Simple detoxification rituals (detox time)

There are simple detox rituals you can do to support your body's natural detoxification process. Here are some examples that we ourselves find very helpful:

1. Scrape your tongue. In the morning, before brushing your teeth, use a copper or silver tongue scraper to scrape off that white layer of waste on your tongue. It's a super simple way to remove toxins and it also gives you fresh breath.
2. Drink a glass of warm water after brushing your teeth, possibly with fresh lemon juice. This flushes out the waste that has accumulated during the night from your body. Lemon water can further help stimulate digestion.
3. Dry-brushing. Use a dry brush with natural bristles to gently brush your skin before showering. You do this to stimulate blood circulation and remove dead skin cells.
4. Make a pot of tea with dried herbs every day (preferably no tea bags). Very powerful and detoxifying are, for example: nettle, dandelion (roots), turmeric, green tea, fresh mint and ginger, and Ayurvedic KKV tea (cumin, coriander and fennel seeds).
5. Sweat it out. Regular sweating, for example through a sauna or steam bath, can help remove toxins through the skin. Make sure you drink enough afterwards to stay hydrated.
6. Cupping. This is particularly effective in bringing waste products to the surface. Because the toxins are sucked up, they can be broken down more easily by the body and removed through the pores in the skin.
7. Yoga postures or asanas can greatly stimulate the body's cleansing process. Think of twisted poses or twists that activate the digestive system.
8. Chakra Cleanse: In addition to your body, you also want to cleanse your chakras or energy centers so that you get rid of harmful energies. You do not only detox physically, but also mentally!

The big cleaning

Not everyone is a fan of detoxing. Some even think it's nonsense. After all, the body has natural mechanisms to remove waste. Why do something that the body can do on its own?

Just a sidenote here. Although the body indeed has a powerful self-healing capacity, we are exposed to so much stuff nowadays that the body can no longer process everything properly (read: discharge). The result: an accumulation of toxins, the well-known toxic burden .

And if the pipes become clogged and everything no longer works properly, then a major cleaning is really not a bad idea. Especially if you suffer from (physical and/or mental) ailments, or if your stress level is through the roof and you produce far too much cortisol. A car also regularly receives an MOT, right?

A thorough scrubbing and flushing from the inside can give the body's natural detoxification process a well-deserved boost. Especially if, for example, you have eaten poorly for a period, have drunk a lot of alcohol or during the often difficult seasonal changes.

Which detox?

But which detox do you choose? Cold sauerkraut juices and starving yourself? Not necessary! Go for a kitchari detox - nice and warm, nutritious and extremely cleansing. They swear by it within Ayurveda. It is a traditional dish of Indian cuisine consisting of a mixture of rice and mung beans. Mung beans have a scraping effect in your intestines: they scrape waste products and these leave your body through the stool.

Kitchari is often seasoned with spices such as turmeric, cumin, coriander and ginger, and can be supplemented with vegetables of your choice. It is easily digestible and soothes your digestive system. Go for organic vegetables and eat with the seasons as much as possible. Seasonal vegetables have undergone the same processes as you and are therefore easier to digest.

Try to avoid coffee, dairy products, wheat, sugar and digital screens (as much as possible) on those detox day(s). Not easy, we know, but you will see that you will feel a lot better afterwards – physically and mentally.

Our detox tips:

1. Do an extensive detox of several days twice a year - at the transition between winter and spring and summer and autumn.
2. Preferably do a day detox once a week for a reset moment. Eat hot kitchari that day.
3. Build in sufficient rest and relaxation during a detox, so that your body really has a spa moment. Don't exercise intensively right now. Do: walk outside a lot, practice yoga and meditation and apply a lot of self-care.