The New Year is a time of new beginnings and the perfect time to commit to a detoxification, especially if the festive period has left you feeling sluggish from over-indulgence. You may have piled on a few extra kilos, or find that you need several cups of coffee to get you through the day – which is actually your body signaling that it needs detoxification to recharge your batteries, revive your energy and lose that extra bit of weight.
Our bodies and minds are naturally designed to serve us. When we get ample rest, drink enough fluids, eat healthy whole foods, allow emotions to flow freely and keep stress levels low, we can navigate what life throws at us more easily. While the body is designed to naturally remove toxins that enter through the air we breathe, food we ingest and experiences we face, today’s overwhelming pace of life and frequent ongoing stress make it difficult for the body and mind to do what they were designed to do.
Toxins are everywhere: in our water, in the air, and in the food we eat. Our bodies are designed to eliminate these chemicals and clear unwanted toxins through an intricate detoxification system. But detoxification isn’t just about ridding the body of physical toxins. Negative thinking has the potential to interfere with our body’s ability to detoxify naturally – when we are depressed, frustrated or overwhelmed, the stress hormones of adrenaline and cortisol secrete and convert to more ‘toxins’ that the body must eliminate. Which is where yoga comes in.
Yoga can aid the body and mind to cleanse both physical and emotional excess. By stretching and squeezing the muscles of the body, yoga massages the organs stimulates the lymphatic system and blood flow, enhances breathing, and invites the release of blocked emotions. Yoga’s focus on the breath and meditation in general also helps to clean the ever-spinning wheel of the mind.
Think of yoga as another process of self-care. You take a shower and brush your teeth at least once or twice a day, but how many times do you meditate to clean the mind? Meditation is an essential tool that helps you train the mind to work for you, promotes less distortion, and paves the way for an unobstructed flow of spirit.
While all forms of yoga help the detoxification process, Kundalini yoga is particularly helpful in soothing and relaxing our body, mind and soul. It helps us to connect to ourselves and to the Divine power, awakening and strengthening the immune system by promoting greater peace while working on our mental and emotional well-being, and is an excellent practice for releasing anger and anxiety, making you more resilient and flexible in the face of life’s challenges.
Other forms of yoga deal with the physicality of the body, but Kundalini yoga works on overcoming the ash of metabolism and remnants of old emotions which means that deep healing begins from the very first day. In doing so, we move the energy throughout the body, whilst keeping light, uplifted and vitalized, a process that detoxifies your electromagnetic field (also known as your 8th chakra). This purification acts as soul food and eventually leads you to a more steady and peaceful self.
The practice of Kundalini yoga asks for a few moments to reconnect with you and to your soul’s landscape – to your heart, your core, the essence of who you are. It asks that you resist the temptation to either mask or suppress your pain, to stop denying your mission, and start living your purpose. Your soul is where you live, after all.
Try this Meditation for Emotional Balance
Normally we breathe at a rate of 15 breaths a minute, but when we are able to rhythmically slow down our breath to only 4 breaths per minute, we have indirect control over our minds. This eliminates erratic behaviour and promotes calmness irrespective of the surroundings.
Try this balancing meditation:
- Sit in an easy pose.
- Place your arms across your chest and lock your hands under your armpits, with your palms open and against your body. Raise your shoulders up tightly against your ears, without cramping your neck muscles.
- Close your eyes. Your breath will automatically become slow.
Continue for 3 minutes.
For a more advanced practice, try the following Celestial Meditation, which uses a mantra said to vibrate Divine power in every cell of your being.
Editor’s note: If you are interested in learning more about meditation, visit our Mindfulness page and Feel Good Kits section to see how you can embrace the power of mindfulness and enrich your life. Namaste.
