Considering a Detox?
Welcome to my Ayurveda & Yoga blog! I’m Evangeline and I’m an RMT and holistic health coach. I started my blog during covid to stay connected to my clients and share my love of cooking healthy, AYURVEDIC INSPIRED meals.
Ayurvedic cooking is a conscious approach to preparing and cooking tasty, nutritious, balanced meals using spices and herbs, and taking into consideration the external conditions- the season, time of day, and how you are feeling and the state of your health.
Updated September 17, 2022
Spring is a few days away. If you are thinking of doing a spring detoxification there are some things to consider to do so safely.
Some things to think about with detox:
Your age and health
Digestion is in good order
Are your physical channels prepared to usher out the toxins
Your liver is not over heated
You are ready mentally and emotionally
Detoxification is not safe for children, and pregnant and lactating women.
Do I Need to Detox?
Throughout the day we get rid of waste through elimination channels- the bowels, urinary system and skin, even when you breathe out. Naturally we want to be healthy and be free of disease. But in this day and age, I hear clients coming in with new sounding names of illnesses that I’d never heard of growing up. Recently, I had heard of a disease called Stiff Person Disease, and the common ones we hear about seem to be just as prevalent as they have always been, like heart disease, diabetes, cancer etc. despite advances in science. We must then look towards the foundations of health and prevention, and according to Ayurveda it is a proper diet and routine, and detoxification.
Since the elimination of toxins is taken care of by our detox pathways and channels, then why does it seem like disease and chronic conditions are on the rise? Simply put, organs, such as the liver and kidneys , and channels (physical and vibrational) may be weakened, inflamed or too clogged up to be able to do what it naturally does in an effective manner, and that is, to eliminate toxins. My Ayurvedic teacher, Vaidya Rama Kant Mishra, placed an emphasis on physical and vibrational channels, and how they must be taken care of. Months and years go by and we may start to feel signs and symptoms, or suddenly we are given a diagnosis. But every year when spring comes, the optimum season for the body to detox, we can direct our attention to support our body to do what it naturally does- flush out toxins. In the autumn too, we can do a detox because we have nature’s support as in the spring. Winter and summer, no detox unless necessary and only under supervision by a health professional.
Accumulated toxins cause problems in the body, and depending on where they accumulate, they have the potential to cause health problems. Here’s a little summary from Ayurvedic practitioner, Marianne Teitelbaum where toxins can accumulate in the dhatus or tissue layers and the conditions that can arise there:
Blood - hives, rashes
Muscle - chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia
Fat - high cholesterol, unknown weight gain
Bone - osteoporosis
Bone Marrow - multiple sclerosis, auto-immunity
Reproductive Tissue - infertility
Why Detox?
Our bodies naturally accumulate toxins. Toxins create obstructions, interfere with metabolic processes and have the potential to create disease when not eliminated from the body.
In the spring our body begins to “open up”, our physical channels “thaw”, you could say, from the contraction that naturally happens during colder temperatures. Spring is a time when the body naturally prepares for eliminating toxic build up. Fresh food, herbs and spices and proper routine support health and particular foods like asparagus, white daikon radish, root vegetable binders, okra, barley support the detox process.
In Ayurveda, physical channels are called shrotas and are recognized as small, medium and large channels where food, blood, other fluids and nutrients travel in, but also physical toxins travel there too. The other type of channel Ayurveda recognizes are vibrational channels called nadis. Prana travels in the nadis and so do vibrational toxins (electromagnetic frequencies from WiFi, electromagnetic radiation, microwaves) which can cause disturbances as it takes up space in the nadis.
Detoxification is the method to minimize the accumulation of toxins, in both the physical and vibrational channels, and must be safely ushered out through the pathways they came in.
SV Ayurveda, Detox and Toxins in the Modern World
SV Ayurveda recognizes that doing a detox safely also involves nourishing the body. Why? Because as toxins make their way out of the body, the space they leave behind requires nourishment, not more toxins in its place. This is an important and a necessary part of the detoxification process, something that is easily overlooked. This is brings us to another reason why we must try to maintain a clean diet throughout the year, consuming food free from chemicals and preservatives, and use toxin-free skin and hygiene products.
In the Shaka Vansiya Ayurveda (SVA) lineage, careful attention is paid to:
Which toxins are there- physical or vibrational?
Are the channels, organs, liver and kidneys prepared to handle the toxic load?
Are the physical channels lubricated enough to handle acidic toxins coming out?
The SVA lineage was brought to the West by Vaidya Mishra, the last familial lineage holder of SVA. Three prevalent issues my Ayurvedic teacher, Vaidya Mishra, encountered as he began his practice here in the West:
Clogged up channels due to ama - product of partially digested food
Acidic toxins
Overheated liver. Many of us have over worked livers due to stress filled lifestyles, access to an abundance of processed foods and poor sleeping habits. The liver is a powerhouse of an organ responsible for processing food, drinks, fats, and feelings and emotions.
There are three other types of toxins written about in the ancient Ayurvedic texts, but not spoken of in Ayurvedic books today or the internet. Vaidya Mishra contextualized this as it was seen in many of the patients he saw. And through the years, I, too, see this in clinical practice. With the guidance of his SVA family lineage, he put this knowledge in the modern context. These three toxins are so prevalent in our society today, and they are ama-visha, gar-visha and indra-vajra-bhijanya-visha. These hot, virulent toxins require a different approach for safe elimination. The detoxes we hear about that go wrong with side effects are due to these three toxins creating more problems due to improper elimination. Vaidya Mishra came up with effective methods and herbal delivery systems to help patients detoxify and fully recover from conditions without the side effects often experienced from allopathic medicine, and sometimes even from holistic medicine. For further reading on the methodology, treatments, and the effects of toxins on our general health particularly the thyroid gland, check out Marianne Teitelbaum’s book “Healing the Thyroid with Ayurveda”. For now, below are the four toxins you should know about that are harmful to our health and well being.
Four Toxins
Ama: from food you ate that was not fully digested; ama clogs physical channels as it accumulates; it is made if the person has a weakened digestive system or low “digestive fire”, eating foods that don’t digest well when eaten together, eg. cheese with fruit, meat, fish or eggs with dairy, when we eat too fast, distracted while eating, moving around too much or even not sitting down; ama has a cold, sticky quality and can be thinned out for elimination by heating type spices like ginger, black peppercorns or thai green chilis. Ayurvedic books of today talk a lot about ama. Ama turns acidic when it festers in the body for too long.
Ama-visha: acidic toxin; ama not eliminated in a timely manner and left to ferment; “visha” means poison or toxin; heating type spices will not work on ama-visha, for example the cayenne pepper-maple syrup-lemon drink a few decades back will not eliminate amavisha; preparation of amavisha and the physical channels are necessary for safe evacuation of this hot toxin; requires preparation and elimination with a trained doctor or practitioner if there is a build up of ama-visha.
Gar-visha: xenobiotics such as pesticides, heavy metals, and preservatives and chemicals found in drugs, food, oils, creams, shampoos, soaps, personal hygiene products, air pollution; like ama-visha, a hot toxin but worse as it has a slow detrimental effect; “gar” means slow; requires careful elimination with a trained doctor or practitioner; written about in the ancient Ayurvedic texts as chemicals found in bugs or poison, for example, from a snake bite.
Indra-vajra-abhijanya-visha: from radiation, lightning, WiFi, electromagnetic frequencies (EMF) electromagnetic radiation (EMR); invisible frequencies that travel in your vibrational channels interfering with prana and damaging to the nerves; can be pacified by being in nature- eg hugging trees, walking bare feet on grass and sand, plants in your home- the basil plant can pacify vibrational frequencies, marma therapy; requires the attention of a trained doctor or practitioner; in the ancient Ayurvedic texts this is talked about as lightning.
Ama and amavisha are made in the body. Garvisha and indravajraabhijanyavisha are from the environment and enter the body; garvisha through ingestion, inhalation and the skin; EMFs through marma points. Recall that the channels, liver and kidneys must be prepared to escort the physical toxins out of the body. Marma points require preparation for eliminating EMFs. Consideration must be taken as to which toxins are in the body to safely escort them out from their margas or pathways in which they entered.
Signs of Toxicity
Ama: cold, sticky, heavy, clogging quality
white coating on your tongue
nausea, constipation, diarrhea
you may feel a little tired now and again
may get headaches
a little puffy, carrying some extra weight
Ama-visha: fermented ama, acidic toxin
chronic swelling
chronic muscle pain and swelling in the joints
chronic fatigue
chronic headaches, migraines, earaches
recurring rashes
sleep problems
amavisha when it sits long enough can travel to other tissues and accumulate in organs, cause severe digestive issues, autoimmune diseases and cancer.
Gar-visha: environmental toxin, slow poison in the body
trouble with concentrating, learning, memory
chronic fevers
heart palpitations
sleep disturbances
shaking, losing balance, and gait problems
if garvisha sits in the deeper tissues (fat, bone, cartilage, nerve, ova or sperm) for too long and not evacuated out of the body it can cause more serious health issues including auto-immune, cancer and neurological disorders.
Indra-vajra-abhijanya-visha: electromagnetic frequency, electromagnetic radiation
prickling feeling under the skin, tingling, unexplained fatigue
an accumulation of this fourth type disrupts the flow of prana in the nadis, the vibrational channels of the body, and potentially affect any or all the seven tissues and cause problems. Ayurveda recognizes seven tissues in the body: rasa (blood plasma), rakta (blood), mamsa (muscle), meda (fat), asthi (bone), majja (bone marrow), and shukra ( reproductive fluid).
SV Ayurveda Approach to Detox
Knowledge can get lost or mistranslated through time. With respect to Ayurveda, my Ayurvedic teacher, Vaidya Mishra (1952-2017) and his family lineage Shaka Vansiya Ayurveda- a family Ayurvedic lineage with an unbroken oral tradition, stayed true to ancient Ayurvedic texts. In light of this, Vaidya Mishra modified Ayurvedic treatment and detox protocols without straying from the shastras, because our bodies are now burdened with acidic and environmental toxins While staying true to the Ayurvedic sutras, Vaidya Mishra would remind us to take caution and pay attention to the liver, and ensure it is cool and does not overheat. The liver is considered a hot organ already because it has five bhutagnis, or “flames” processing everything we ingest which would contain the five elements of nature, space, air, fire, water, earth. Like food and drink, pesticides, herbicides, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, processed foods are processed in the liver, so you can imagine how the liver can overheat. Electromagnetic frequencies from computers, WiFi, microwaves etc. which travel in the vibrational channels can disrupt the flow of prana. Vaidya Mishra taught us to help clients without further aggravating their already existing situation, a philosophy that Ayurveda and other ancient healing practices live by- do no harm. It cannot be stressed enough that a proper detox according to SVA takes into consideration the following:
Readiness of the channels, elimination pathways, the organs, like the liver because an overheated liver during a detox can result in the skin breaking out, and other detox crises we hear about
Which toxins you are dealing with
Solubility factor- correct form of treatment for fat soluble toxins and water soluble toxins; also vibrational toxins
Ensuring the diet and routine is good- eating clean (avoiding refined sugar and white flour, processed food and fast food, refined vegetable oils) avoiding channel clogging and channel inflaming foods, bowel movements are regular, early bed time
Safe & Effective Detox with SV Ayurveda
Detoxification can be done safely and effectively, keeping in mind the considerations mentioned here. With a known medical condition and especially with your first detox, go with some guidance from a health practitioner with experience in safe and effective detox protocols. Health is always with us, within the intelligence of the body, while nature provides for us the nourishment and sustenance our body needs to maintain the intelligence. But our fast paced, busy lifestyles can force us to turn to fast, processed foods in the absence of time for cooking, or we resort to popping a pill, or allow stress to build up, and before long we begin to feel the ramifications.
Every Spring, however, we have this opportunity for renewal, a period to support our physiology in eliminating physical and vibrational toxins, and fuel with a good, clean diet and routine and mindful practices so we can enjoy the richness of life.
Interested in doing a seasonal cleanse and not sure where and how to begin? During Spring and Autumn, join me and the SV Ayurveda crew for our SV Ayurveda Home Detox Course where we shift gears and rediscover our best self while doing a trusted, effective home detox together.
More information: Email or call the Prana Center—info@prana-center.com, (818) 709-1005 or Register for the next SV Ayurveda Home Detox Course .
References
Vaidya R. K. Mishra- Notes from Shaka Vansiya Ayurveda Courses, Practicum, Conferences and Lectures 2003-2015
Vaidya R. K. Mishra- “DIY Spring Home Detox”, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5frLsRw6uW8
Marianne Teitelbaum, D. C. -https://drmteitelbaum.com/online-classes/
Marianne Teitelbaum, D.C.- “Healing the Thyroid with Ayurveda”, 2019