Spring Cleanse Workshop Review
In Depth Asanas / April 22, 2012

Spring Cleanse Workshop Review

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Spring is finally upon us with lighter evenings and sunnier mornings, meaning that April is the perfect month to rejuvenate our minds and bodies through adjusting what we’re putting in our bodies.

In the first of our new monthly workshops, Julie and Katie of inourish held a two-hour Spring Cleanse workshop designed to improve wellness, energy and vitality through diet and yoga.
Their holistic approach to wellness rests on the principle that diet is more than the foods you eat. They believe that diet also includes your spirituality, primary relationships, exercise habits, and career. Stress hormones for instance, not only affect the absorption of your food, but they also adversely impact your quality of life. By evaluating why you eat what you eat, you can gain a better perspective not only of how to change your eating habits for the better, but also how to achieve an all-round healthier lifestyle.


The main focus of this workshop was on detoxing with an emphasis on juicing and yoga. Both of these elements share beneficial properties for detoxing and complement each other in a long-term health regime. It is important to detox regularly as toxins build up in the body from sources such as pollution, fast food and stress, and can eventually lead to ill health and disease. Yoga, along with a nutritious diet can have a profound effect on your mind, body and spirit. There are a whole host of health benefits from drinking fresh fruit and vegetable juices such as the digestive properties of pineapple, the alkalising effect of cucumber, and the huge impact of beetroot in oxygenating and cleansing the blood. During your yoga practice these benefits are enhanced even more through breathing deeply, stretching and twisting. Resulting in lower blood pressure, lower levels of anxiety and depression, stabilising of the nervous system and increased levels of oxygen in the blood, which in turn displaces deadly free radicals and improves concentration and memory… the lists goes on and on.

Not only did the workshop include a 20 minute yoga session , a juice tasting competition and a wealth of information about the workings of our bodies and the effects of yoga and juicing, Julie and Katie also touched on the issue of mental well-being as an important factor in keeping a balanced healthy lifestyle. This was an opportunity to look at various aspects of our life and evaluate which areas we are satisfied with and which areas we would like to improve. By setting short-term and long-term goals and focusing daily on a positive mantra, it is possible to work slowly towards creating balance and achieving a happier outlook in all these areas. Although the physical effects of juicing are often seen very quickly, the Spring Cleanse workshop focused on incorporating juicing into a long-term healthy diet to achieve health and happiness from the inside out.

Don’t worry if you weren’t able to make it to the workshop, try out the super nutritious smoothie recipe below to get your detox started!

Super Green Smoothie
If it’s a powerhouse of pure nutrients you want, then this is the smoothie for you.
Rich in chlorophyll, all the essential amino acids, essential fats, vitamins, minerals, and natural sugars.

Apples – 2
Spinach – 1 large handful
Kale – 1 large handful
Unwaxed Lime – 1/2 small
Celery – 1 stick
Cucumber – 1/2 medium
Broccoli Stem – 5 cm chunk
Avocado – 1/2 medium
Spirulina *- 1 heaped teaspoon
Wheatgrass – 1 heaped teaspoon

Juice the apples, spinach, kale, lime, celery, cucumber and broccoli. Make sure you pack the leafy vegetables tightly into the chute of the juicer between the apples before you start to get the maximum juice. Pour the fresh juice into the blender with the avocado, spirulina, wheatgrass. Blend until very green and very smooth.

*Spirulina is a true superfood, bursting with nutrients. It’s rich in vitamins E and C, minerals, chlorophyll, essential fatty acids, and more beta-carotene than other other feed (by weight) and also has the highest protein content of any other plant food.

For more information about detoxing, juicing and yoga, check out Julie and Katie’s website:
www.inourish.co.uk