Last week, I did an Ayurvedic Kitchari Cleanse. This may lead to a number of questions…what is that, why would you do that and what did you experience from the cleanse?? Let me try to explain that.
Over the last 11 years, I have found benefit in the Ayurvedic approach of using food as medicine, so much so that I no longer take medication for my Rheumatoid Arthritis, a once debilitating, and utterly unwelcome guest in my body.
Ayurveda originated in India more than 5,000 years ago and is considered the oldest continuously practiced health-care system in the world. Āyur means “life” and veda means “science” or “knowledge”, so it can be understood as a science of life. Ayurveda uses food as medicine, herbs, lifestyle routines, bodywork therapies, and gentle seasonal cleansing to nourish the tissues, remove stagnation, and increase health. So, as we manage this transition into fall, insert my own Ayurvedic cleanse, something that I actually haven’t done fully in a few years.
Ayurvedic cleanses have been used in India for many centuries to restore balance in the body and mind. It’s a way to improve your digestion and boost your immunity. When we don’t properly digest our foods, thoughts, or experiences—when we have poor digestion all around—it can lead to anxiety, foggy thinking, and lack of energy. My intention was to utilize this gentle cleansing to help restore my digestion and get back on track with healthy habits. The change of season is a perfect time to make a commitment to health, self-care, and feeling well.
This cleanse involves the release of toxins and waste that have accumulated in the body, in order to restore health and balance. It is more about nourishment than deprivation. The cleanse is detoxifying and rebalancing physically as well as emotionally and spiritually. It allows you to heal from inside out, essentially ridding your body of the toxic “stuff” that causes diseases, stress, and emotional turmoil.
So, what is kitchari and what does it have to do with this cleanse?
Put simply, kitchari is a mix of basmati rice and yellow mung beans, with ghee and spices. This is the heart of the cleanse and is food substantive enough that you can maintain your essential responsibilities of life. This mono-diet allows your digestive system to reset and supports the elimination of toxins, and balances your doshas. During the seven-day period that I ate this mono-diet, I also did other cleansing practices such as abhyanga (Ayurvedic oil massage) and gentle exercise, as well as taking detoxifying herbs and drinking detoxifying teas.
Here are some of the cleansing techniques I used during the 7-day cleanse.
Abhyanga: Oil massage to hydrate the tissues from the outside in. I used an ayurvedic oil every day in a deep-tissue self-massage to stimulate the skin and lymphatic system.
Nasaya: Oil in my nose! A few drops of oil in the nose to help lubricate the nasal cavity and cleanse the channels of nose and brain.
Detox Teas: Cumin, coriander and fennel (CCF) sipped all day, and various “detox teas” like dandelion a couple times a day for deeper detox. And lots of water!
Triphala: A tri-doshic (good for all doshas) supplement that works as a gentle laxative to keep things moving.
Tongue Scraping and Oil Pulling: The tongue gets a lot of buildup of toxins, so each morning it is scraped off with a tongue scraper, then oil pulling (swishing with coconut oil or daily swish) for 5-20 minutes helps clean the teeth and hydrate gums.
This go ‘round was far and away my favorite kitchari cleanse that I’ve done. My receptivity to it is a testament to how much I needed it in my life at this time. In a way, I was dreading it, as some of my cleansing experiences in the past have been a challenge, but I was committed nonetheless. But this time was different. My stomach never rumbled in hunger; my food and drinks were all warm and inviting and I really loved the freedom from thinking about food. Instead of spending time going back and forth with my husband about what to cook for dinner, I simply heated up some kitchari. (He was cleansing right alongside me this time, too, which is absolutely another positive contributing factor.)
I learned that I don’t need caffeine to be energized. While it took a few days for me to realize this energy, I was immediately surprised to find myself more adaptable and resilient than I thought. I could make it through the day without coffee. And if I could do that, what else could I do? Not having coffee allows a gentler wakeup flow. Changing this habit was one of the 2 things I feared the most about doing the cleanse, and yet it was so easy to change. Going forward, knowing that I was able to do this gives me space to look at some other habits that also might no longer serve me.
Another big aspect of this cleanse is giving up alcohol, the other habit that I was most concerned about changing. My glass of wine, with Steve’s small tumbler of tequila, had become our nightly wind down. Every night, regardless of the time or anything that led up to that moment, as soon as we sat down at night, we would sip these together. I’m not sure if it was the alcohol itself, or just the moment of daily connection with my husband that I was concerned about losing. The surprising thing, however, is that we continued to sit together every night, with hot water or tea, and we actually connected more. We engaged on a deeper level, as I now realize that even 1 sip of wine created a pavlovian-like response in me and I would become instantaneously sleepy. Without that, I was more alert and actually happier as we sat together and caught up from our days. It has only been a couple days since we completed the cleanse, but this new habit is one that we both intend to keep.
The mono-diet also allowed me to become more aware of the natural ebbs and flows of my hunger and energy, and the connection of those things to my mood. I became more conscious of my hunger and ate intuitively, when my body and mind told me it was time.
Overall, I really enjoyed this cleanse, and I am already looking forward to doing another cleanse during the transition into spring. I feel not only cleansed, but truly reset. My mind is clear, my sleep has been amazing, my sometimes still cranky joints are moving like a well-oiled machine and I really do feel like my body is functioning the way it is meant to. As the days move further past day 7 of the cleanse, I will continue to dig into deeper layers of myself and attempt to grow, change, and adapt my habits, my diet, and my flow to be the best version of myself.
I am worth it.