Applying DNS and Core Stabilization in Yoga

in , ,

Several years ago when I was deep into Katy Bowman’s bio-mechanical approach to postures and movement I began to better understand some of the postural habits and faulty mechanics that were impacting my health and the health of my clients. It became clear to me that it was these habits and their frequent repetition while standing, sitting, squatting, bending forward and walking that lead directly to the manifestation of the chronic injuries and pain patterns that are epidemic in our modern lives. I also understood that if we were to overcome our injuries we needed to address them at their root cause by changing the way we move.

As this understanding came into focus, I started to take a closer look at the yoga postures I was doing and teaching and I had a realization. Those of us who do yoga tend to bring the very same postural patterns and poor mechanical habits we use in our daily lives into our practice of yoga postures. Therefore going to a yoga class often amounts to simply finding new and interesting ways to reinforce our patterns and promote our injuries.

This opinion is partly based on the fact that yogasana or the practice of yoga postures is extremely difficult. The posture themselves are for the most part so complicated and demanding that anything approaching mastery may arguably remain elusive for most. Yet it is also this degree of challenge posed by yogaasana which is the very thing that makes it potentially so powerful. If I manage to master even one posture I will have overcome much of my habituation, physically and mentally.

With the manifestation of this view I began changing my approach to practice and to teaching. I started introducing simpler postures that were more accessible and less physically demanding. I also began to emphasize the development of movement skills that could be applied not just to yoga but to the movements we do all day long. After all, what good is my trikonasana if I can’t bend forward properly to pick something up or squat down to use the toilet.

I then reintroduced some of the classical postures, not so much as postures to be mastered but rather as opportunities to apply the skills learned in the simpler postures to decidedly more challenging ones. The classical postures put the skills we learn in the simpler postures to a strong test, and they provide an opportunity to apply multiple skills at the same time. I liked this approach and still do, but until recently I felt there was something missing.

With the addition of my DNS training I feel I’ve found that missing piece. It’s the skill that integrates all of the other skills and organizes them into a cohesive whole. It’s the skill that transforms a set of applied skills, movements and stretches into a true asana – a posture that expresses both stability and ease. That skill is the skill of stabilizing the pelvis and trunk in a way that not only allows but in fact facilitates free movement. This skill is true “core stabilization.”

The DNS approach to core stabilization is not something I ever learned in a yoga class, but it applies to yoga wonderfully! I feel strongly that it’s a skill that has the power to transform any yoga practice. And for those who don’t practice yoga, proper core stabilization will improve whatever movement practice or sport they choose to do, not to mention greatly improve the movements they do outside of any structured class or activity.

I’ve begun to post a series of short videos in which I offer an approach to setting up some of the more common classical yoga postures. The videos also include some voiceover cues for guidance. My approach to each of these postures emphasizes core stabilization as the foundation for each. I don’t necessarily use the term “core stabilization” in the video, but hopefully as you watch these you’ll begin to understand what I mean when I say “stabilize” or “stabilize the pelvis” or “stabilize the lower trunk,” and you’ll begin to apply this in your own postures.

Before watching these videos I recommend watching the more basic DNS videos that are already posted. It’s important that you understand how to breath diaphragmatically and to establish intra-abdominal pressure before you can do the kind of core stabilization I am referring to in the post and in the asana videos. Just click on the links above to view those videos before moving on to the others.

If you’re new to yoga, these videos are not meant for you. They are intended for students will some experience. If you’re an experienced yoga practitioner or teacher, I ask that you keep an open mind. The feedback I’ve been getting these days from the experienced yogis that find their way into my classes is that I’m doing something very different from what they’ve been taught before. Hopefully this makes for a great reason to take an interest and see what might be of value and not a reason to reject it simply because it doesn’t sync with past experiences or understanding.

Whatever your view, my practice and my teaching have always been and always will be a work in progress. Therefore I welcome your comments and look forward to hearing from you and getting your feedback. No doubt your input will help me refine and improve my practice and my teaching moving forward.

Namaste’

Dinacharya and the Fall Season

in , ,

Northern California is for the most part a pretty dry climate, but our fall season can be brutally so. By October we typically have not had any rain for several months and the heat of summer has dried up much of the moisture in the environment. When you add in the effects of our “Indian Summer” with it’s hot temperatures, dry winds and exceedingly low humidity you have a formula for serious vata derangement.

Even as I write this I can feel how much dryer my sinuses are compared to last week when we had that welcome, but unusually high humidity and tropical rain. I can feel the dryness right into the back of my throat, and I can’t seem to put enough lotion on my hands. My experience tells me that these are mild but significant early signs that excess vata is starting to weaken my tissue a little, and if I’m not careful I may succumb to a cold or begin having digestive issues.

Vata or vata dosta is a fundamental physical and psychological energy that helps to move anything that needs moving. Vata is responsible for the movement of our food through the digestive track, for moving the nourishment we receive from our food into and through our bloodstream to our tissues, for moving nerve impulses from our brains through our nervous system and into our muscles and skin and for moving our thoughts so as to enable thinking and conscious action. Vata dosha is light, dry, cool and lacking in it’s own source of stability.

When vata is elevated it acts like a dry wind, weakening tissues and making them more vulnerable to degradation and possible infection. Inappropriate diet or lifestyle choices or external factors such as the weather or season can disturb vata in us and this may begin to negatively affect our health. The effects of elevated vata dosa are subtle at first. Perhaps I’m having more gas than usual, or I’m a bit constipated. I might notice my skin is a bit dryer than usual or I feel a bit agitated mentally and am having trouble relaxing fully or sleeping restfully. Whatever the signs, it’s when these signs first appear that we have a chance to make choices that will offset this excess vata and prevent it from having a more significant impact on our health.

One of my favorite concepts from ayurveda is dinacharya or “the daily routine.” Outlined in the ancient ayurvedic texts, dinacharya is a way for each of us to begin each day in perfect balance with the natural world. Most of the elements prescribed in this daily routine are simple, practical and obvious. They include waking up early, washing our face, drinking water, using the toilet, brushing our teeth, bathing, dressing and exercising. Some activities prescribed in dinacharya are less obvious but no less practical, such as acknowledging the new day, however we may choose to do this.

One daily routine outlined in the classical texts that is not commonly practiced in the western world is the application of oil to the head and body. I call this self oil massage or self abhyanga. Self abhyanga is not complicated. It simply means covering the body from head to toe with a significant amount of oil, ideally one that is suited to our individual constitution. After the oil is applied, preferably in a warm environment, it should be left on for 10-15 minutes, if possible, to allow time for it to absorb through the skin and into other tissues in the body. After this time it should be cleaned off the body during a warm shower or bath.

Oil is frequently used in ayurveda because of the way in which it penetrates into tissues. If the oil has herbs cooked into it, then the oil acts as a carrying agent to deliver the herbs and their properties to specific tissues. More generally oil is used to add liquidity and stability to tissue that may be in need of it. One application of the use of oil that I find particularly helpful is nasya or the placing of oil into the nose. Nasya helps to keep sinus tissues moist, healthy and well functioning and when certain herbs are cooked into the oil the practice can also improve the voice, vision and enhance mental clarity. Placing oil in the nose is also one of the daily routines outlined in the classical ayurvedic texts.

Application of oil is also a simple and effective way of balancing vata dosa. The heavy, moist qualities of warm oil can help to balance the dry, light and cool qualities of vata. Therefore I feel that it is the dinacharya practices that involve the use of oil and which I’ve outlined above that can be particularly useful for us Californians during the fall season.

Here are some more details on how to do self abhyanga and self nasya. Since everyone’s constitution is different, contact me or another qualified ayurvedic practitioner for choosing the best oils for you.

Self Abhyanga

Fill a small plastic bottle such as a travel bottle for shampoo with a food grade oil appropriate for your constitution. If you’re not sure which oil to choose, contact me for help.

Boil some water to warm the oil. Meanwhile, place some old towels (that you don’t mind getting oily) on the floor of your bathroom. Warm the room up so that you not only won’t get cold being in there for 15-20 minutes, but may even have a chance to sweat a little.

Place your plastic bottle of oil into a large coffee mug or similar. When the water is at or near a boil, fill the mug most of the way up or until you’ve covered enough of the bottle to warm the oil well. Take your filled cup and warm oil into the bathroom and place it somewhere convenient.

Begin to apply the warm oil, starting at the crown of your head and working downward. Make sure you use enough oil on each part of the body that the skin there cannot absorb all of the oil you apply. If you have time, rub the oil in using longitudinal strokes on your bones and circular strokes on your joints. Don’t worry too much about getting this right.

When the body is completely covered with oil, leave it on for another 10-15 minutes. You might enjoy doing some yoga postures or other simple exercise, pranayama or breathing exercises or sitting for meditation. When you’re ready or running out of time, take a warm bath or shower and clean off all of the oil. You will likely need to shampoo your hair twice to get all of the oil out.

Self abhyanga can be thought of as an act of self love. The experience should be nurturing and not feel rushed or in any way an imposition. If you’re stressed and/or don’t have time to approach it in this way, leave it until you do.

Contraindications for self abhyana include: skin rash, menstruation, cold and flu

Self Nasya – applying oil to the nose

There are various medicated nasya oils in the marketplace. Typically these have nervine sedative and/or nervine tonic herbs cooked into them. The one that we sell at Alignment Lab and that we recommend is produced by Banyan Botanicals. If you are unsure of which medicated oil to use you can contact me for help. If you feel uncomfortable with using medicated oils you can also use plain sesame oil.

Self nasya works best if you’re lying down and have time to let the oil penetrate deeper into the sinus passages. Warm the oil to body temperature or slightly higher but NOT until it’s hot. Lie down on your back and place several drops of the warm nasya oil in each nostril as outlined in the product instructions. If you’re using plain sesame oil use 8-10 drops.

Remain in a reclining position for 1-5 minutes and relax, giving the oil a chance to penetrate deep into the sinus passages. If you’re using a medicated oil and wish to facilitate the nervine effects of the herbs in the oil, stay 5 or more minutes and give the oil a chance to penetrate even deeper.

*The nose is considered a direct pathway to the brain, and this can be an effective way of delivering the herbs and their properties to it.

For the quickie version, place some warm oil into the palm of your hand. This can be done, for example, during your self abhyanga. Dunk your pinkie finger into the oil and rub it gently into your nostrils. Repeat this 2-3 times for each nostril while “sniffing” the oil with moderate force to get it to move higher up into your sinus passages. Massage the inside of the sinuses to help the oil penetrate in.

*This quickie method can be helpful for keeping the sinus passages moist and enhancing their ability to resist environmental irritants.

The dinacharya are a wonderful way of making health and wellness a part of each and every day. Even if you don’t have time to do every one of the activities prescribed, just having these routines as a touchstone will be a powerful and supportive resource for you. I have learned a lot and received many benefits from practicing these daily routines and I’m confident you will too!

The Many Benefits of Orthopedic Massage

in , , ,

At Alignment Lab we feature a massage technique known as The Hendrickson Method of Massage and Manual Therapy. This technique was developed by Dr. Tom Hendrickson, D.C. and has its roots in physical therapy and osteopathy. When Tiffany and I originally received our training from Dr. Hendrickson he called his method “Orthopedic Massage,” and we have continued to use that moniker since its rebranding.

Orthopedic Massage (OM) is outstanding for breaking up tissue adhesions, increasing blood flow, reducing pain, and improving range of motion and functionality in muscles and joints. OM does all of these wonderful things for our bodies by employing 3 key components in its methodology. These components are wave mobilization, joint mobilization and the application of MET’s or muscle energy techniques.

Wave mobilization refers to the way that the massage strokes are given in OM. Specifically, the practitioner applies the strokes with a wave like motion in a direction that is perpendicular to the muscle fibers. This cross-friction movement, modeled after waves in the ocean, is relaxing to receive and to give. By staying more relaxed ourselves as we give the massage, our clients enjoy more of the benefits of wave mobilization. These include greater fluid uptake in muscles and tissues, improved blood flow and a calming effect on the nervous system.

While wave mobilization targets the muscles are nervous system, low speed joint mobilization, a second key component to OM, helps to reduce stiffness and swelling in joints by gently moving them during the massage. Joint mobilization also helps improve the muscle firing patterns that actively move a given joint and help with the client’s neurological awareness of his/her joint and it’s function. And joint mobilization, like wave mobilization, feels good to give and to receive!

Despite the many benefits of wave and joint mobilization, sometimes the neurological patterns in a person’s body are resistant to change. MET’s, a third key component of OM, are a safe, comfortable and relatively easy way of affecting these patterns by helping a clients muscles, nervous system and brain recognize and release dysfunctional muscle tensions that are persisting unnecessarily and contributing to pain and discomfort. MET’s can also help restore more functional muscle firing patterns and remove or reduce chronic stress on the joints.

Because OM can be done without the use of oils or lotion, it can be easily incorporated into a Personal Alignment Training session. As I’ve begun to include OM as a complement to the active training, I’ve seen pain reduction and improved function accelerate. This has reinforced for me why we’ve called our work Personal Alignment Training for Health (P.A.T.H.). While Personal Alignment Training can be applied for any purpose, including performance training, our ultimate goal with every client is a positive health related outcome.

Study Highlights Advantages of Movement Based Training

in , ,

In 2015 several members of the kinesiology faculty at The Universe of Waterloo and The University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada performed a study using 52 firefighters comparing the impact of 2 different forms of fitness training to a control group. One group did 12 weeks of “movement-guided fitness” and the other did 12 weeks of “conventional fitness” training. The control group did no training at all.

Both groups that received training showed improved fitness over the control group, but the study found that the “movement-guided” (MOV) group showed greater joint stability in the knees and spine as compared to the “conventional fitness” (FIT) group. The study suggests that the the MOV group got results from the training that carried over to their work as firefighters, making them more effective and safer.

In a bit more detail, here are 3 important takeaways from this study:

1 – Practicing how to move with alignment in their training improved the quality of the firefighters movement outside the gym and made them more effective at their work.

The firefighters in this study depend upon their strength and agility to perform well. The firefighters who practiced exercises that emphasized correct alignment and movement based training improved their overall fitness in squats, lunges, pushing and pulling, and this improvement carried over into the tasks required in their work.

Most of us do not have as taxing a job as a firefighter, but at Alignment Lab we regularly see that improving the quality of movement directly contributes to improved function and greater longevity. How we stack our joints, having awareness of our body in space and improving the quality of our breathing are all key in having a healthy and strong body and mind.

2 – Firefighters who trained functional movement patterns (MOV group) had fewer injuries when compared to the traditional fitness exercises (FIT) group.

The fact that the firefighters who practiced a movement based training program had more control in frontal spinal and knee plane motions is huge! This means that the stress on their backs and knees was greatly reduced compared to the other firefighters doing both high-intensity training or no training. Reducing stresss on joints means less likelihood of wearing out joints and reducing the chances of a serious and potentially debilitating injury.

3 – Lower injury rate = Higher safety on the job

The improved performance and fewer injuries of the firefighters in the MOV group translates directly into improved safety on the job. This is by no means an insignificant outcome for someone who is employed in such a physically challenging and potentially dangerous line of work.

So what does this study mean for those of us who are not firefighters? Basically this:

*Movement based training produces the same fitness based results as conventional training but ALSO provides benefits that extend beyond the training environment.

*Movement based training regimens like the Personal Alignment Training we do at Alignment Lab train us not just to become good at specific exercises but also to become better at any movement based activity that we choose to do.

*Improvements in our movement come with less chance of injury and therefore less chance of down time when we’re not able to do the things we need to do or love to do.

This study highlights a central tenet of the approach we take to personal training at Alignment Lab, what we call Personal Alignment Training for Health or P.A.T.H.. P.A.T.H. emphasizes the quality of our movement over its intensity because we’ve found again and again that this approach leads to better health and more functional outcomes. Moreover, improving the quality of our movement while training with P.A.T.H. translates directly into desirable movement patterns in our everyday lives.

Flexibility vs. Mobility of the Hips

in , , ,

The first yoga class I ever took was a Bikram Yoga class at The Yoga College of India in North Beach San Francisco. It was a 6 pm class held in a heated room that followed a 4:30 class full of tired, sweaty bodies. The room was ridiculously hot and wet even before I’d even taken my first pose, and I’m certain that I have never struggled and sweat that much before or since.

Besides a sore back and a wounded ego, I came away from that class with the discovery that I was, in fact, pretty flexible. I had no idea I was capable of bending my body in the ways I did in my early days of taking yoga classes. Years later a client came to me who’d been taking Bikram Yoga classes and was recently diagnosed with a disc herniation. She told me that what she really enjoyed most about her experience in Bikram classes was the “noodly bendy” feeling. Her body was already very flexible and therefore being even more “bendy” was the last thing she needed, but I understood where she was coming from. Flexibility is desirable not just because it can be an indicator of good health, but also because it just plain feels good.

After suffering for several years with my own back issues I’ve come to see flexibility in a different way. It’s clear to me now that for myself and the many others who have or have had chronic pain, flexibility is part of the problem. At least the “bendy” kind of flexibility that lacks a stable foundation. People with bendy bodies are often drawn to yoga classes, especially Bikram or other “Hot” yoga classes because bendiness comes easy to them. It can be very challenging for these very “flexible” students to improve their stability doing yoga, and they often manifest injuries that begin to limit their mobility, sometimes dramatically so.

When my “noodly” client first came to me she could barley bend forward, despite her natural flexibility. As I helped her improve her mechanics she gradually became more stable and her mobility improved dramatically without the back pain returning.

When I work with a client who lacks flexibility, I try to help them find ways to improve their mobility rather than just giving them stretches to make them more flexible. It can feel good to be “flexible,” but ultimately it is the quality of our movement that counts. And that quality of movement depends a great deal on stabilization.

Stabilization means that I am able to maintain stability in one part of my body while I move another. If for example I am bending forward, I want to stabilize my spine so that I can generate more of the movement from my legs and hips. Stabilizing the spine is essential for increasing range of motion in the hips. Stabilizing the hips is essential for the long term health and function of these very important joints.

Stabilizing my hip joint requires that I stabilize the femur (thigh bone). This demands a good balance between the strength and responsiveness of my lateral hips and the flexibility and freedom of movement from my medial hip. If the muscles on my lateral hip don’t respond well to loads (ie-lack strength), the medial hip muscles will shorten and pull one femur toward the other. This can compromise the stability of the hip joint and will eventually damage it.

Conversely if I do have good balance between my later and medial hip then I am able to stabilize the femur effectively and this will allow for better mobility of my hip. Better hip mobility improves the health of the hip joint and greater stability through a larger range of motion.

I’ve found stabilizing the hip to be a very effective way to improve hip mobility and resolve hip related pain patterns. In my view mobility is the kind of flexibility we want. That is, not the “noodly bendy” kind but the kind that makes us stronger and affords us more range of motion and freer movement while minimizing wear and tear on our joints.

For a demonstration of one of my favorite posture for improving hip stabilization and mobility, check out this video.

Aligning Ourselves with a Better Diet and a Healthier Lifestyle

in ,

This past spring I offered a cleanse program and there was quite a bit of interest. I guided several clients through the program and there were several others who expressed interest but never followed through. It’s easy to understand why. For some people the changes in diet and lifestyle necessary to participate fully in our cleanse program, even for a short period of time, are a bit far from where they’re at to make the journey.

So I started thinking about how to meet more folks half way (or even 3/4 of the way!). After all, making changes to our diet and lifestyle is not easy. When taking clients through the cleanse I always remind them – “it’s only temporary,” but of course if we’re going to undertake making significant changes, even temporarily, we’d likely want to see some of those changes last, especially if they’re working for us.

If I want to make changes to my diet but I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew, it may work better for me to make smaller changes and to set targets closer to where I’m starting from. In this way I can begin to establish a direction of change that helps me align with my intentions and improves my ability to stay on the path on which I’ve started.

For instance, one of my clients asked me to give him some advice about changing his diet. Before I could do that, I needed to see where he was at, so I asked him to keep a food journal for a week or so and then give it to me to look over. After seeing what he was eating I had several recommendations in mind, but based on his age and his food journal I could tell that he had some long standing habits that were going to be a little tough to break.

I suggested he just do one thing – give up refined sugar, just temporarily, for a two week period. My guess is that he was seeking a bit more than this, but I saw the refined sugar in his diet as the low hanging fruit that would offer the most bang for his buck, or so to speak. If he wasn’t eating sugar he would immediately see the benefits in how he felt and that would encourage him to make other changes leading to further benefits and providing further encouragement. Before long he would have made some pretty significant changes with some pretty substantial results to show for it. In other words it was this one change that I saw as the key first step on his journey toward a better diet.

I wish I could say now that it was a huge success and that he’s eating better and he’s healthier than he has ever been, but alas it’s only partly true. That first step turned out to be one that he wasn’t prepared to make at that time. Nonetheless, my recommendation did seem to plant an important seed in his consciousness. Currently he’s following a different cleanse from a book he purchased recently and he is in fact eating healthier than he has in a long time, maybe ever.

So while I realize I can’t take full credit for the change in my client’s diet (maybe not much credit at all!), his story does illustrate my point. We all have to get started somewhere on the path to better health, and we need a doable plan to get us started. But more than anything we need a first step that points us in the right direction.

 

 

Wall Plank

in , , ,

Tiffany teaches a wall plank in this video and talks about how it can be a useful tool for correcting dysfunction of the shoulder girdle.

Stair Mechanics – Walking Up

in , , , ,

In this short video Tiffany details some of the most important features of functional mechanics when climbing stairs. This includes some of the most common mistakes and how to correct them.

Our Body’s Built In Cleansing System

in

I recently posted an article about our Spring Cleanse & Ayurvedic De-Tox in which I outlined some details of the program and some of the reasons we recommend it. And while the very proactive approach of doing a cleanse is a good idea for keeping ourselves healthy, it turns out that our bodies are doing their own cleansing every day on their own.

Our body has the ability to clean and repair its own tissues by employing specialized cells in our immune system called macrophages. This cellular cleansing process is called autophagy, and it is a process whereby the macrophages digest and remove old and dysfunctional proteins that build up inside other cells, as well as anything that our immune system identifies as foreign.

These macrophages are large white blood cells and they are concentrated in our lymph nodes. Their job is to perform phagocytosis – locating foreign bodies and biological debris, engulfing them and then breaking them down into a form that neutralizes them and allows them to be eliminated or assimilated. Phagocytosis helps keep pathogens, old or unhealthy tissue and other potential disease causing materials from lingering in our bodies so that they don’t have the chance to make us ill.

As I mentioned, this cycle of cleansing and repairing is going on on its own all the time, but there are actions we can take to facilitate it and help it to work better.

Here are 3 things that we can do to help keep the autophagic function of our immune system working its best.

1. Fasting and/or restrictive eating

There is a lot of research which shows that fasting helps improve the ability of the macrophages to do the job of cleaning and making way for new and healthier tissue. Intermittent fasting in particular has been shown to be effective in boosting autophagy.

Here are some suggestions on how to do intermittent fasting:

The 12-16 hour daily fast: I have found this to be the easiest way to fast on a regular basis. Finish your dinner by 7pm and do not have anything to eat again until 8am the next morning. This amounts to a 12-13 hour daily fast.

The 5/2 plan: Eat whatever your normal food intake is 5 days of the week, and on then on the other 2 days eat very small meals. An example would be to have your regular meals Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday and on Tuesday and Friday have only steamed vegetables or a light soup.

The 6/1 plan: Have whatever your regular meals are 6 days a week, and then completely fast from food the other day. This plan would work best for highly disciplined persons who is do not have a physically demanding job.

Bear in mind that if you decide to try one of these plans, there are CAUTIONS. 

PLEASE DO NOT FAST IF YOU ARE:

*Pregnant

*Younger than 18

*Frail or elderly

*Undergoing chemotherapy or radiation

*Dealing with hormonal diseases that require medications

*Have a history of eating disorders

***If you are not sure if intermittent fasting is appropriate for you, please discuss it with your doctor first.***

2. Exercise

When we exercise appropriately we put our body into a controlled, beneficial state of stress. When muscles are challenged with resistance, like lifting weights or doing a plank posture, it causes tiny micro-tears in our tissues. These tears stimulate minor inflammation which then triggers a cycle of cleansing and repair by the microphages. The macrophages from the lymph system then go into action, both stimulating the process of inflammation and doing the clean up of waste products left behind after the inflammation resolves.

Inflammation generally occurs in the first 24-36 hours after exercise. It typically feels like soreness or fatigue from the exercise. After 24-36 hours the body begins to lay down new collagen to both repair the established tissue and regenerate healthy new tissue. During this cycle a crew of macrophage cleaners are busy releasing soluble substances in our lymph system to remove debris, thereby making the tissue repair, regeneration and growth possible.

3. Sleep

When we sleep, our body and brain get the needed rest for recovery and rebuilding of tissue. During sleep the waste removal system of the brain, the glymphactic system, works to keep cellular debris from accumulating in the brain. The glymphatic system is a functional waste clearance pathway for the central nervous system. This pathway is composed of the cerebrospinal fluid housed in our spinal column and brain. The clearing of soluble proteins, waste products and excess extracellular fluid increases in this pathway during slow wave sleep.

*Research is being done to look into the possible role of the lymphatic system in preventing degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimers.*

In conclusion, our bodies have their own systems for “cleansing” the tissue and promoting tissue health. This system is greatly improved, as is our overall health when we avoid overeating, exercise regularly and appropriately and get enough quality sleep. And while eating right, exercising and sleeping enough are basic to human health, they’re not necessarily easy for everyone. Perhaps appreciating the amazing work our immune system does for us, day in day out, can inspire us to do our own part in keeping ourselves vibrant and well.

Why Do A Spring Cleanse?

in , ,

Now that I’m wrapping up with several clients whom I’ve guided through our Spring Cleanse and Ayurvedic De-tox, and now that Tiffany and I have finished our own annual spring cleanse, I have a few thoughts that I’d like to share with you. First, I recognize that a lot of you are interested in the cleanse but you’re not sure if the program we offer is one that will fit your timeframe, commitments and/or lifestyle. Let me provide a few more details on our program so that you have a better idea of what you’d be getting into if you, should you decide to try it.

Our program generally takes about 2 weeks to complete, give or take a few days. For daily coffee drinkers I generally recommend tapering off in advance of starting the first week of the cleanse. If you count these days you’re reducing your coffee intake, then it can add a little extra time to the program. I also think it’s a good idea for people who drink alcohol regularly to stop for 2 or 3 days before beginning to make other changes to diet and lifestyle. It’s not essential, but even moderate drinkers can sometimes experience a bit of withdrawal from stopping all intake of alcohol and it’s good to get this out of the way before starting this process.

Ayurvedic cleansing is partly about taking as much pressure off the digestive system as possible so that it can do it’s job more efficiently. That job, to transform the food we eat into a form that we can easily assimilate and transform into healthy tissue, can be made more difficult in multiple ways. Eating too fast, eating inappropriate food, eating at the wrong time and eating under stress are just a few of many examples of behaviors that make it harder for our digestive system to transform our food in an optimal way.

Some of these examples, such as eating under stress, may be due to circumstances beyond our control. But others, such as our choice of food, are well within our control and provide opportunities to make choices that are more favorable to our digestive health, better for assimilation, and helpful for producing better quality tissue along with better health overall.

When we make good choices with diet and lifestyle, good digestion and good health tend to follow. But we don’t always make the best choices and our digestion may suffer as a result. When this happens we tend to have poor transformation of food, poor assimilation and may sometimes begin to accumulate toxicity in the digestive tract.

Let me pause here a moment as say that while the above scenario is far from optimal, it is typical for most of us. Life gets in the way of making good choices and as I said, sometimes things are beyond our control. So this formation and accumulation of toxicity in the G.I. tract is something we all tend to have to some extent or another. And when this toxicity sticks around long enough it will eventually be absorbed and follow the food path into our tissue where it can damage tissue health and cause disease.

Again, this accumulation of toxicity is going on to some extent in all of us. However, a proper cleanse is a way of clawing back some of the health we lose as a result of these accumulated toxins, and while I can only offer anecdotal evidence that it works, my experience and that of the clients I’ve guided through the cleanse is a sense of renewal and clarity. The body and mind feel cleaner, better lubricated and they begin to hum along like a well tuned machine (I’m not generally crazy about the machine analogy when discussing the human body but I’m hoping it speaks to you in this case).

In addition to eliminating various foods and beverages to take stress of the digestive system, our spring cleanse also helps eliminate the toxicity that has already made its way into the tissue. This is what makes it different from other popular cleanses or fasts. Our program goes this extra step and and I think that’s what makes it so effective.

Tiffany, myself and our clients have experienced quite a few specific positive changes as a result of doing the spring cleanse. One is less pain in our bodies. Last year a client who has some arthritic joints saw a dramatic reduction in arthritic pain. This year some minor hip/back pain I’d been having resolved during the cleanse. For some clients, minor aches and pains completely disappear.

Another positive change that we’ve noticed in ourselves and in our clients is an improvement in mental clarity. Nearly every person that we’ve guided through the spring cleanse has commented on feeling more clear mentally during and after the cleanse.

The cleanse has also proved helpful to  clients with long standing digestive issues, and some of them have seen those issues significantly reduced or even eliminated during the cleanse. These are folks who have already tried making substantial changes to their diet in the past, such as eating a gluten free diet or eliminating dairy, without really seeing a signifiant change in their symptoms.

The dietary changes in our spring cleanse starts with an elimination of alcohol and caffeine and a short list of hard to digest foods. These changes can have a big impact on how we feel physically, but can sometimes be difficult psychologically (I know they sometimes are for me). I try to remind myself and my clients that however difficult some of these changes might be, they are only temporary and we needn’t feel that we must take on a major overhaul of our diet and lifestyle going forward – FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES!  This is not the point of the cleanse anyway. This cleanse is about making short term changes that have specific intentions meant to have specific effects, and once those effects are achieved then we should feel very free to go back to our normal diet.

Still, longer term changes can and do happen and most clients will decide to continue with some of the changes they’ve made during the cleanse even after they finish. Last spring, for instance, one client decided not to go back to caffeine after her cleanse. She decided she didn’t need it and gave it up. I’m not sure I could ever do that but I fully support her choice and was impressed with her resolve.

I’d also like to emphasize that our spring cleanse is not about pain and suffering. You will be eating three squares a day and will be encouraged to avoid anything that creates a lot of stress for you. In the same way that the cleanse design is partly about taking stress off of your digestive system, it’s even more about taking stress off of you. This give you space to see yourself more objectively and gain some clarity – about your diet, your lifestyle, your body, your mind and your health in general. This space allows the foods, substances or behaviors that aren’t serving you to be brought into focus and it begins a process of letting some things go. Ideally this happens gradually, naturally, and without difficulty.

Still, for those of you who aren’t up for any or all of the above, there are some good ways of making smaller changes this spring that will still have a significant impact. Here are a few:

  • Take a break from alcohol : If you drink alcohol regularly, it’s a good idea to take a break now and again. Try taking 2-4 weeks off entirely and see how you feel. Remember. It’s only temporary!
  • Lighten your diet : The qualities of moist and heavy tend to accumulate over the winter in the form of excess kapha. Look at all of the light green vegetables nature offers us this time of year. Asparagus, sugar snap peas and spring onions help reduce excess kapha and improve digestive health. Don’t like those foods? Just try eating less cheese.
  • Reduce Raw and Favor Cooked : Fresh raw veggies are so healthy right? Well yes, but they contain little or no fire element and can be too cooling for some and place a drag on our digestive fire. The solution – cook your veggies well. Worried about losing their valuable nutrients? Consider all of the nutrients you’ll be getting from your food when your digestion is really working its best!
  • Stop Snacking: Small meals more often is in my view, unhelpful for most people. Our digestive system needs time to complete the process of digestion and having a new meal after 2 hours, however modest, doesn’t allow that process to reach completion.
  • Try Intermittent Fasting: This can be as simple as not eating after a certain time or leaving at least 12 hours between your evening meal and your breakfast. Feeling more ambitious? Try skipping dinner one day a week.

There’s still time to schedule your Spring Cleanse and Ayurvedic De-Tox. If you’re interested or have more questions, feel free to email me any time.

Happy Spring!