Daily Ayurveda (Traditional Indian Medicine) Practices to Support Natural Health and Detox.
Tongue Scraping
The ancient science of Ayurvedic medicine recommends tongue scraping as a daily practice. There are many benefits as far as oral health, and overall physical, mental, and spiritual health. Since the oral cavity is one of the main gateways between your mind/body and the environment, maintaining the health of this connection is critical to general well-being.
By removing the coating and stimulating the tongue this helps to balance the heavy and dulling qualities of Kapha dosha in your physiology.
Scraping the tongue daily removes any build-up on the tongue, which, if left untreated, can lead to bad breath and may house a significant number of bacteria. This simple practice is a direct way of removing Ama from your physiology. In Ayurveda, Ama refers to any accumulation of toxic residue in the mind-body. This can result from improper eating, poor digestion, or a reflection of an imbalance somewhere in the gastrointestinal system.
In addition, from an Ayurvedic perspective, by removing the coating it increases your taste reception, not only do you eat less, you also eliminate the need to add more sugar, salt, or excessive spice to the food to make it more flavourful. Many of the beneficial phytonutrients and “body signals” that food contains are first interpreted by the mind-body upon contact with receptors on the tongue. You want to improve this communication between your food and your body by removing any coating that is interfering with that connection.
A Daily Practice of Tongue Scraping
From an Ayurvedic perspective, tongue scraping should be performed on a daily basis. This ancient practice helps to stimulate the internal organs through energetic connections with the rest of the body, improve digestion by increasing your sense of taste, and cleanse the body by removing Ama and bacteria from your oral cavity. In addition, it increases clarity of the mind by reducing heaviness and Ama from the head. When your physical and emotional bodies are balanced, it allows you to expand your spiritual awakening as well.
The tongue is the mirror to all the organs of the body, and thus, a daily look at the tongue prior to scraping gives you a clue to your general health. In Ayurveda, a good tongue examination is a useful way of evaluating the health of the entire body. When you examine your tongue, it’s an opportunity for self-awareness, where you can reflect on the choices of the last several days, months, or years and see how those choices have affected your health. If a thick coating is noted, you are accumulating toxicity. By noting this, it gives you the opportunity to become more self-aware and make new, healthier choices.
How to use a tongue scraper
- Ideally, a tongue scraper is used every day, upon rising, and on an empty stomach.
- Hold the two ends of the tongue scraper in both hands.
- Extend the tongue and place the tongue scraper on the surface of the tongue, as far back as is comfortable.
- Gently pull the tongue scraper forward so that it removes the unwanted coating.
- Rinse the tongue scraper and repeat as necessary, usually 7–14 times.
- Copper is naturally antimicrobial. To clean the tongue scraper hot water will be sufficient to keep it clean.
Nasal Cleansing (Jala Neti)
Jala Neti is a traditional Ayurvedic technique for irrigation of the nasal passages to remove accumulated mucus and impurities. It is performed using a Neti Pot to pour a small amount of warm salt water through each nostril.
Benefits are:
- Cooling and soothing influence on brain (migraine treatment)
- Alleviates anxiety, anger, depression, drowsiness.
- Makes head feel light and fresh
- Relieves muscular tension of face, nervous tics and supports a fresh and youthful appearance
- Stimulates nerve endings in nose, improves activity of the brain and overall health
- Balances right and left brain hemisphere
After cleansing the nasal passage- Anu Taila, a herbal Ayurvedic nasal oil is traditionally used. In Ayurvedic Anu Taila is recommended for migraines, sinusitis, and allergies. Its anti-inflammatory properties support the removal of toxins and alleviate congestion of the head. Also helps to enhance respiratory immunity.