3 Ayurvedic Cleansing Techniques to Implement Today

Ayurveda is the ancient Indian science of life that has been used for over 4000 years. Here are three simple Ayurvedic cleansing techniques that you can begin today. These techniques may seem odd or complex, but once learned, they are easy to understand and execute. These three Ayurvedic cleansing techniques are the basic tenants of daily Ayurvedic hygiene.

1. Ayurvedic Tongue Scraping

If you thought brushing your teeth in the morning & evening was sufficient for oral health, think again. Tongue scraping is the perfect supplement to flossing and teeth brushing. Tongue scraping is one of the most efficient Ayurvedic cleansing techniques. Tongue scraping is basic and easy, yet so important.

The tongue plays crucial roles in healthy body functioning. As you sleep each night, toxins accumulate on your tongue. Every morning, as soon as you wake up (before brushing your teeth), use your tongue scraper to remove the layer of toxins.

Depending on the individual, Ayurveda recommends recommends a copper, gold, or silver tongue scraper.

For beginners, you can simply start with a stainless steel tongue scraper or even a plastic tongue scraper from your local pharmacy or grocery market.

As an added benefit, removing the phlegm from your tongue each day will improve your breath. 😉

2. Ayurvedic Oil Pulling

Ayurvedic oil pulling is a terrific way to cleanse your mouth. Through consistent oil pulling, your teeth, tongue, and gums will be cleansed. Oil pulling is one of the more simple, inexpensive, ancient Ayurvedic cleansing techniques. Oil pulling will cleanse your mouth in ways that brushing your teeth does not.

To oil pull, bring a spoonful of vegetable or coconut oil to your mouth and use it as you would mouthwash. Gargle the oil for fifteen to twenty minutes. Spit the oil out (not in sink because it can cause clogs in drains) and brush your teeth immediately after to rid your mouth of toxins.

Warning: Do not swallow the oil! The oil is full of toxins after swishing around in your mouth for twenty minutes.

Check out our post here on the Benefits of Oil Pulling.

3. Ayurvedic Neti Pot Cleansing

Some of the benefits of Ayurvedic Neti Pot Cleaning include:

• Flushing of harmful matter (i.e. dirt, dust, bacteria, etc.)
• Increase in the flow of prana (energy)
• Improved breathing
• Improved sense of hearing
• Natural alternative to sinus medication

How to start using a Neti Pot:

Purchase a neti pot from an Ayurvedic store or even your local pharmacy. Fill the neti pot to the correct level with warm water (after it has boiled and cooled) and pharmaceutical grade salt.

Put the spout of the neti pot in your nostril and lean your head slightly forward. Tilt your head to a 45 degree angle. This will ensure that gravity will assist and your nasal passage will be cleansed with ease. The water enters in one nostril and out the other. As soon as the water is gone, refill the neti pot with water and salt and repeat on the opposite nostril.

Woman using Ayurvedic Neti Pot, image courtesy: zogayoga

Neti pot cleansing should be practiced with care and meticulous attention. It can be dangerous otherwise.

Advice for using neti pot effectively:

• Use 100% sea salt or pharmaceutical grade salt that has been manufactured specifically for Ayurvedic Neti Pot Cleansing.
• Use filtered water. Warning: Do not use tap water for Neti Pot cleansing. Tap water may contain trace contaminants that can cause significant harm. Use Distilled water and boil it.
• Clean your neti pot with hot, filtered water after each usage. Dry your neti pot with a paper towel and store in a dry, cool, dark place.
• Do not cover one nostril and blow nose
• The water should be warm but comfortable, you don’t want to burn your nasal passage.
• The ratio between water and salt is also important. Do not use use too much or too little salt.

Note: I have recently implemented Neti Pot cleansing as a tool to improve athletic performance. Before every basketball game, I cleanse my nasal passage with my Neti Pot. The results have been great as I can breathe so much easier. My stamina has increased tenfold.

Here is our preferred Neti Pot.

We hope you implement these Ayurvedic Cleansing Techniques to feel more alive, well, healthy, and lucid.

What is your experience in using these (or other) Ayurvedic Cleansing Techniques?

Here’s a great depiction of how wild salmon stacks up against farm raised salmon in terms of our health and the environment.

Via Bloomberg:

Scientists are getting close to proving what yogis have held to be true for centuries — yoga and meditation can ward off stress and disease.

John Denninger, a psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School, is leading a five-year study on how the ancient practices affect genes and brain activity in the chronically stressed. His latest work follows a study he and others published earlier this year showing how so-called mind-body techniques can switch on and off somegenes linked to stress and immune function.

While hundreds of studies have been conducted on the mental health benefits of yoga and meditation, they have tended to rely on blunt tools like participant questionnaires, as well as heart rate and blood pressure monitoring. Only recently have neuro-imaging and genomics technology used in Denninger’s latest studies allowed scientists to measure physiological changes in greater detail.

The science is advancing alongside a budding “mindfulness” movement, which includes meditation devotees such as Bill George, board member of Goldman Sachs Group and Exxon Mobil Corp., and comedian Jerry Seinfeld. News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch recently revealed on Twitter that he is giving meditation a try.

It’s an interest that dates back to an exchange program he attended in China the summer before entering Harvard as an undergraduate student. At Hangzhou University he trained with a tai chi master every morning for three weeks.

“By the end of my time there, I had gotten through my thick teenage skull that there was something very important about the breath and about inhabiting the present moment,” he said. “I’ve carried that with me since then.”

Click to read the full article on bloomberg — YOGA.

Image via Luis Acosta/AFP via Getty Images

Via Amanda Froelich and the Waking Times

How many times have you heard ‘meditation is good for you!’, yet you resist the actual act of sitting in silence because the mind is too great a foe to face? You’re not alone if the word ‘meditation’ strikes more fear than chords of peace, but by changing the way you think about it, perhaps it will become easier to devote at least 5 minutes per day towards contemplative reflection.

Whatever your religion, spiritual beliefs, or hectic schedule looks like, there is always time to nurture yourself a bit; this is exactly what meditation is, and the following benefits prove it!

Instead of dreading the ‘quiet time’, look forward to all the amazing benefits you can receive just by choosing to be good to yourself while letting the busy world fade away…

Psychological Benefits

1. Builds self-confidence

2. Increases Serotonin levels

3. Resolves phobias and fears

4. Helps control own thoughts

5. Helps with focus and concentration

6. Increases creativity

7. Increased brain wave coherence

8. Improves learning ability and memory

9. Increased feelings of vitality and rejuvenation

10. Increased emotional stability

Click to see the other 65 benefits of meditation

We have been exposed to Ayurveda and cleanses a bit through our teacher. This post on MindBodyGreen seems to nail the initial steps of starting a cleanse. We have been exposed to brown-rice salads (leafy greens, brown rice, hummus, oil/vinegar) as being good base meals before coming into and out of a cleanse.

According to Ayurveda, your digestive fire has to digest EVERYTHING that you’re exposed to: all of the sights, smells, sounds, tastes, and exposures through the skin. It also has to digest all the emotions and thoughts that arise from everything that you’re exposed to. This is a tall order, and most of us experience some toxic build-up that leads to blocked channels in the body and imbalances in our health.

A one-week food-based home cleanse can be summed up in the following 5 easy steps:

1. Start a kitchari diet. 

Kitchari is an easy-to-make and easy-to-digest complete meal, made with rice, yellow mung dal, spices, clarified butter and vegetables. For one week, eat this for all of your meals, and you will see the cleansing and simultaneously nourishing effect that it has on your body.

2. Avoid snacks. 

This is the best way to reset your digestion, remove toxins, and even lose weight! But you don’t need to starve yourself. If you’re hungry, have warm, cooked foods that use the same ingredients as kitchari: rice porridge, steamed or stir-fried veggies, etc. Just remember that your digestion will work best if you give it at least five to six hours between meals.

3. Sip hot water and detox tea in the morning and throughout the day. 

This also helps reset the digestion and cleanse toxins. Staying well hydrated is key. If needed, also drink room temperature water to ensure you get plenty of fluids. Be sure to avoid ice, cold drinks and caffeine.

Learn more — Here

Via MindBodyGreen and Premal Patel 

Originally Posted on Mind Body Green

Superfoods are becoming commonplace in kitchens across the world. Now that we all know what they are and why we should eat them, it’s time to learn how to store them properly.

My absolute favorite way to store any kind of superfood, specifically nuts and seeds, is in a glass mason jar in the refrigerator.

It sounds simple, but storing your superfoods this way is so important. Here’s why:

You can see what you have and how much you have left.

Too many opaque containers get pushed to the back of the refrigerator, and you might not even know they’re there. Storing them in a see-through container means you’ll use more of them, more often.

Tip: use a label or masking tape to add the name and expiration date to the lid if there’s a chance you won’t use it or forget what’s in the jar.

Most of these superfoods are easy to pour out of the jar; less scoops and spoons mean less dishes.

This will also help you make quick work out of salad and smoothie prep.

Mason jars are inexpensive and can be found online or at a hardware store.

I’ve found them in packs of 12 for less than a dollar each. Bonus! They also make excellent drinking glasses and flower vases. You can store your green juices and green smoothies in them, too.

Glass jars are reusable and last forever, and they’re good for the environment.

Plus, glass is non-reactive, so you can feel good about storing food in them for long periods of time.

Tip: Mason jar companies now make BPA-free plastic lids that are cheap and are a little easier to open than the traditional metal canning lids. The metal canning lids can also rust after multiple uses, so these new white lids are awesome. I found them at my local hardware store for just a few dollars.

Nuts and seeds contain delicate oils, and those oils can quickly spoil.

Storing them in the refrigerator will extend their shelf life; this will save you money in the long run. Throwing away expired food is sad for everyone.

Tip: If your superfoods came in a package on the shelf that’s perfectly fine. Some companies vacuum seal their packages to store at room temperature to be shelf-stable. Just store it in the refrigerator after you open them.

Here are the six superfoods that are always in my refrigerator:

• Raw almonds
• Raw hemp seeds
• Ground flaxseeds
• Raw sunflower seeds
• Raw cacao
• Chia seeds