May 20, 2022
Written by Sherri McKnight, DCHomMed
Edited by Melanie Swackhammer, BA
How to support the rhythm of your day and night detox cycle with your Queen of the Thrones® Castor Oil Pack and Dry Brush
A successful night’s sleep begins during the day and a great day begins before we go to sleep.
Because light and darkness and our “Fight or Flight” or “rest and digest” state affect our melatonin and cortisol levels, and when these are off, we become distressed and disordered and then sleep, constipation, fatigue, depression, anxiety, overeating and overall feeling of being unwell predominate. Would you agree?
So how do we support the body’s natural circadian rhythm in this modern technology-driven world to optimize our day and night detox cycle?
Dry brushing for lymphatic drainage and cortisol stimulation
Our skin, being the largest organ of the body, is connected to each and every internal organ system. And when stimulated, it influences healthy flow, rhythm and harmony in the body.
Dry brushing is an ancient Ayurvedic technique done on waking to engage our lymphatic system and internal organs to drain and clear out the junk.
By gently moving the brush on the skin in a circular motion towards the heart, working through all of your limbs and torso this causes a slight irritation on the skin which supports lymphatic cleansing and stimulates cortisol to wake and energize you!
Naturally enhancing cortisol in the morning is one of the best ways to support hormonal balance1 and our natural day and night detox cycles.
And when dry brushing is combined with the application of Queen of the Thrones® Castor Oil this maximizes the healing benefits by delivering anti-inflammatory nutrients like vitamin E, polyphenols and omegas2-3 deep into the skin which hydrate and nourish and further support lymphatic flow.
In just 5 minutes at the beginning of your day, you will feel invigorated and refreshed!
I know what you’re thinking…
Wait a minute! I thought cortisol was bad and I’ve been trying to reduce it in all my patients and now you’re telling me to make it higher?
I hear you, and I thought so too. But have you ever heard the quote by Shakespeare describing how Hamlet is a prisoner of his own thinking…
“Nothing is either good or bad but thinking makes it so”
Cortisol is a healthy part of our hormonal system, and truly as Paracelsus said, “it’s the dose that matters”.
So in the morning cortisol is appropriate in the right amounts to wake up and build the system!
Stimulate the production of oxytocin and reduction of cortisol with castor oil packs
In our frequently overburdened stress-filled daily schedule we tend to live in a high cortisol, stressed state. And you and I both know how it is not possible for true healing, let alone a good night’s sleep, when in a state of stress, and excess cortisol. Agreed?
Wearing a Queen of the Thrones® Castor Oil Pack each evening before bed helps move the body into the parasympathetic “rest & digest” state,4-5 this is where detoxing thrives.
This shift happens with the compression of the pack placed over the liver in combination with the movement of your breathing muscles serving to act as a pump to your lymphatic system encouraging drainage of the lymph.6
As well, when the pack is placed on specific dermatomes this activates the somatic visceral reflexes triggering the activity of internal detox and cleansing organs like the liver, kidney, gut, gallbladder and more.7
All this is simply by supporting the love and connection hormone oxytocin production which downregulates your stress hormone cortisol and supports a peaceful, deep, detoxifying sleep.
The pack also helps reduce inflammation8-9 and encourages circulation to your liver via nitric oxide,10-11 enhancing the body’s cleansing time, and that time is best while you sleep as it is the liver’s natural time of detox.
Additionally, wearing a castor oil liver pack earlier throughout the day can be very helpful in the balancing of your day and night detox cycle, especially for those clinically diagnosed with excessively high daytime levels of cortisol which cause the body to remain in a constant state of stress.
Triggering the production of melatonin with compression around the eyes
Limiting our exposure to light with blue light blocking glasses is a great tool to wear after sundown if you have excessive exposure to artificial light, such as computer or cell phone screens as studies show they help to protect the brain and begin the pump of our sleep hormone, melatonin.
The blocking of the light, however, only begins the process of balanced melatonin production1A.
The other part of the process is compression around the eyes, which triggers the release of melatonin1B via the nervous system.
And wearing a Queen of the Thrones® Sleep Mask to bed is a simple way to gently stimulate the production of melatonin from the pituitary gland.
Supporting the natural rhythms of our day and night cycle with a foundational practice
This day and night routine sets the foundation to support the natural rhythm and cleansing of hormones by supporting your ‘love and connection molecule’ oxytocin and sleep hormone, melatonin, in the evening (with the Queen of the Thrones® Castor Oil Liver Pack and Sleep Mask), and cortisol in the morning (with the dry brush); influencing estrogen and thyroid balance.
Supporting these rhythms and cycles with these simple and easy practices is a process both you and your patients will love doing because it’s not only NOT an added burden to their already busy schedule, but a pleasure to look forward to both waking and at rest.
Are you a practitioner, health coach or wellness influencer? If you’re interested in…
- Recommending our easy-to-use tools to the people you serve.
- Practically applying them in your health and wellness professional practice in clinic or online.
- Or becoming a Wholesale Partner
Contact us at: royalty@queenofthethrones.com
References:
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