Importance of Detoxification

The words detoxification, cleansing, and purification have similar meanings. Merriam-Webster defines them as the removal or extraction of contaminants or impurities, ridding dependencies or addiction, purifying morally or spiritually, ethnic or social purification, and promoting health.

In today's fast-paced world, we are surrounded by many unhealthful physical, mental, and emotional toxins, impurities, and energies. Toxins are any substance that can be poisonous or cause adverse health effects. Toxins can be found in food, drugs, alcohol, metals, chemicals, pollutants, artificial food ingredients, and pesticides, as well as emotional trauma.

Toxicity may depend on the dosage, frequency, or potency of a substance and can have an immediate onset of symptoms such as weight gain, constipation, sluggishness, sneezing, swelling, or itchy eyes, and can contribute to and cause long-term illnesses such as diabetes, obesity, cancer, and arthritis. There is no practical way to protect yourself from all the toxins in the environment. Still, you can counteract many with self-education, awareness, and presence, along with positive lifestyle choices.

The body naturally detoxifies itself physically through the excretory system (skin, liver, lungs, large intestine, and kidneys). It removes mental, emotional, and spiritual toxins with mental and spiritual practices.

According to Ayurveda (the Indian holistic medical system), toxins are stored in the body's fatty tissues. Any effective detoxification aims to convince the body and cells to burn stored fat and release impurities naturally. It is not uncommon to experience withdrawal symptoms—especially from alcohol, drugs, caffeine, or sugar—so it is recommended to plan accordingly and work with a professional.

When you start looking around at the many cleanses available, it can seem overwhelming and confusing. We are influenced by our friends and family, the media, celebrity endorsements, and the idea of quick and easy avenues to achieve our goals. It is also essential to understand and consider our nature and characteristics and how this process will affect our short- and long-term health.

Many short-term detoxification modalities deplete the body, mind, and spirit—with starvation, laxatives, enemas, colonics, diuretics, and over-exercising—which can over-purify the body, reducing essential nutrients and spiking blood sugar levels, making you lightheaded, tired, anxious, short-tempered, angry, and possibly depressed. This is why choosing the correct purification method is imperative because, without a realistic long-term plan in place, you might fall back into old habits and tendencies.

Ayurveda believes that the ultimate goal in life is to have balance and harmony of the body, mind, and spirit. Ayurveda is based on the five elements (ether, air, fire, water, and earth) found in the universe. We all have a unique, inherent combination of these elements, defined in the three doshas—Vata, Pitta, and Kapha—which are found in our bodies and make up our constitutions (Prakruti). Many factors can cause imbalance, including changing seasons and weather, our specific locations, what we ingest, and mental, emotional, and spiritual input.

From an Ayurvedic point of view, the ingestion of food and positive information creates Ojas (life-sap). But as we encounter and accumulate toxins, the body produces Ama (toxins, metabolic wastes, and emotional heaviness), which is stored in our cells and ultimately can create disease.

To keep our bodily processes healthy, we need proper Agni (digestive fire). This includes the digestive processes in the small intestine, liver, and gallbladder, as well as how we perceive and digest mental, emotional, and spiritual information. Ayurveda holds that a healthy Agni is one of the most essential factors in maintaining a balanced state of being.

Ayurveda uses Panchakarma (meaning five actions) as the Ayurvedic detoxification and rejuvenation process. It has been practiced for thousands of years. It incorporates purification (reducing) therapies and tonification (adding) practices that safely detoxify the body, strengthen the immune system, remove toxins, and restore balance and well-being through rejuvenation. This practice is a cornerstone of the Ayurvedic lifestyle. It is recommended on a seasonal basis our when out of balance or experiencing illness.

My cleansing experiences before finding Ayurveda were varied, inconsistent, and not very successful because of imbalances caused by drastic measures I could not sustain. The first time I did Panchakarma was in 2005 at the Ayurvedic Institute in New Mexico, and it was a life-changing experience that I continue as needed bringing a deeper presence between the body, mind and spirit.