Ditch the diet: Use yoga to detox your body!

Yogacharya Shameem Akhtar leads you through five yoga poses that can help you detox naturally.

In yoga, detoxification is necessary not just for the body, but also the mind. In retreats, not using electronic gadgets or using them sparingly is encouraged to detox you from the electromagnetic radiation, as well as to clear the mind of the overwhelming information flood. Media is also seen as 'toxic' or disturbing input, with suggestions to avoid it as much as possible. This is mental detoxification. However, since it is not possible in normal daily life, yoga suggests using some basic practices to keep the mind and body clear of such subtle but definite assaults on our wellbeing.

Food choices are also seen as detoxifying: avoiding canned, stale, overcooked, left-over foods; curbing addictions to excessively hot, spicy, oily or too much food; choosing vegetarian food over non-vegetarian as much as possible; eating at the right time and eating in moderation all add up to yogic purification.

All pranayama (breathing practices) are also seen as cleansing. At yogic detoxification retreats, time-tested practices like shankhaprakshalan (digestive tract cleansing) may be practiced. But these require expert guidance and may only be performed under supervision.

For those who wish to have a set of purificatory practices that will help them deal with daily stresses, we outline five simple poses in the following pages.

For more of Shameem's yoga writings visit http://jaisivananda.blogspot.com. Follow Shameem's yoga products on her online shop here. Shameem's second book, Yoga In The Workplace, with photographs by ace photographer Fawzan Husain, is now available in online stores and bookshops across the country.

Disclaimer: This column just shares the columnist's passion for yoga which is ideally learned under the guidance of an expert.

This is a simpler version, ideal for newcomers to yoga. Sit with both legs out in front. Bend your right leg at the knee, passing the right foot over the left knee as shown. Place your right hand at the waist as shown. Inhale and then exhaling, twist to the right, looking over your right shoulder. Continue normal breathing, pushing gently into the pose, continuing to deepen the twist. Hold for a few seconds initially, with normal breathing. Release, repeat on the other side.

Benefits: Squeezes and massages the biggest detox gland -- the liver, toning it. Tones the spine, firms up the nervous system. The entire body enjoys a thorough workout. The organs stacked along the spine are squeezed and released, cleaning them up and toning them.

This too is a simplified version, ideal for beginners. Sit cross-legged. Use the thumb and index finger to open and shut either nostril. Your left hand should be in chin mudra (tips of index and thumb touching).

Shut the right nostril with the right thumb, inhaling for four counts from the left. Hold both nostrils and your breath for eight counts. Release the right nostril to exhale from right for eight counts. Repeat the procedure by shutting the left nostril off and inhaling with the right nostril for four counts and follow through in the same way as described above -- this is one round. Do up to ten rounds.

This is a basic version. For advanced ratio of inhalation and exhalation, you must learn pranayama under expert guidance.

Benefits: One of the simplest purificatory practices, creates natural heat in the body to burn impurities. It harmonises the left and right brain hemispheres. It's a cure-all practice.

We have already covered the sun salutation. Add the sun salutations to your daily routine, ideally in the mornings. It is also a great way to get rid of jet lag or the toxic effects of a sedentary lifestyle.

Benefits: Purifies by working on the body's lymphatic system. It works on all glands, including the master glands, restoring them to a state of homeostasis or natural balance, which is adversely affected under stress or sickness.

Include the series called pawanmuktasana as part of your asana practice. These are natural, gentle yet strong practices which clean the energy channels in your body. Check out our yoga feature on joint-releasing poses.

The pose you see here is called supta pawan muktasana (lying energy release pose). To do this lie on your back. Inhale. Fold your right leg at the knee. Exhale, hug it closer to the chest or stomach. Hold it firmly, breathing naturally. Release, repeat thrice. Then do the other leg.

Benefits: Tones the entire spine. Removes digestive mess-up, soothing the stomach. Used to relieve flatulence. Helps with all major digestive disorders. It's soothing and removes tension.

Lie on your back, legs apart and hands off the body. Shut your eyes and keep your body relaxed. If need be, tense and relax each part of the body so that the body has released all its tensions. Take the mind progressively over each part of the body, moving in a systematic fashion -- starting from the hands, covering the entire hands, then moving to the legs, torso, face and head.

You may also use yoga nidra tapes for relaxation.

Benefits: A complete mind-body relaxation which gently allows tensions and stresses to leave the body-mind complex. It is a powerful, cure-all practice, used to treat all major ailments. By shutting down the natural, beta brain mode of the brain and moving it into the alert alpha mode, it creates a state of restful alertness which is soothing and healing.