Stay home, maintain social distance, wash your hands and maintain personal hygiene. All these words must have been engraved on your minds. Right? Coronavirus threat has allowed us to slow down and monitor our lifestyle. Our systems must be bogged down under the burden of garbage which gets accumulated by an unhealthy diet and lifestyle. I am sure many of us must be feeling stressed out and coping with their health issues and this threat of virus must be assaulting minds and eventually our system.
Let’s make space for the immunity to enhance by flushing out the impurities and ensuring better absorption of nutrients by our body, detox. Wondering how it works? Chat on the Mat with the Founder of Svarasya, Deepti Sehgal, an internationally certified Macrobiotic & Alkaline Dietician, Wellness Coach, Ayurveda & TCM Lifestyle Practitioner, and Yoga Instructor will answer the slew of questions clouding your mind regarding Detox and Immunity.
hmy: What is detox? Does it help in building immunity?
Deepti: Detox means cleansing our body of toxins to the maximum. Thus, our daily activities must support the detox abilities of our body on a daily basis. However, it is only when the outlet of these toxins gets blocked & the toxins begin to accumulate in our body, the health issues begin to arise, either due to bacteria thriving on these toxins or due to blocked internal channels.
Toxins enter our body from all sources including our diet, air, water & daily use products. Highly toxic body is acidic in nature which becomes the breeding ground for harmful viruses & bacteria. Our immune system fights-off these micro-organisms on a constant basis to keep us healthy. However, a toxic body will keep the immune system stimulated forever making the system weaker due to over-stimulation. Any detox efforts are intended to get the body into a cleansing mode, thus easing out the toxic & acidic load of the body. This eases the immune system making it preserve its powers for the times in need than being stimulated always.
hmy: How does detox work at the cellular level?
Deepti: Detox at a cellular level is the deepest level of cleansing effort that you can perform to unblock the deepest channels of your body.
A cellular cleanse is kind of a master cleanse that goes way beyond detoxifying part compartments of the body like the liver or a colon. A cellular detox is based on the premise of freshening-up the cellular activity & purifying all components that are required by the cell to perform well, which include dense nutrition, ample hydration & oxygen.
A cellular detox is a multi-stepped process which includes:
- Removing the sources of toxicity from all areas including diet & lifestyle
- Regenerating the cellular membrane by reducing toxic load & consuming dense nutrition
- Restoring cellular energy which also involves deep breathing & meditative practices to relax deeply at the cellular level
- Reducing cellular inflammation with diet control & with the use of powerful anti-inflammatory herbs or supporting supplements
A cellular detox restores the health of mitochondria, which is the powerhouse of energy in each cell. This regenerates the energy levels & resets the immunity to its peak, as the body gets rid of toxic overload from heavy metals, mold & chemicals.
hmy: During lockdown how we can detox?
Deepti: Detox steps at home:
- Get rid of processed & refined food items & begin to eat clean
- Practice Asana, Pranayama & Meditation practices daily for about an hour
- Perform Abhyanga massage daily with sesame oil before a bath to induce detox in the form of sweat
- Begin your day with Svarasya’s Clean Beauty Detox Smoothie to give your liver a detox push early morning.Â
- Consume ample water through the day
- Try consuming Triphala to support colon cleanse
hmy: What mind practices would you suggest for mind detox goes well with body detox?
Deepti: Establish deep breathing & meditation practice routine twice daily for 20 minutes. Perform Pranayamas like KapalBhati, Anulom-Vilom & OM chanting to relax the nervous system & to settle down any emerging negative feelings with a mindful focus on your breathing practices. Throughout the day, perform activities that help you be in momentum.
Follow any passion that keeps your mind engaged positively, and if possible, spend some time amidst nature daily to revive your senses with the calmness & balance in nature.
hmy: Does detox vary with body types?
Deepti: According to Ayurveda, the innate composition & nature of every individual is based on the balance of panchmahabhutas (the 5 universal elements) that form each life form on Earth. It is important to maintain your individual balance, which is also the purpose of a detox-to restore internal balance. Considering the Ayurveda philosophy, it is important to be aware of your composition as Vata, Pitta or Kapha energy types. Mapping your detox efforts with your individual dosha goes a long way in maintaining an apt internal balance as per one’s innate nature. Having said that, everyone can follow a basic level detox to get rid of toxins by following few pointers mentioned above. However, a deeper level detox based on ancient ways of deeper level healing must be mapped with one’s doshas for complete mind-body wellness. For example, a pitta type personality should avoid any stimulants while on a detox way of life to achieve a certain level of physical, mental, emotional & spiritual balance.
hmy: Bust myths associated with detox?
Deepti: Few myths about detox:
Myth1:
2 Day Detox/7 Day Detox Philosophy:
Though this may help certainly, however, since our body is accumulating & producing toxins all the time, our efforts must be directed towards living a ‘Detox Lifestyle’, then performing a 2-day or 7-day detox after abusing the body with toxins & chemicals constantly for a certain period of time. This approach may create extreme imbalances.
Myth 2:
Detox is a Food-Related Approach:
While foods have a huge role to play in causing toxicity & is the first step towards detoxification, detox must be holistic in nature & must incorporate the ‘Wholesome’ approach. This means while living a detox lifestyle, one must eat clean mindfully versus living abruptly & one fine day deciding to detox all in 2 days. Moving body is an important part of the detox as sweat carries toxins out of the body. However, one of the most important aspects of detox is emotional & mental detox.
Negative emotions & fluctuating thoughts & wrong feeling ultimately culminates into physical toxicity. Hence adopting a positive approach to life & practicing meditative practices must very much be an important aspect of any detox program.
Myth 3:
Detox Cleans Out the Body Completely:
Our body cannot be 100% clean ever! This is because our diets, environment & mental make-up is polluted in current times. Even if we achieve control on external toxin causing factors, the metabolic wastes produced within the body are released every moment.
However, detox does not mean cleaning the body completely but bringing the body & mind into a state of ‘Homeostatic Balance’ where we strengthen the body’s internal systems to be able to deal with toxins effectively at any point in time.
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