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In Ayurvedic medicine, cleansing is done both to prevent and treat illness. To maintain health, seasonal cleansing is done at the turn of the season. This is done because disease takes root in the body during the seasonal transitions. It may take years for that disease to show, but it begins during a season change. The major seasonal transitions are from summer to autumn and from winter to spring. Cleansing during the seasonal transitions can be done either in a clinic (pancha karma) or at home. At-home
cleanses can be gentle and prolonged or more intensive and short, depending upon the individual in question. I have
taken a week off from work in order to do an intense one-week cleanse.
Many products being marketed as "cleanses" are nothing more than expensive laxatives. These products eliminate all the fecal matter from the colon, causing a feeling of lightness. This may
make someone feel like they are accomplishing something beneficial, but no true cleansing has taken place. Temporary weight loss occurs in these cases but will be gained again when the person resumes their old eating habits. Many people do these types of laxative “cleanses” on a regular basis, each time re-gaining more weight than the time before. This type of weight cycling has been shown in clinical research to be more harmful to the body than simply staying heavier.
True cleansing pulls toxins from deep inside the body, eliminates them, and rejuvenates the body afterwards. A true needs to have several elements:
-oleation: intake of oil to pull toxins from the body
-sweating: to eliminate toxins
-massage: to circulate lymph and blood, and to move toxins to the GI tract where they can be
eliminated
-purgation: facilitation of bowel movements to eliminate toxins
-intake of adequate water: to flush toxins and rejuvenate the body, boost metabolism
and improve skin quality
-herbal liver support: the liver is working overtime during a cleanse because it has
to process toxins pulled out of the fatty tissue
-digestive support as needed
-herbs to cleanse the blood and move the lymph
-consumption of a simple easy-to-digest diet free of raw and processed foods
-practices to cleanse mental and emotional patterns that are no longer beneficial
-cleansing of one's environment
-post-cleanse rejuvenation
How do you know when you need to cleanse? Acute conditions are treated with cleansing, such as asthma and osteoarthritis. Signs that someone needs to detoxify include: mental fogginess, forgetfulness, swelling, acne, constipation, bloating, eczema, and psoriasis.
We are coming up on the transition from winter to spring. In the Ayurvedic calendar, spring begins on March 15. The ideal time for spring cleansing is from March 21 to April 7. Although the ideal time for cleansing has not quite arrived, it is important for people to listen to their bodies and
respect the message they are sending. Here are some of the signs my body has given me that I need to do my cleanse NOW!
1. I have become very absent-minded in my personal life. This morning, I started cooking breakfast, left in the middle and started answering e-mails, came back to put toast in, forgot about it while answering texts and burnt it, and then realized I had water boiling. Last week, I got to the office and realized I was still wearing my house slippers. Endless episodes of idiocy could be written under this heading. I need to get my mind in order before it begins to affect my professional life more than just wearing slippers to
work.
2. Usually I am someone who falls asleep quite nicely every night and does not wake up until the alarm goes off. I have recently had trouble falling asleep and have had trouble staying
asleep once I get there.
3. I have gotten a few spots of acne and bumps on my upper arms.
4. My appetite has suddenly decreased, meaning it is almost nonexistent.
5. My work load is quite high and I am currently noticing myself constantly planning for upcoming projects.
Even in the shower, I am thinking about what classes I will be teaching next and how I will be filling the shelves of the herbal supply store I am opening in June. These patterns of thinking indicate stress, which means that my body is constantly in a fight-or-flight state. Being in this state for a prolonged amount of time causes damage to the immune and GI systems, among other things.
6. I have noticed myself being quick to anger.
It is important to do a pre-cleanse to get the body ready for the real thing. For the last two weeks, I have been taking small doses of a blood cleansing herb (Shatavari) and nerve rejuvenatives (Ashwagandha, Gotu Kola, Bacopa). I have also been planning the activities I will need to flush my system and rejuvenate my mind, body, and spirit over a one-week period.
Why am I blogging my cleanse? I think that sometimes the best way to learn about something is by hearing someone else’s experience. Although cleansing is specific to the issues and the dosha of the person in question, I hope to give a picture of the amazing healing process a cleanse can be…and to show that it is much more than taking laxatives.
Tomorrow I will be going to the farmer’s market, after which I will post pictures of the lovely foods I purchase and tell you all about my cleansing menu. Today’s photo is a statue of Hanuman, the Hindu monkey god. He is the god of wind and I am dominated by that element. I took this photo outside a temple near College Park, Maryland.
In Ayurvedic medicine, cleansing is done both to prevent and treat illness. To maintain health, seasonal cleansing is done at the turn of the season. This is done because disease takes root in the body during the seasonal transitions. It may take years for that disease to show, but it begins during a season change. The major seasonal transitions are from summer to autumn and from winter to spring. Cleansing during the seasonal transitions can be done either in a clinic (pancha karma) or at home. At-home
cleanses can be gentle and prolonged or more intensive and short, depending upon the individual in question. I have
taken a week off from work in order to do an intense one-week cleanse.
Many products being marketed as "cleanses" are nothing more than expensive laxatives. These products eliminate all the fecal matter from the colon, causing a feeling of lightness. This may
make someone feel like they are accomplishing something beneficial, but no true cleansing has taken place. Temporary weight loss occurs in these cases but will be gained again when the person resumes their old eating habits. Many people do these types of laxative “cleanses” on a regular basis, each time re-gaining more weight than the time before. This type of weight cycling has been shown in clinical research to be more harmful to the body than simply staying heavier.
True cleansing pulls toxins from deep inside the body, eliminates them, and rejuvenates the body afterwards. A true needs to have several elements:
-oleation: intake of oil to pull toxins from the body
-sweating: to eliminate toxins
-massage: to circulate lymph and blood, and to move toxins to the GI tract where they can be
eliminated
-purgation: facilitation of bowel movements to eliminate toxins
-intake of adequate water: to flush toxins and rejuvenate the body, boost metabolism
and improve skin quality
-herbal liver support: the liver is working overtime during a cleanse because it has
to process toxins pulled out of the fatty tissue
-digestive support as needed
-herbs to cleanse the blood and move the lymph
-consumption of a simple easy-to-digest diet free of raw and processed foods
-practices to cleanse mental and emotional patterns that are no longer beneficial
-cleansing of one's environment
-post-cleanse rejuvenation
How do you know when you need to cleanse? Acute conditions are treated with cleansing, such as asthma and osteoarthritis. Signs that someone needs to detoxify include: mental fogginess, forgetfulness, swelling, acne, constipation, bloating, eczema, and psoriasis.
We are coming up on the transition from winter to spring. In the Ayurvedic calendar, spring begins on March 15. The ideal time for spring cleansing is from March 21 to April 7. Although the ideal time for cleansing has not quite arrived, it is important for people to listen to their bodies and
respect the message they are sending. Here are some of the signs my body has given me that I need to do my cleanse NOW!
1. I have become very absent-minded in my personal life. This morning, I started cooking breakfast, left in the middle and started answering e-mails, came back to put toast in, forgot about it while answering texts and burnt it, and then realized I had water boiling. Last week, I got to the office and realized I was still wearing my house slippers. Endless episodes of idiocy could be written under this heading. I need to get my mind in order before it begins to affect my professional life more than just wearing slippers to
work.
2. Usually I am someone who falls asleep quite nicely every night and does not wake up until the alarm goes off. I have recently had trouble falling asleep and have had trouble staying
asleep once I get there.
3. I have gotten a few spots of acne and bumps on my upper arms.
4. My appetite has suddenly decreased, meaning it is almost nonexistent.
5. My work load is quite high and I am currently noticing myself constantly planning for upcoming projects.
Even in the shower, I am thinking about what classes I will be teaching next and how I will be filling the shelves of the herbal supply store I am opening in June. These patterns of thinking indicate stress, which means that my body is constantly in a fight-or-flight state. Being in this state for a prolonged amount of time causes damage to the immune and GI systems, among other things.
6. I have noticed myself being quick to anger.
It is important to do a pre-cleanse to get the body ready for the real thing. For the last two weeks, I have been taking small doses of a blood cleansing herb (Shatavari) and nerve rejuvenatives (Ashwagandha, Gotu Kola, Bacopa). I have also been planning the activities I will need to flush my system and rejuvenate my mind, body, and spirit over a one-week period.
Why am I blogging my cleanse? I think that sometimes the best way to learn about something is by hearing someone else’s experience. Although cleansing is specific to the issues and the dosha of the person in question, I hope to give a picture of the amazing healing process a cleanse can be…and to show that it is much more than taking laxatives.
Tomorrow I will be going to the farmer’s market, after which I will post pictures of the lovely foods I purchase and tell you all about my cleansing menu. Today’s photo is a statue of Hanuman, the Hindu monkey god. He is the god of wind and I am dominated by that element. I took this photo outside a temple near College Park, Maryland.