DETOXING
WHAT THE SAGES SAY
It is like building a fire, really…
The word detox has, not only been overused but has also been abused. Even the manufacturers of a popular cereal (loaded with sugar and other unmentionables) if eaten every morning for a few days with cold milk will detox you!
In Ayurveda, the human being is an integral component of the universe around it and as such it has to ensure a certain resonance with it. So, when the seasons are about to change, it is the right time to spring-clean the body to enable you to adapt to the change in the weather, more specifically, the change in the predominance of the elements.
The winter in the Cape, wet and cold, makes way for hot and dry. Winter moves into summer via spring. To move from these opposing elements one has to first clean up completely so that the body is receptive to the predominance of the new ruling elements.
It is no mystery why people get runny noses in winter. Our predominant elements of fire during summer makes way for the predominance of water.
In Ayurveda, the dance between the quality of your metabolic fire and the efficiency of your elimination is integral to our state of health. The spring-clean then entails cleaning out the fire place so that you can start building a new, more effective one. If you follow this analogy throughout your program you will find that it will help you understand the process and consequently assist you in seeing it through.
There are different degrees of cleaning your system as there are different methods and degrees of spring-cleaning the home. The Ayurvedic way provides you with a thorough cleanse reaching the deepest levels of your physiology. These “springcleans” not only have an effect on your physical body but also on your emotional and emotional “bodies”.
The process entails taking ghee (clarified butter) which softens the toxins (AMA), carries them through to the digestive tract where after they get eliminated. The ghee, in the right quantity, also has the effect of putting out the metabolic fire. In the days that you administer the ghee you only eat simple, pure, cooked foods which are easy to digest. There is no point in eating raw fruit and vegetables at this time, even though they are healthy, as your digestive power is greatly diminished at this time and these foods will not be digested.
The elimination follows the ghee process to continue with the fire analogy; now that you have put the fire out it is time to clean out the fireplace. This involves administering either castor oil or Epsom salts in quantities specifically determined for you.
Once your bowels are empty and clear the fire has to be re-set and re-ignited. As you would not start a fire with a huge log, so you would not start your first meal with heavy, hard to digest food. Instead small amounts of easily digestible and warm food would be appropriate. Gradually as you build up your fire so do you start introducing more complex foods, such as protein.
What can you expect from an Ayurvedic springclean?
Initially you will feel the ordinary symptoms associated with the deprivation of stimulants which your body has gotten used to. Gradually you will notice a clarity of thought , a stability in your emotional state, a fluidity of speech, a brightness of look. After the elimination, your taste buds come alive upon the intake of your first meal and you will clearly feel the heating and energizing effect of food as it digests.
You will also find that you have become capable of discerning the difference between hunger and appetite. This is aided by the fact that, if you eat before the ghee has digested properly, you will feel nauseous and realize that what you felt was “appetite pangs”.
This article will not provide you with a detox program as to do so would be irresponsible. There are many which are available to suit you as an individual, taking your lifestyle into account as much as possible. However, a detox program must be used in a responsible manner as it is, in effect, medication. Its effects are thorough and intense and accordingly a specific program should only be prescribed by a person qualified to do so.
Even if you do not undergo an Ayurvedic detox, it is imperative that you remember that a detox is to be taken seriously as its psycho-physiological effects are powerful. Should it not be done properly it can have an adverse effect on your health, defeating the very purpose for which it was intended.
A comprehensive Ayurvedic detox usually also comprises external oleation in the form of massages and mild sweating, light exercise and the promotion of quiet contemplative time. An Ayurvedic detox is easily achievable if you just take the time out to properly rejuvenate your physical and ethereal bodies, ready for the new season.
Contact Carla for a personalized and monitored spring-clean.