compliment. That will give you so much more confidence than flattery.
– Do not beat yourself up for your mistakes, learn from them.
I hope these work!
A Regular Day
6.50 Wake Up (School starts at 08.00 and I used to wake up at 07.10).
Optional: I occasionally make either chamomile, kusmi, hibiscus and green tea for a fresh start to the day, or ginger-ginseng tea if I am avoiding a sore throat and need an extra energy shot. I have it with my breakfast as I like it slightly cold, so it doesn’t interfere with my meditation. Please don’t opt for coffee, especially in the first few days of adaptation, as you shouldn’t depend on a large sum of caffeine in order to stay awake, it is hazardous on the long run by putting your body under stress.
10-15 minutes of yoga/meditation. This is crucial – and effortless. I cannot afford a yoga class nor can I stand the artificial feeling of an app/youtube video instructing me as I concentrate so I just research the basics and combine it with a little bit of my previous Pilates experience. The diaphragm breath practice, Downward-Facing-Dog, and Extended Puppy Pose are the core parts of this relieving practice. You also get the chance to do things at your own pace when you are solo, not to mention that you can close your eyes for some time as you are bending over your foot or stretching your arm. I also do it on my bed (Posture and a firm place to lay your back are important.) with furry pajamas on. Heavenly! This is actually what changed my mood from irritable to energetic, no matter how much I have slept.
07.10
Go use the bathroom (you should have worn your clothes for the day at this point. It gets you to the serious mode as you get out of your room).
I suggest that you don’t skip your breakfast. It is scientifically proven that it is beneficial to be robust and lowers the risk of mindless snacking throughout the day.
School finishes at 15.10, and since we have our lunch early, I accord myself 55 minutes to eat something and come back home, full enough to study.
16.15-17.15
Homework (if there is none, a review of a preferred course that you have had that day)
17.15-17.20
Get some fresh air in the balcony, pet your cats. If it weren’t for the vibrating voice they make as you stroke their head, how would you keep calm with all the mischief they conspire?
17.20-18.30
A course review of your choice. Done that already? Complete a task from the next stages or do something that you feel like doing (I beg you, not illegal, I do not want cops ringing my doorbell to show me this piece of writing).
18.30-19.00
Chat with a parent or if they aren’t present, try texting/calling a friend. Hearing the voice of a beloved person can do wonders in your life.
19.00-20.00
Think about what to write, eat dinner. That is because my passion is writing. If you have any hobbies or a project in mind, pursue them at this and the following hour (again, no insidious contemplations!).
20.00-21.00
Time to type your heart out!
The remaining two hours (21:00-23:00) are a precaution in case there are any delays. Wow, if you have come to this point, it means that you have accomplished all and even have two hours of free time daily. Look how much time your phone takes from you!
23.00
Preferable time to go to bed as the anti-cancer hormones are activated between this time and 06.00, in complete darkness if possible.
Work-Out Day
My morning routine is the same as a regular day.
15.45 – Leave your school bag at home, change your clothes.
If playing basketball:
16.30-17.30 Basketball
18.00 Shower
If walking (I usually walk about 15km, which makes more than 20k steps but this is no small feat, so start with baby steps start with if you do not enjoy walking on a regular basis):
16.30-17.40 Walk the 7.5 km to Bagdat Avenue.
17.40-18.30 Snacking and writing/chatting/studying in the meanwhile.
18.30-19.40 Return on foot
or 18.30-19.15 Return by public transport.
20.00-20.45 Dinner
21.15 Shower
23.00 Goodnight, champion!
Weekends
08.30-09.00 Good morning sunshine, it’s meditation time!
09.00-09.30 Get ready for the day 🙂
09.30-11.00 Breakfast
Free to schedule: Writing, homework, study (1 hour per occupation)
Try to sleep before 23.30.
Socialising Days / AP Course Days
1 hour of homework or study is obligatory but other than that, chill!
Update: I have been doing this for a couple of weeks and have received compliments from my friends on how they are loving my vibe. Non-stop calls and notifications! I might have marketed this article as a shortcut to popularity. Okay, maybe not the last two – that’s just the exaggerative person I am. But for real, I have had quite a few people tell me how radiant I looked and how they felt even happier around me, which definitely says something about this method.
Independent from that (meaning, I do not validate myself in regard to other people’s opinions of me, though they can be nice):
I have developed a more positive body image (nevertheless, I am still not exactly over my tummy),
Noticed a confidence boost (bonus: accept praises! Turning down is self-deprecative and kills off the assertiveness)
Regained my activeness from the primary-school era,
Re-commenced pilates,
Fit socializing and me-time loosely into my schedule without feeling guilty about my work – which is almost always finished in advance! Not to mention the drawback about my body (over-consumption of bread and sweets), the return of the headaches (the music I listened) and work anxiety (time wasted on social media) only occurred when I slacked off on the routine, using holidays as an excuse.
So this is the end of my article about my rejuvenating detox, but hopefully not the end of my 9 Magazine articles. Please share your feedback so that the other adventures that I intend to share come off as more inspiring and amusing. Wishing you all the best in your journey!
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This article was written by guest writer Duru Saçıntı. This is her first article for 9 Magazine.