Many people feel physically toxic, but neglect to look at their spirit and emotions. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) views health as the balanced integration of the body, mind and spirit and our harmonious interactions with the environment. The emotions and spirit play a vital role in our health. Although detoxing the body is worthwhile, focusing on clearing just the physical body may not be adequate.

In TCM, each organ system has an associated emotion. For example, anger and frustration can negatively affect the liver, creating stagnation and constriction. Worry, stress and overthinking can impair the spleen’s digestive function, causing heaviness and lack of mental clarity. A buildup of toxic emotions can be as deleterious as an overindulgence in food, drugs and alcohol. Conscious and appropriate emotional expression is necessary for optimal health, but the body will become unbalanced when any emotion becomes chronically discordant.

So, what do we need to detox—which actually means “to dispel poison”? Maybe what’s needed is “disciplined wildness” and beneficial ways to nourish—not only our body, but also our spirit. Laugh, dance and be in harmony with nature. These may be the best medicines to help cultivate joy and our innate wisdom of being.

Linda Joy Stone, OMD, L.Ac., combines her 21-year experience of reading the Akashic Records with nearly three decades practicing Chinese Medicine. Connect at 520-444-6901, [email protected] or LindaJoyStone.com.