Every day our bodies work hard to process everything we ingest, and to distinguish what is good from what’s not, environmental toxins, processed food, unresolved emotions to psychological stress. When we follow a healthy diet, an active lifestyle, pay attention to our stressors and digest our emotions, our bodies can maintain good health. When it is overwhelmed it can lead to lingering ailments and chronic conditions. This is when we need to regain balance.
Why Cleanse?
Dina Charya (daily rituals) and Ritu Charya (seasonal regimes) are guidelines to maintain good health by living in harmony with daily and seasonal cycles by adjusting to the changes in our environment through the food we eat, the type of exercise we do and our waking and sleeping hours.
The pace of life today does not always allow us to always make the right choices. Poor diet, unhealthy lifestyle and negative emotions first affect our digestion and assimilation of nutrients (Agni), this undigested food (Ama) or toxins infiltrate the body tissues, causing disease and reoccurring illnesses.
This can be felt as fatigue, heaviness, constipation, indigestion or manifest as chronic conditions like eczema, arthritis, diabetes, and IBS.
Ayurvedic Cleansing is all about restoring balance, by giving our bodies a break, to allow it to rest, eliminate accumulated toxicity, recuperate, and repair itself. Classical Ayurveda says “remove the cause. Purify, to eliminate excess Doshas. Balance the Doshas and rekindle the digestive fire. Rejuvenate to rebuild the organism.”
Cleansing Methods
Most Ayurvedic cleanses are centred around simplifying the diet and, in some cases, adding supportive lifestyle practices. The goal is to balance and strengthen Agni and restore the body’s natural balance. At Triveda, we offer and personalise different methods of Cleanses that best aligns with our client personal needs, health goals, lifestyle, and commitments.
Ayurvedic home cleansing vs Panchakarma
Ayurveda’s signature cleansing process called Panchakarma is a deep cleansing process aimed to purify the body of accumulated Doshas and excessive toxins through one or more of the 5 cleansing processes; Enemis (Vamana), Purgation (Virechana), Medicated Enemas (Basti) and Nasal douching (Nasya) and is best done in a residential Ayurvedic Retreat, so you can be closely monitored through the process.
Our home cleanse is a modified version, safe to do at home following a diet and lifestyle personalised for you, supported by elimination and purification methods specific for removing your Doshas imbalance and toxins.
Phases of Cleansing
Whether it is Panchakarma or a home cleanse, it has 5 phases, and each phase is vital to the overall effectiveness of the cleanse. Duration of each phase is based on your current imbalance, level of toxicity and methods used for purification.
Phase One: Preparation (Purva Karma)
The first phase is focused on preparing the Gut by eating a diet that is simple and easy to digest. This is supported with herbs to break down toxins and stimulate digestion to avoid further accumulation of toxicity.
Phase Two: Internal Oleation (Snehapana)
Oleation is an important part of cleansing as it involves binding the toxins to one of the 4 forms of fat: Ghee (medicated clarified butter), Oil, Bone Marrow, or meat broth. Ghee infused with herbs is usually the preferred method used. The ghee provides internal oleation and lubrication to allow the toxins to move back from the deep tissues into the GI tract for elimination.
Phase Three: External Oleation (Snehana and Swedana)
This stage is all about self-care and nurturing, hot oil massages and steam baths. Massage softens both the superficial and deeper tissues, helping to relieve stress and to nourish the nervous system. This stage helps loosen the toxins and increases their movement toward the GI tract.
Phase Four: Active Cleansing (Pradhana Karma)
Once the toxins are ready for removal then one or more of the 5 actions are used to eliminate them from the GI tract. For a home cleanse only 2 - 3 of the 5 methods; purgation. enemas and nasya are used for safe elimination.
Phase Five: Rejuvenation (Pashat Karma)
Now the body has been cleansed, its all about strengthening tone, increase energy and building immunity. By strengthening the bodies digestive fire (Agni) and tonifying the body with rejuvenating herbs, this phase renews the cells, giving the body and mind strength, vitality, and longevity.
What to expect
As the purpose of cleansing is to move and eliminate long term imbalances and toxins from the body, it can be an intense experience, both physically and emotionally, so be prepared for some ups and downs. Although the process might not be pleasant, you should expect to see the benefits after the active phase and a few weeks into rejuvenation.
Planning is key, it is best to choose a time when you have cleared your diary and have some down time socially and from other demands on your time and energy. Although your Cleanse will be personalised around your commitments, we recommend you take some time out to reap the full benefits.
When to Cleanse:
Traditionally cleansing is done at the transition of seasons, Spring and Autumn being the optimum seasons. The aim is to alleviate chronic conditions by treating its root cause; removing excessive Doshas and toxins; restoring the body’s healing capacity; bring balance to the mind and emotions and to rejuvenate the bodies’ resilience and immunity.
Benefits of Cleansing.
- Addresses the root cause by eliminating toxins and excessive Doshas from the body.
- Restores a sense of calm to the mind and nervous system.
- Renews energy, vitality, and enthusiasm for life.
- Restores and maintains balanced sleep patterns.
- Rejuvenates the cells, boosts immunity and longevity.
Whilst cleansing can be profoundly beneficial, it is important to honour your own process and embark on it when you are ready. Do your research when choosing the right cleanse for you, as each Cleanse needs to be personalised based on various aspects; strength of digestive fire, Gut health, level of toxicity in the tissues, balance of Doshas and strength of the individual. Any kind of Cleanse should only be done with the guidance of an Ayurvedic Practitioner.
Here are some client experiences of our Home Cleanse.
Click here for more information on our Home Cleanse. Contact us if you would like to discuss your suitability for our Home Cleanse or wish to book an initial consultation at our Ayurvedic Clinic in Harrow. To find a Practitioner close to you contact the Ayurvedic Practitioners Association https://apa.uk.com/
