This week, wellness expert Mackenzie Bennett, the blogger behind The Good Balance on IG, is talking us through how she rethinks and resets her routine for the spring season, and works towards a balanced lifestyle. Check out her Instagram feed here, and her website here. Happy reading! 

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Spring is such a magical time of the year: the sun starts shining, the days are longer and the world around us turns a bit more colorful. Spring is a time of re-birth. We pull ourselves out of lethargy, the day to day grind of winter and start to perk up with energy and excitement to finish the end of the year.

I like to take time before each season begins to set intentions and my goals for the coming quarter of the year. I review all areas of my life- as my wellness philosophy is all about finding a “good balance” in your lifestyle. It takes regular adjusting and polishing in order to keep a balanced lifestyle. Just as we are all bio-individual with our diets; the same diet and lifestyle may not benefit us our entire lives, it's important to keep evolving.

The journey to finding a “good balance” requires you to evaluate many areas of your life including diet, mindful movement, your self-care routine, your relationships, your home and truly check in with yourself mentally.

The Bathroom Detox

My bathroom is like my little home oasis, it’s clean and minimal in design, and my plants hang out in there. Everything has its place so I can find it easily. I have my collection of non-toxic face masks, serums, and mists and this is where a lot of self-care time is spent.

Do yourself a favor and go through your bathroom drawers and medicine cabinet. Again, check expired medicines and toss them out- and as you’re doing so take a look at the labels on your personal hygiene products. Can you pronounce all the words in the ingredients list?

As you’re cleaning all the drawers and have all your products laid out, take a mental note. Every single day these products are going on your skin, in your hair, in your mouth or you’re inhaling them. Today, choose just ONE product that you can part with and replace it with a non-toxic alternative.

Using Sky Organics has made switching over to non-toxic products so much easier. I know I can trust the ingredients and the price is so affordable-its comparable to conventional products. The wide variety of products they carry makes everything less stressful.

Some of my favorite products right now are Indian Healing Clay Mask and the Rosewater Facial Mist. These are both great products for spring, the clay mask is a deeply detoxifying mask and is a great way to pull additional toxins from your body. The Rosewater Facial Mist is a great way to keep your skin hydrated during the warmer seasons. I love spraying the mist after washing my face and before applying my serums. I also love to mist my face throughout the day to refresh my makeup.

A Good Balance Diet

Spring is naturally a detoxifying time of the year. As the weather starts to warm up we tend to crave light foods and more fruits and veggies. I'm a big advocate of detoxing through food and spring is my favorite time to focus on supporting my body for detox. I tend to naturally gravitate towards more juices and smoothies, salads and raw foods that are so powerful for detoxification.

Simple ways to support daily detox:

1. Ensure you’re getting plenty of water (lemon water is a great way to boost detoxification).
2. Focus on nutrient dense foods like fruits, vegetables, and greens rather than choosing foods based on their caloric or macronutrient values.
3. Support your lymphatic system by eating plenty of hydrating fruits and vegetables and dry brushing.
4. Detox your conventional beauty and personal hygiene products.
5. Find ways to include mindful movement every day.

This time of year is the perfect time to make a weekly farmers market trip part of your routine- here all throughout the country, signs of spring are around. I wrote a nutritional guide inspired by the season, which you can find here. 

Mindful Movement

Moving your body is not a chore, it's a luxury! We all know we need to do it, but that doesn’t mean it has to be boring. I love changing the way I practice mindful movement with the seasons. It’s a great way to try out a brand new workout class or just simply change the way you move. Even if it's just a couple times a week, it can really inspire you to move more.

Instead of going to the gym every day, take your workout outside, head to the park and do a bodyweight workout or go for a jog around your neighborhood.

Practicing Mindfulness

It's also a great time to reevaluate your dedication to being mindful. Take a step back and figure out the areas that need a little work and implement a plan to get back on track. It could be spending just 5-10 minutes and starting your day with a guided meditation, getting outside and grounding (placing the bare feet on the earth) or spending a day out in nature by taking a hike.

It can be simply taking a walk around the neighborhood and appreciating the sound of the chirping birds and stopping to literally smell the flowers. Lately, my favorite thing to do is sit out on our patio next to my cactuses, sip my morning coffee and sunbathe for a few beautiful moments.

I urge you to take a few moments and plan out how you can revisit these areas of your life for a spring cleaning.