Detox - Dangerous or Dreamy?

Before I started practicing yoga, I believed that going on a detox meant drinking green juice all day and doing five sit ups before bounding over to my floor length mirror to search for my new abs. Fast forward to an infinite amount of yoga classes and a journey of self exploration later, I now have a completely different understanding of the word detox and how I can implement it into my life.

There is still a huge amount of taboo around the word ‘detox’ and I can understand why; a lot of false advertisement over the years has lulled people into a false sense of security that they can endlessly binge throughout the year, as long as they go on a one-week juice cleanse that will solve all their problems. Not only is this untrue, it also promotes a culture of yoyo dieting and I would hope that by 2021 we know that to combat this, we need to advocate balanced and healthy living. For example, I’m all for giving the body a break from the artificial toxic substances that are found in a lot of the foods we consume and replacing those with juices, more plant-based foods, and nutrient rich meals; as long as this is done regularly I.e., one week each month, and not just used as a one-off fad diet with impossible expectations.

The truth is, even if you maintain the healthiest of diets, don’t drink alcohol and run at the sight of a cigarette – there are still unavoidable toxins in our bodies that we absorb every day. Something I have learned over the last year is that there is a difference between ‘detoxing’ and the process of detoxification. Our bodies are in a constant state of detoxification, the liver works tirelessly to eliminate toxins that end up in our bloodstream through pollution, pesticides, and even over the counter drugs. So, in actual fact any extra help that we can give our liver by reducing the amount of toxins that we are knowingly feeding to the body, and instead replacing them with nutrient heavy foods that will assist in the process of detoxification, will massively reduce the stress that we put on this powerful organ and do it the world of good.

Although we automatically think of what changes we can make to our food/drink choices when it comes to detoxifying – we are actually forgetting about one of the most powerful detoxifying tools of all, our bodies. One of the many magical benefits of yoga, which was bought to light by B.K.S Iyengar, is that certain asanas and flows are specifically designed to massage in and around the liver, stomach, intestines and kidneys, through a series of compressions and twists. Once these compressions are released, there is an increase in blood flow, allowing more toxins to be carried out of our bodies via the bloodstream, through our sweat, breath and urine, speeding up the detoxification process.

But is detoxifying all about the body? My understanding of the word detox is to get rid of anything that no longer serves me, and more often than not, that refers to negative energy and thoughts that have been clouding my mind. Personally, when my mindset is not the best it can be, I am instantly less inclined to want to eat healthily, exercise and look after my body. That said, when I get stuck in a rut of eating crap food and not drinking enough water, I feel more lethargic and become lazy towards my meditations, affirmations and general self-love practices – leading to a pretty quick downwards spiral.

For me, detoxing is a marriage of nourishing my body with good nutrients as regularly as possible and cleansing my mind through yoga and meditation. I can’t seem to make one work without the other, and I strongly stand by the saying healthy body healthy mind and vice versa. I recently did an Instagram poll asking my followers which they felt was more important to detox, the body or the mind, and the results were interesting; 71% of the participants thought that it was more important to detox the mind, with 29% preferring to focus on the body.

Many people who voted, did message me to say that although they would choose to focus on one over the other, they believed that both helped to strengthen each other and that the best results are seen when you focus on the health of both the mind and body simultaneously. I couldn’t agree more, one of the most important things that my yoga practice has taught me is the oneness of the mind, body and soul.

Although there can be a lot of negative connotations associated with the word detox, I also asked my Instagram followers what comes to mind when they hear the word detox, and although there was a vast array of entertaining responses (including cutting out relationships, ha!), a lot of the responses mentioned the process of ‘getting rid of impurities’. And I think that’s exactly it, detoxifying the body is essential as it allows us to cleanse ourselves of impurities, both physically and energetically.

I hope that this decade, more light can be shed on the importance of putting work into our mental health and mindset, not just our physical bodies alone. More of an understanding is developing each year that these two go hand in hand, and that neglecting one has a detrimental impact on the other. So yes, I think we should celebrate the word detox and start implementing it as a maintainable, realistic practice that can hopefully one day, become a way of life.

There is still work to be done to steer people away from the idea that detoxing is a dangerous concept that encourages mindless eating and harmful dieting, but I think that there is a sweet spot to be found between living a generally balanced lifestyle and making a conscious effort to take time to give the body a clean sweep. As we find ourselves at the beginning of another new year, a lot of people are all guns blazing into their new year’s resolutions, regretting consumption levels of turkey and mulled wine; so, I think this is the perfect time to start this conversation. Are you a novel binger or is your diet balanced throughout the year? Maybe you think detoxing has nothing to do with food and everything to do with polluted thoughts.

Either way, I love the word detox, I think it encourages health in every sense of the word; healthy body, healthy mind, healthy energy and healthy aura. I am constantly looking for new ways to cleanse my mind, body and soul; my new year’s resolution is to keep living life to the fullest whilst embracing the process of detoxification and doing whatever I can, as regularly as I can, to assist my body in this practice.