GENTLE AYURVEDIC DETOX
An Ayurvedic cleansing is gentle on your system and can be performed on several different levels. It can be adapted to ordinary everyday life or run as a more in-depth course incorporating Ayurvedic health philosophy on several planes.
What is detox?
Detox covers many different ways to cleanse your system and is a concept encountered in connection with everything from ascetic fasting programs to juice diets. Essentially, detox covers a temporary dietary change that helps you excrete the waste products that have accumulated in your system over time. The disadvantage of very hard cleansings is that they can be difficult to carry out while simultaneously having to see to everyday life with work, family, etc. They can also be unusually harsh on your body and will often require you to have expert help too, to guide and monitor your system and its reactions along the way.
Ayurvedic detox is for everyone
Even if you live a healthy life, it’s good to thoroughly clean your system a couple of times a year and get rid of the many waste products that have inevitably accumulated over time – yes, even if you live a healthy and balanced life.
Learn more about why cleansing is good for your system here.
Unlike many other cleansing procedures, an Ayurvedic detox is gentle on you and your body, and you can choose how deep of a cleanse you’d like. It could be a simple and accessible diet that you control over a period of 5-7 days or a more in-depth cleansing process that integrates several elements of Ayurvedic lifestyle.
When you remove yourself from nature, live in unnatural surroundings and fill yourself with artificial stimuli, you lose touch with your basic life energy, strength and health. An Ayurvedic cleansing brings you closer to your natural self.
An Ayurvedic detox course
A mild Ayurvedic detox lasts approx. one week. The first few days you reduce the stimuli and foods that aren’t part of the diet. Set aside plenty of time for your cleansing and feel free to create some space in your diary to take it easy, go for walks, meditate, strengthen a good sleep pattern, etc. You should also allow for a few additional days to slowly rebuild yourself after the detox. Here you can quietly reintroduce the foods and stimuli that you omitted during the diet.
When you return to your normal habits, your system will typically respond more clearly to unnecessary stimuli and processed foods.
What does an Ayurvedic detox diet look like?
In an Ayurvedic cleansing process, the diet is simple and consists of fresh and pure ingredients. That is, out with processed foods and stimuli, such as coffee, alcohol, nicotine and candy. Preferably, the food is spicy so as to ignite your Agni (inner fire) and whatever you consume should be warm or tepid. The same applies to what you drink.
Here is an overview of the food on which an Ayurvedic detox diet is based. It can be a very good idea to meal plan in advance. We tend to fall back into old habits if we lose track. So, a little preparation can help make your cleansing a great experience.
Overview of food for a detox diet
– Nourishing and pure ingredients
- Eat plenty of all kinds of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, seeds, nuts, lentils and beans: It’s an advantage if it can be cooked – boiled, fried or baked: An Ayurvedic detox recommends that the most of what you eat be warm or tepid and, preferably, close to your own body temperature.
– Warming spices:
During your detox, feel free to increase the warming spices as they help stimulate your cleansing. You can use ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, cumin, coriander (cilantro), fennel, nutmeg, cloves, etc.
– Natural oils:
When cleansing, it’s important you get plenty of fats as they help to dissolve the accumulated waste products and push them out of your system. So, when you’re on a detox, you’re welcome to increase the fats – though they need to be good natural oils, such as coconut oil, olive oil, ghee, etc.
– Tepid drinks:
When on a cleanse, what you consume should preferably be warm or tepid. Drink plenty of herbal tea, lukewarm water with lemon and CCF tea, which is a special Ayurvedic drink that stimulates cleansing. CCF tea consists of cumin, coriander (cilantro) and fennel.
Avoid this on your detox:
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When you are on a detox, you should avoid all kinds of processed foods, as they always contain additives or other things that block an optimal cleansing. If you can make everything you eat yourself and from scratch, then this is the absolutely safest way to get around additives.
– You should also avoid animal products during your detox – dairy products, eggs and meat. You can replace them with proteins from beans, lentils, etc.
– Also avoid all stimuli, such as coffee, sugar, nicotine and alcohol.
When we remove what overloads your body, an immediate and positive change occurs. The body’s ability to heal itself is powerful – we access it with Ayurvedic cleansing.
Side-effects of a detox
An Ayurvedic detox is so gentle that few people experience actual side effects. Especially not if time has been set aside to reduce the stimuli and foods that aren’t part of the diet. If not, then you may experience mild symptoms, such as mild headaches as well as a little restlessness in your stomach and digestive system, but it will often clear up within a day and most people experience an increase in their energy levels.
NB: If you’re taking medication, always consult your doctor before starting a detox or changing your diet.
Make room for your detox
When you put your detox in your diary, set aside some time around it so there’s room to feel how you’re doing. Make sure you’re not in a hurry, feel free to spend time on something that makes you feel good and makes you relax, e.g., a sauna, yoga, steam bath, walks, etc. And also feel free to take longer breaks from stimuli, like social media and your inbox. On the whole, and if possible, it can be a good idea to take a little time off from your usual rhythms.
If, for example, you train a lot on a daily basis, then feel free to reduce it a little so you can better feel your body.
Re-building after a detox
After a cleansing, you need to get back to your everyday life. Here, it’s important that the re-building is gentle and occurs over a 3-day period. Your body and your senses will be sharpened, which means you will respond more clearly to stimuli. Use that opportunity to label what is good for you and what you may need to avoid in the future. If your body reacts very strongly to certain foods or stimuli, think about whether they should be reintroduced. After an Ayurvedic cleansing, you have a completely unique opportunity to feel your body’s signals. Listen to them. The process out of your detox is important for you, so as to get your body in balance.
