The time off during the Holy Week affords us to have a few days to relax and spend time with our loved ones.
But even if you have no plan to spend the week exploring a new destination, like most people, you can still make the seven-day break fun, relaxing, and, heck, productive. Check out these five things that you can do on Holy Week—regardless of your religion and beliefs—that will make you thank yourself later.
Cleanse your body
Having nothing to do and nowhere to go are a good excuse to nourish your body by removing toxins accumulated over time. Detoxification is a practice of removing toxic substances from the blood, which is mainly carried out by the liver. Basically, it helps stimulate the liver and promote elimination through kidneys, intestines, and skin.
According to Peter Bennett, N.D., co-author of 7-Day Detox Miracle, everyone, unless pregnant or has chronic degenerative disease, should detox at least once a year. It helps restart our metabolism and improve our overall health.
There are several detoxification programs and detox recipes available for every person’s needs. Some go through juice fast, wherein they only drink fresh fruit and vegetable juice and water for one up to seven days. Carry this out with caution, though, as it is still best to consult your doctor first before going through any detox program.
Better yet, ease through detoxification by eliminating one unhealthy thing from your diet. You can start by decreasing the amount of sugar and/or alcohol you consume. Drink more water and tea to help flush out toxins, or sweat it out by exercising or going to sauna.
De-clutter your home
A clean and organized room will help you think clearly, so pick up the cleaning tools and start dusting and de-cluttering your home.
Japanese organizing consultant and author Marie Kondo encourages minimizing your belongings. Having only the things that you need is a key to living a simple, minimalist life. Spend a day, or the entire week cleaning and going through your stuff and deciding which should be kept and let go of.
Try the three-box method: keep, trash, and give away, and make sure each item is placed into any of the boxes. You can do this even without boxes by creating a chart and listing down the objects you intend to keep, throw out, and give away.
Disconnect from the Internet
While this could be difficult to do on a regular day when you need to be accessible by your boss or your clients or your family and friends, and might need to check out something on the Web, a digital detox when presumably everyone is on break should be easier.
Put down your phone, laptop, and tablet and log out from all your social media accounts. If this makes you a little anxious, let your friends and loved ones know that you will be going on a digital detox prior and that they may contact you through call or text message, and only if it’s urgent and/or important. This will help you disconnect from trivial online clutter and reconnect with what really matters.
Read a book (or two)
Take this opportunity to finally read that book you’ve been meaning to finish. Make yourself a warm beverage of your choice and get lost in a story. Once you’re done, get another one to satisfy your craving for new adventures and information.
Try doing a book exchange with friends to be able to share with each other the titles you love.
Try something new
You don’t need to venture far or spend money to try something new. Try yoga and meditation and reap the many benefits of these activities. Learn to cook a new recipe and let your family have the first taste. Watch a series you never thought you’d watch but your friends can’t stop raving about.
Think of things you haven’t done yet or activities you have wanted to do. Go out of the proverbial box and see where your mind can take you.