Your liver is one of your largest organs in the body and works extremely hard to remove harmful toxins from the body. Keeping it healthy is vital to your overall well being. As we practice yoga we are constantly learning more about ourselves and our body but there is always more to learn. Do you know if your liver is in need of some love and attention?
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, Spring is the season of the liver. Imagine spring as a sort of “awakening” for the liver, a time when it becomes more active, working hard to clean out a winter’s worth of congestion.
Today I want to focus on giving it some extra support and love. I’ve pulled together 8 simple tips to help keep your liver healthy …and happy. I hope you will give it some extra support by trying a few of these practices:
- Start your morning off with warm water and the juice of a half a fresh lemon-this contributes to the alkalinity of your body’s system.
- Try oil pulling in the morning before brushing your teeth (I like to use organic coconut oil) and swoosh about a tablespoon in your mouth for 10-20 minutes and then discard in the trash. (hint: never discard oil in the sink as it will eventually harden and ruin your drain)
- Get out there and sweat! Exercise or sit in a sauna as sweating releases and liberates toxins.
- Practice a breathing technique, often used in Kundalini Yoga, called Breath of Fire. This not only expands the capacity of the lungs to breathe deeper and more effeciantly but it also quickly oxygenates your blood. Within just 3 minutes of breath of fire, the body begins to detoxify itself and removes waste more effectively.
- Practice yoga poses that invite you to twist the torso. You can do gentle seated twists or more active poses such as twisted chair ( pavrita ukhatasana) but always remember to lengthen the spine on the inhale and twist on the exhale.
- Enjoy green veggie juices and get enough fiber-rich foods to bind up toxins in the gut and help promote elimination.
- Have some curry! The turmeric in curry powder is anti-inflammatory and contribute to the production of glutathione, a potent liver-protectvie antioxidant. Avocados are also a rich source of glutathione.
- Take an Epsom salt bath before bed. Not only will magnesium-rich epsom salts help you sleep, they also draw toxins out of the body.
