Springtime Rituals: Ayurvedic Detoxing

Ayurvedic detoxing is an mind body practice originating in India. Today’s video showcases this ancient lifestyle, and how you can incorporate it into your every day life. 


I don’t know about you, but I sure am ready for SPRING! It’s been way too long since there’s been leaves on the trees, grass on the ground, and sunshine consistently for days. Just yesterday we got pummeled with snow and it was a major downer for us hoping that warm weather was on its way. 

By mid March, our New Years resolutions are starting to fall to the wayside, yet our eagerness to try something new is evident. You can feel a new energy in the air as our soul is stretching and yearning to grow, experience and prosper. I believe Spring is a beautiful season for cleansing. Not restrictions, but cleansing of and letting go of stagnation we’ve been carrying with us throughout the winter. This could be letting go of doubts you had about yourself, and re-connecting with your inner guide. Shedding the attachment to warm winter foods which may be causing digestion to be slow and heavy versus light and quick. Maybe even letting go of last year’s mistakes and obstacles to clear your mind to set new intentions and action plans. Whatever you may be shedding, Spring time is the perfect time to do so. 

To explore ways of shedding our mental, physical, spiritual winter weight we may still be carrying with us, I am introducing our next Be Balanced video series. This video is special because it showcases my favorite Ayurvedic expert (who you’ve probably seen many articles about already – I’m a loyal gal!) Monica Yearwood. Monica is leading 2 masterclasses at our Spring Awakening retreat the first weekend of April, so now’s your chance to get a sneak peak of what you will learn. 

ayurvedic detoxing

For those of you that are new to Balanced Babe or are unfamiliar with our BeHealthful Retreat series, our next installation is taking place at Four Seasons Chicago April 1-3rd. This is a special and authentic overnight weekend retreat that is truly the first of it’s kind in this city. Only a very small and intimate group of guests will be joining us (as I want to ensure everyone get’s 1 on 1 experiences and has the space and mindset to really work inward). There will be a Beauty Break Room on Saturday filled with special mini services such as acupuncture, chair massage, manicures, facials, makeup, oxygen treatments and red light therapy. 1-on-1 therapeutic consultations with movement therapist Erica, from North Shore Dance Therapy. Breakfast and lunch served daily by the expert culinary team at Four Seasons (if you want to experience exquisite nutrient dense food – by golly this is going to be a treat). Daily yoga lead by my go-to yogi guru, Soren Buchanan and Yoga SIX. Detox Meditations, a zen lounge to journal, and last but not least, 17 workshops (including the yoga / movement options) to choose from throughout the weekend. 

ayurvedic detoxing

Workshops will include mindset mastery, beauty goddess rituals, botanical and herbal creation classes, healing essential oil classes, intuitive eating, self-love discussions, and so much more. Monica will be leading two hands-on workshops that I’m so excited to take myself: the first is a workshop for us to discover what our prominent dosha’s are, and how we can naturally cleanse and detoxify based on our constitutions. If you’re unfamiliar with Ayurveda and our constitutions, our video explains all of this. The second class that she is leading on Sunday is a DIY workshop to make Ayurvedic massage oils. I’m telling you folks, if you so choose to take a majority of the workshops happening throughout the weekend you will be leaving with a suitcase full of natural and botanical products that are hand made with your own love and care.

ayurvedic detoxing
(source: Hamsa Ayurveda)

So with all of this said, I invite you to join our incredible guest speakers, teachers and me for this fruitful and loving weekend. You can see all of the details here: balancedbabe.com/retreat

Now on to the video – if you’re in a rush this morning (I hope you get to slow down and enjoy your day), I’m recapping the discussion below. I do hope that you take the time to listen as Monica is sharing some amazing advice. 

Ayurvedic Detoxing

What is Ayurveda in a nutshell?

Ayur means life, veda means knowledge.  So Ayurveda is life knowledge that’s gained through our relationship with nature. It’s both a lifestyle practice and a healing modality.

Ayurveda is an ancient practice from India that’s over 5 thousand years old. It teaches that each person has a relationship with nature and that there are observable cycles in nature such as the change of the seasons. Ayurveda teaches that living in alignment with these cycles enhances our state of health.  

One way to live in alignment with nature? Observe the sun. We should rise with the sun, and wind down when the sun fades into the horizon. We should eat our main meal mid-day, when the sun is the strongest. 

What is a Dosha?

Ayurveda uses herbs and specific lifestyle practices according to a person’s dosha. Dosha is simply our mind body constitution.  Vata, Pitta and Kapha are the three doshas, and they follow a 5 elemental system.  Ayurveda see’s everything in the universe being composed of 5 different elements. Air ether fire water and earth. Those 5 elements come together to form 3 primary pairs.

Vata: air and ether

Pita: fire and water

Kapha: earth and water

Each person has all three dosha’s, but they are in different proportions. So understanding what your ideal constitution is, helps you understand what type of lifestyle practices you should be doing.  *Everyone at our Spring Awakening Retreat will figure out what their dominate Dosha’s are – and how to properly detoxify according to your constitution. 

Ayurveda Practices for Detoxing:

Number 1: Some sort of self inquiry and meditation practice. 

Number 2: Skin brushing. You can learn more here. 

Number 3: Starting your morning with lemon water.

Number 4: Tongue scraping and being aware of what your tongue looks like. Ayurveda teaches that we detox while we sleep, and the amount of toxicity in our body will express itself in your tongue. For example, if you observe your tongue and see a thick white coating, that may imply that you have an increased level of toxicity in your body. 

Number 5: Calorie restriction certain times of year. Later winter/ spring season we would do a type of fasting. 

How can we add Ayurvedic practices into our day regularly?

  • Sipping warm water throughout the day to assist with natural detoxification
  • Chew on ginger root to stimulate digestion
  • Apply medicinal oils for self massage regularly
  • Try to eat majority of your calories in the earlier part of the day

Are you intrigued yet? There is so much to learn from Monica and with Spring right around the corner I am more than eager to take on our next BeHealthful Retreat. Hope to see some of you in April! 

 

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