Cleansing will help you push past what you thought were your body’s limits in yoga, says Fiona Robertson.
Ancient yogis have known about the positive effects of internal cleansing for thousands of years. Their internal cleansing methods include fasting, colon cleansing, enemas and pure raw food.
Cleansing and diet are essential aspects of any yoga practice. In order to optimise the absorption of essential nutrients, it’s important to rid the body of toxins and free radicals.
Internal cleansing will enable you to enjoy increased energy, cell rejuvenation, weight loss and greater strength.
After each cleanse the body will become noticeably more flexible as inflammation is removed from the joints.
Where does this inflammation come from? It is largely due to our consumption of processed foods, additives, preservatives, refined grains, animal products, caffeine and sugar.
These foods are acid-forming and hard to digest. They end up contributing to the accumulated waste in our gut, and the calcification in our joints.
Inflammation of the joints has become a common ailment in today’s society, making even simple movements painful.
As internal cleansing releases the calcium deposits in your joints, bending and stretching will become easier and more enjoyable. Your mobility will be greatly improved, enhancing your ability to practice yoga more effectively.
Did you know you have different levels of waste accumulated in your body right now? What is still in your body from what you ate over the last few days is known as normal waste matter.
The matter that goes back a month or two, and which has begun to embed itself in the intestines, is called putrefactive matter. This matter is still moist and smells pretty bad. Imagine slow cooking something toxic at 98.6 degrees for weeks on end.
Then there is the even older waste, affectionately known as mucoid plaque, which has been polluting your insides for years, perhaps a lifetime. This waste is completely dry and tends to be black, dark brown, grey or white, hard like plastic or rubber, and usually comes out in long strips.
If your body is even just a little bit clogged and congested, this will have a detrimental effect on your energy, health and immune system. When you are not supporting your body with nutrient-rich foods, you will be even more depleted.
The complete internal cleansing process involves fasting, detoxing and enemas.
Fasting means no food, allowing your body and your digestion to take a well-deserved break. Did you know that up to 85% of your energy is used just to digest your food?
Fasting allows the body to use all of its available energy to detox. This results in optimum digestion when healthy food is reintroduced into the diet.
When detoxing, I recommend the use of psyllium fibre and bentonite clay to support the body in its “house-cleaning”.
Psyllium pushes unwanted debris through and out, while bentonite has an amazing capacity to absorb toxins. The enema completes the process.
Enemas use nature’s gift of pure, clean (warm) water to gently fill the colon, facilitating the release of the mucoid plaque which lines your intestines. This plaque is indicative of all the toxins you have accumulated over the years.
If you have ever seen an image of mucoid plaque it is a motivating sight. You will want to rid your body of this unsightly mass pretty quickly. In addition to its unappealing aesthetic properties, the plaque inhibits the absorption of nutrients.
No matter how well you might eat or how many nutrients you take in, if your body can’t absorb them they are completely useless.
This complete internal cleansing process can be done for a week at a time, two times a year. Internal cleansing softens the old matter and sweeps it out of its hiding places. Cleansing the colon through the use of enemas, along with detoxing and fasting, maximises the benefits you will see and feel.
After you have cleansed, the two most important components for maintaining optimum health are oxygen and enzymes. The more oxygen and enzymes you have in your body the easier it is for waste to be removed.
The practice of yoga encourages oxygen to reach the cells and encourages the process of moving old waste through the body.
Enzymes help to propel and transport out the waste and toxins. Oxygen and enzymes enter the body through fresh raw foods and vegetable juices. This is pure nutrition at its best.
However, you only have access to the full range of these enzymes if your digestive system can absorb the enzyme-rich food you eat. The safest and quickest way is to ensure this is to irrigate the colon – a practice which has been used since Egyptian times to restore health, regain looks and improve digestion.
Colon hydrotherapy originated with the Egyptians around 1,500 BC.
Enemas used to be such a normal part of life that kings and queens would actually engage in the process discreetly while socialising. While most of us probably don’t want to take it that far, internal cleansing with enemas can be part of a regular health regime.
Over 2,000 years ago Hippocrates, the well-known Greek physician affectionately known as the “Father of Medicine” and perhaps one of the first holistic practitioners, used enemas to treat fevers. His philosophy? Treat the whole body, not just the part that seems sick.
The Egyptians and Hippocrates also practised fasting along with the use of enemas, with the earliest records of fasting dating back 10,000 years.
Those Egyptians were a clever lot after all. They were not afraid of doing what it took to maintain their health and they took it to another level entirely…
I have noticed a marked improvement in my energy level and yoga practice since I started doing regular internal cleanses. At 48, I can bend like a teenager again!
Fiona Robertson is a detox expert and the creator of the Home Detox Box, a comprehensive and affordable at-home 7 day colon cleanse program that comes with 4 of the most powerful colon cleanse supplements, an enema kit, and a detailed instruction booklet. For five years she has been running regular detox weeks at Retreat Biarritz and also offers coaching.
For more information and for her free eBook “How to start a detox at home” visit HomeDetoxBox.com or RetreatBiarritz.com.