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By the time the new year rings in, most of us have a long list of sweeping resolutions: lose 20 pounds, take a step up in the career ladder, hit the gym 5 to 6 times a week. But don't feel terrible if your resolutions end up flatter than day-old champagne. According to ancient healing tradition, winter is not the time to start harsh new changes. Our body's natural rhythm wants to take it easy during the winter.

The cold winter months are the best time for our bodies to rejuvenate before spring. Winter is time to finish things, not start them. To help our body end the cycle and prepare for the new one, we need to remove the physical, emotional, and environmental junk we acquired over the past year. So instead of making dramatic changes, a gentle detox ties it up and readies us for the rebirth of spring.

Your Body

A detox is the perfect goal you can expect to meet instead of a deep cleanse which can wait for the warmer months. During detox you simply reduce your intake of toxins and support your body's natural detox systems. Doing this supports your anti-aging goals. On the outside, we take in polluted air and water and foods like sugar and alcohol. On the inside, the body reacts by making more free radicals which end up damaging our DNA and cells, contributing to diseases and aging.

To help your body get rid of toxins, try a detox that removes the excess mucous and acid that has accumulated. Elson Haas, MD and author of The New Detox Diet (Celestial Arts,2004), recommends taking a week off to eat only cooked vegetables, brown rice, seaweed, and miso broth while incorporating massage, steams, and saunas. Another choice is his three-week plan. He recommends you do not intake sweets, caffeine, wheat, dairy, and alcohol, and instead consume steamed vegetables and warm broths.

After your one or three week detox, build up strength by eating more proteins, starches, and seasonal foods including sweet potatoes, pumpkin, kale, and winter squash. Fresh, local foods have more nutrients. Nettle tea, broths, and small amounts of lean meats keep your body warm during the harshness of winter. Hearty, nutricious foods such as brown rice, garlic, seaweed, miso soup, potatoes, broccoli, kale, cabbage, chard, collard greens, cauliflower, and onions replenish your reserves.

An often over-looked part of maintaining optimal health during winter is hydration. Warm teas and broths will keep you in top condition. Chamomile tea strengthens your kidneys while rosehips tea strengthens the adrenals. Keeping the adrenals in top shape prevents or improves common health problems including allergies and asthma. If you suffer from bladder infections, uva ursi infusion or tea will likely cure it.

To keep your body looking great, go for yoga or t'ai chi. They promote deep breathing and soothing movements that won't exhaust your body.

Your Mind

Now is the perfect time to not only clean out the clutter in our closet and garage, but also the emotional baggage in our mind. Conflicts that gnaw at us in the back of our mind only lead to anxiety, anger, or depression. Unresolved feelings eventually take up too much of our energy which can be used for better thoughts and emotions. It's time to get rid of emotional toxins such as behaviours, patterns, and beliefs that interfere with having healthy relationships and living fully.

** Address your issues when you're ready to come to terms with your emotions. You will feel better for facing the truth.

** Surround yourself with a positive and loving environment -one that makes you feel relaxed.

** Learn to let go by creating your own ritual to release the emotional toxins you've identified.

** Make new choices which include not recreating the old problems you just let go of. It's too easy to relapse, so you must commit to creating an intention which honors your commitment. Go with specific, measurable, and realistic goals.

An emotional cleanse will allow you to feel more alive and rejuvenated. The energy you were using to suppress pain is now available for creative choices.

This rejuvenation is a process and by spring you will be more able to implement new goals in full force. Enjoy the gentleness of the detoxification and the peace it brings into your life. You will definitely be living an anti-aging lifestyle if you take care of your body and your mind this season.