The Ayurvedic Detox Routine for The Morning

The Ayurvedic Morning Routine

Ayurveda emphasizes a morning routine that nourishes and cleanses the body, and gently rouses the mind.  The morning routine sets the stage for the rest of the day.

Get Your Lymph Moving

The lymphatic system is essentially the body’s sewage system.  It collects waste from the cells and carries it via the lymph fluid to the appropriate eliminatory organs where it is excreted from the body.  If the lymph system is not working correctly, fluid can accumulate in the body and cause low immunity, sluggishness, water retention and many other unpleasant symptoms. In the morning, there are certain practices that we can do to assist the body in moving the lymph fluid.

1.  Drink A Glass of Water

To help keep your lymph healthy, after you brush your teeth, drink a glass of room temperature water.  This will help with flushing the lymphatic fluid, rehydration and stimulating a bowel movement.

2. Dry Skin Brush

Invest in a dry skin brush from your natural grocer to stimulate lymphatic fluid, blood circulation and to exfoliate the skin.  Choose a dry skin brush with firm natural bristles. Use gentle light strokes over your entire body that go toward the heart. Start from your ankles and work your way up your legs to your arms, chest, back, and stomach. Do not brush your face or genitals.  Avoid areas with irritations or abrasions.  Do not brush over varicose veins.  Use about 10-15 very light strokes per area.

3. Self-Massage with Ayurvedic Oils

After you are done dry skin brushing, self-massage with ayurvedic oils, organic body oils or plain untoasted sesame oil.  The ayurvedic practice of self-massage boosts the immune system, enhances immunity, and calms the nervous system.

Follow the same stroke pathways you used in dry skin brushing.  Begin at the ankles and use long strokes toward the heart. Use circular strokes over your joints.  Spend extra time on your low abdomen using large clockwise strokes to stimulate elimination. 

4. Get Some Exercise

After you have oiled your body it is time for some brisk exercise.  A restorative yoga practice, walk or bike ride, can help to wake you up, increase endorphins, counter depression, and enhance concentration. Exercise hard enough to induce your body to sweat.  Sweating is a natural detoxification pathway of the body; take advantage of it. 

5.  Practice Meditation

When you are done exercising, practice some form of meditation, stress reduction, or self-inquiry practice. In ayurveda and yoga, knowing the self is key to operating in alignment with our unique purpose and needs.  If you do not have a meditation practice, you can begin by sitting comfortably in a chair and keep your spine straight.  Take long deep breaths for a count of 5 on the inhalation and 5 on the exhalation.  Do this for 5-minutes or more.  When you have finished your breathing practice simply ask the questions:  ‘How does my body feel right now?’  How does my heart feel right now?  How does my mind feel right now?’  You can also book a session with me and I can develop a personal meditation program for you. 

After your meditation practice take a shower and get ready for your day. 

DIY Ayurvedic Detox Weight Loss To Flaten Your Belly

You Will Need

Dry Skin Brush
Favorite Massage Oil
Castor Oil
Towels

Combine 1 ounce of castor oil to 3 ounces of your favorite massage oil. Set aside.

Dry skin brush your whole body beginning at the ankles using light and superficial strokes that move toward the heart. Apply your warm therapeutic oil using the same directions.

Dry skin brush your belly. Apply pure castor oil over your abdomen using clock wise strokes. Lay on your back and apply heat to your low abdomen. Use deep belly breaths to facilitate lymph flushing.

he lymphatic system consists of dozens of glands and lymph nodes, as well as the spleen, tonsils and thymus. Its primary purpose is to carry toxins out of our tissues and toward our blood stream, so the kidneys and livers can filter it out.

By improving this system, you enable your body to better detoxify itself. It can more easily remove byproducts of the foods you eat, your bodily processes, the medications you take, and other toxins you may have been exposed to.

Plus, impaired lymphatic systems have been scientifically linked to cellulite. The trapped toxins lead to small pockets of fat across the body and, over time, can cause weight gain or even obesity. By simply clearing out the lymphatic system, you can help eliminate cellulite and kick-start your weight loss goals.

Ayurveda is an ancient healing modality from India that is over 5,000 years old. It uses natural methods to cleanse and restore the body. Dry skin brushing, self massage and castor oil help to flush the lymphatic system ayurvedically. It is a powerful detox and cleanse aid that you can DIY.

Sugar, PCOS, Insulin Resistance, Glycation

In this video learn about ayurved's perception on the use of sugar, including the primary causes of sugar imbalance, common imbalance/disease types caused by abnormal sugar consumption and their treatments.  

3 of the most common sugar imbalance disease I see in my practice are: glycation (premature aging), candidas (abnormal growth of a naturally occurring yeast in the body) and metabolic disease/insulin resistance (PCOS, diabetes & thyroid disease)

When we consume carbohydrates, weather a steamed potato or a candy bar, our blood sugar spikes.  To bring blood sugar back to normal, the pancreas pumps insulin into the bloodstream.  When we continuously cause blood sugar to spike through our food choices, the pancreas goes into overdrive shooting too much insulin into the bloodstream.  Now blood sugar drops too low, and our adrenal “fight or flight” hormones are called in by the hypothalamus.  The adrenal glands recognize low blood sugar as a threat and send hormones out to boost it, but these hormones are used for crisis situations and so in response we experience stress.

Chronic low or high blood sugars are gateways to diabetes.  Dysglycemia, a condition in which the body loses the ability to keep blood sugar stable.  Many folks in our modern world are on the verge of full blown diabetes, and often unbeknownst to them, are suffering from very real blood sugar imbalance.  Dysglycemia and its effects on adrenal function are at the threshold of many health conditions including: diabetes, weakened digestion, inflammation in the gut, adrenal exhaustion, hormonal imbalances, weight gain, and inability to properly detoxify the body to name a few.  

In Ayurveda, C. albicans is called Krumi, “parasite,” and therefore, treated as a parasitic infection. Systemic C. albicans infection is the result of several years of inappropriate lifestyle and inflicting behavior, and seldom the result of recent choices.  Currently Candidas overgrowth is the fourth most prominent bloodstream infection in the United States.  It takes time to grow in the body, and therefore, can be time consuming to eradicate.  Like many gut imbalances, C. albicans manifests when a pathogenic opportunity is coupled with weakened immunity, due to inadequate gut flora. C. albicans is heavily linked to pharmaceuticals that decrease gut flora such as antibiotics, muscle relaxants, painkillers, acne medications, and oral birth control pills. Poor diet, such as processed foods, caffeine and alcohol, destroys beneficial gut bacteria without replenishing beneficial bacteria.