Do you someone who tried a detox, and it went wrong?

I do.

I have seen plenty of clients who have tried other detoxes and really screwed their bodies up. Skin rashes, headaches, fainting, heart palpitations, a worsening of symptoms, destroyed metabolism, weight gain, aggravated liver enzymes. You name it, I’ve seen it.

But it was a dear friend of mine who had been trying detoxes enthusiastically which was the worst case I’ve seen. As a result of her efforts, she developed liver & gallbladder inflammation that lasted for 9 months, and couldn’t even work during that time.

So it’s really important to detox properly.

Ayurveda has a safe and effective sequence of cleanse treatments called Panchakarma. 

The first question you MUST answer is: What exactly are you detoxing?

We all want to feel more healthy, vibrant and energetic. But there’s a huge leap that most detox fads require you to take, which is promising these feelings but not being able to explain what actually needs to be cleared out of the body. The untargeted effort results in very superficial and temporary effects.

In order to hit the bull’s eye, you have to point your arrow in the right direction, skillfully.

Ayurveda knows exactly what it is cleansing, and I hope to demystify this by describing the 3 types of Ayurvedic Detox actions below.

Next question: How to detox very deeply while protecting the body?

This requires a specific sequence in order to achieve results while still protecting the integrity of the body’s healthy tissues & functions. You get all the great effects without breaking yourself. Sounds good, right?

So here they are, the 3 types of Ayurvedic ‘detox’ actions. You can think of them as the 3 major methods that a practitioner can use to guide a client through reducing unwanted accumulations, thereby removing the symptoms.

And don’t be shy about the Sanskrit words- in the next few articles I will help you navigate!

• AMA PACHANA – clearing out the undigested food (Ama) that has coagulated, is fermenting and is blocking the healthy absorption of nutrients & action in the cells. This is the first phase and a prerequisite for the others.

Then, depending on the strength & commitment of the client and the severity of the imbalance, an Ayurvedic practitioner will choose one of the following paths for treatment:

• SHAMANA– reducing one or more excess dosha (Vata, Pitta, Kapha) that is causing health problems due to its increase. Undertaken after Ama pachana is (nearly) completed.

• SHODHANA– also known as Panchakarma, this is the intensive series of treatments that actually drives the doshas out of the body in a dramatic way. This is what most people mean when they say “Ayurvedic Detox”.

Panchakarma falls under shodhana. Read about Panchakarma, the Ayurvedic cleansing sequence of treatments.