Internal Detox
cleansing your insides
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Detoxify yourself from the inside.
Nature has made a plethora of natural detoxes for all living things. Animals instinctively know what to eat and refrain from eating when they are unbalanced healthwise.
Advertising and force of (wrong) habits have subdued that instinct to a large extent in us city dwelling folk. Revive those instinctive memories of detoxing through these every day foods, edibles and many traditional practises.
Pyschic and emotional detoxification is just as necessary as the physical and mental cleansings. While most of these detoxify, some are protective and preventive.
SELF PRACTICES
Abstinence
From sugar, caffeine, refined oils and carbs, over processed foods, chemical inhalants and sprays, stuff we put onto our skin - basically anything from a packet with a printed expiry date.Simply cutting out the proccessed, refined, and checmically augmented from your life goes a long way by preventing toxins in the first place. This applied to stuff that goes in you as well as on you. Soaps, lotions, creams and other chemicals we apply onto our bodies are less obvious ways we allow toxins into our bodies. Chemical air fresheners, vapes, cigarettes, even chemical mosquito repellants - all introduce some level of toxification into us.
Fasting
Regular fasting induces a natural bodily process called autophagy where Golgi bodies in our cells start to clean house, removing toxins and cancer cells, cellular waste products and defective cellular . During the fasting phase, the body actually recycles and consumes all these unwanted proteins as part of the autophagy process.
Fasting as a strategy to fight disease and promote wellness is a standard go-to for natural, alternative and integrative therapies. It is effective for preventing cancer, slowing aging, preventing a host lifestyle diseases.
Neuronal health,i.e. a healthy nervous system is one of the well known and most studied outcomes of integrating regular fasting practises into your lifestyle.
Yoga
At its core, yoga is about cleansing the panchakoshas and sapt dhatus. Hence, there are a number of yogic techniques for it internally detoxing and optimising not just your body, but also your mind, intellect, energy chakras and spirit.
Shuddhi Kriyas, Pranayam and Asanas all detox vital organs. Tratak cleanses the eyes and tones the brain. Brahmri prevents the brain-shrink that often seems to come with age. Surya namaskar keeps the body supple and fluid with age. Shankhaprakshalan keeps your intestines free of toxins and maintains digestion and assimilation of food. Jal neti keeps the senses healthy and the helps maintain sharp brain function.
Kapal Bhati and Bhastrika are the two primary pranayama techniques to counter the harmful effects of urban air pollution. Agnisara pranayam, bhuta shuddhi, tattvashuddhi, nauli, basti and just some more of the myriad of yogic practises that help you internally detox.
ASSISTED BY PROFESSIONALS
Chelation
Urban lifestyles tend to gather a lot of heavy metal toxins, from lead pipes, paints and enamles, silver mercury dental fillings, regular flu shots, fertilisers and pesticides with which we spray our foods, prescription and over-the-counter drugs like antacids, cosmetics and toiletries, alcohol, seafood which is heavily contanimated these days, industrial effluents in cities, aluminium cookware and foil, antiperspirants, refined sugar... the list is endless!While some of the metals are needed in trace quantities for healthy human functioning, these should be gotten from our diet alone. Other sources usually are in toxic forms and quantities. Timely chelation to remove such over buildup is required to remain toxin-free.
Panchkarma
An ancient practise from the Indian medical science of Ayurveda, these are 5 cleansing practises than remove the core causes of diseases well before they can take root in your body. Regular panchakarma when you are healthy can go a long way in preventing even so-called genetically passed on conditions like diabetes, cancer, scleroderma and all non-congenital auto immune conditions.
Homeopathy
An alternative therapy established by Hannemann, a German physican at the turn of the 18th century, homeopathy has formulation specifically for detoxification of the vital organs and body tissues.
Naturopathy
An alternative therapy, naturopathy has many ways to detox with the aid of naturally available foods and substances. It includes stuff like water baths, massages, mud baths, sun baths, air baths. Many plants are naturally detoxifying as well.
Sanjeevani
Another alternatove therapy, Sanjeevani has many nature based formulations and methods to detox our insides, primarily focused on the intestines and digestive tract, centred around the principle that all diseases start from the alimentary canal.EDIBLES
The liver being the body natural detox centre, many of the edibles mentioned below have beneficial effects on liver function.
Neem
Shots of the juice of neem leaves just a couple of days each month will keep the doctor away much better than an apple a day!
Tulsi
This plant is commonly found at the entrance of traditional Hindu homes. Many urban houses too have a potted version of tulsi. This plant has the highest pranic energy of all edible plants.
Aloe Vera
Known as Kumari in India, aloe vera is a digestive detoxifier and soother, working wonders with cleansing out the intestines and calming gastric linings.
Amla
A small winter fruit very common in India, this astringent bitter-sour tasting fruit with a sweet after taste, can be consumed in many ways. The juice of the fresh fruit makes for an excellent detoxifier.
Sugarcane Juice
Freshly squeezed sugar cane is the best thing you can have for your liver.
Wheatgrass Juice
This innocous plant gained great popularity as an anticancer super food during the last few decades of the 20th century. Consume it as a microgreen or have freshly made juice of the tiny wheat grass plant-in-a-pot commonly available at many urban health food retailers.
Tender Coconut
The MOST alkalising drink made by nature, nothing can match the ORS effects of fresh tender coconut water.
Lemongrass
Eliminates toxins through urine.
Turmeric
A natural antiseptic and antibiotic, haldi is amazing at detoxifying the liver.
Barley Water
Support your detoxers! Soak overnight 2 spoons of pearl barley in 4 glasses of water. Next morning boil this down to 2-3 glasses and drink throughout the day. It is an amazing liver and kidney detox, keeping both organs functioning healthily and happily to remove your toxins, just as they are designed to do.
Harday
Triphala
Ginger
Lavender
Green Tea
Lime & Lemon
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