5 Day Ayurvedic Cleanse

Our bodies are overwhelmed with never-ending stressors including, environmental toxins, processed foods, unresolved emotions and psychological stress among others.  These stressors lead to accumulation of toxins, which with time build up in the system and get deposited in the body tissues.

The body becomes imbalanced and may not function the way it is supposed to. This compromises our health and general wellbeing.

In order to bring our bodies to the normal functioning, we need to remove the toxins that have accumulated in it. We can do so by undergoing a cleansing, which removes the toxicity inside out.

Ayurveda treatment helps the body to remove toxins, rest, heal and repair itself. This treatment improves your body strength, energy, immunity and also your mental health.

A simple five day cleanse resets the digestive system, rejuvenates the body, creates a sustainable weight loss and rebalances the body doshas.

You can opt for the five-day cleansing if you are experiencing:

• Fatigue
• Congestion
• Digestive Problems like Constipation
• Insomnia
• Back and joint pains
• Allergies
• Skin problems among others

Cleansing for 5 days using Ayurveda practices brings you quick results within a short time. Here are some of the benefits of this cleansing:

• Helps in losing weight faster to attain a healthy body weight
• Helps you to attain and maintain a balanced sleep cycle
• Eliminates toxins, also called ama from your body
• It restores a sense of calmness to your mind and nervous system
• You get clarity in your mental, spiritual and emotional systems
• It helps your body attain a natural state of balance
• Cleansing nourishes and rejuvenates the body tissues
• Promotes general health and wellbeing

Before you start cleansing, start a vegetarian diet one week or at least two days before you start ghee drinking.

Drink warm or hot water throughout the day. You can try lemon water, ginger water, mint water and tulsi water. Spices like cumin, cinnamon, and, ajwain can also be added to the water. Water cleans the body and promotes digestion.

Avoid taking any form of cold drinks including ice water and cold beverages.

Go to bed by 9:30 pm to allow time for the body to detoxify, since the process starts from around 10:00 pm.

Avoid, caffeinated drinks, smoking and alcoholic drinks when planning to start a detox. The liver uses a lot of energy to remove alcohol from the body, so when we drink alcohol the liver consumes so much energy thus neglecting other important bodily functions.

• Try and be as stress free as possible during this time. Stress is a major cause of toxin accumulation in the body, so it is paramount for you to keep away from it when you are cleansing. Ensure you are in a relaxed environment with no disturbances and external influences that alter with your peace of mind.
• Sleep in a quiet, clean and well aerated room. You can consider a hotel room with ambience to activate the mind to relax and remain calm all through your cleansing.
• Observe the advised diet. Ensure to follow the diet your Ayurveda practitioner recommended. In order to achieve the results of a cleanse, you ought to follow a strict diet and make some lifestyle changes.  Cheating on your diet will drag you behind and you may not achieve the intended results. You therefore need to be disciplined during the five days you will be cleansing your body.
• Drink plenty of water. When you wake up in the morning the first thing you should do is drink warm water. It is advised to keep drinking water throughout the day when you are undergoing a detox process.
• Do light exercises, those you love and enjoy when detoxing. It helps to ease the intensity of the process when you engage in activities that you love. Activities that help when cleansing include, reading fun books, watching inspirational movies, leisure walks, meditation or yoga.

Day 1 to 3 of detox

• Wake up before 6:00 am
• Take hot water or digestive water
• Walk for 10 to 20 minutes or do light exercise
• Drink the medicated ghee and then stretch for 15 to 30 minutes
• Have your breakfast. Consider kanji, which is a traditional Indian soup made from red or brown rice.
• A few minutes before lunch stretch again for 15 to 30 minutes.
• Take your lunch between 12/;30 and 1:30. Eat kanji once more for lunch.
• At around 3:30 stretch for 15 to 30 minutes and then take a shower.
• Enjoy kanji soup for dinner at around 7:00 pm and sleep before 10:00 pm.

Remember to eat only when you are hungry and in between meals take warm or herbal water to stay hydrated.

Day 4 routine

During the second last day of your detox, substitute kanji with pure vegetarian meals. Follow the same routine you have been following for the past three days.

Do not snack between meals or take any raw foods.

Day 5 routine

On day 5 is when you remove the toxins from the body fully through virechana or purgation therapy. Virechana is a type of Pachakarma treatment that involves use of herbal laxatives to eliminate toxins from the body.

The toxins are removed through bowels therefore cleansing the small intestines, spleen, kidney, colon and also the liver. 
When performing this therapy, you need to be under supervision of an Ayurveda expert. You will go through oleation therapy, which is intense sweating to isolate the toxic or excess doshas in the system.

You will then be administered with natural laxatives like Trivit, Jayapala, Avipathi Churna or Aragvadha, which trigger bowel movements.

If virechana is well applied, it can help cure kidney stones, asthma, ulcers, gastritis and other intestinal complications.
Your physician may also advice vamana therapy, which removes toxins through induced vomiting.

When you are done with your five days’ detox, you need to take care of your body to prevent the body from going back to accumulating toxins. Also your digestive system becomes used to a clean diet and will therefore be sensitive to over stimulating or processed foods.

Here are the practices to follow after cleansing:

• You should add foods gradually to your diet
• Continue taking the supplements for 2 to three months
• Maintain specific routine, for instance your sleeping, waking up and eating routines

Post cleansing is usually the most challenging phase for many people so you need to be mentally prepared to continue the discipline attained during active cleansing.

Practice rejuvenating activities, plan your meals ahead and be patient with yourself to make the process more enjoyable. The benefits of a cleanse may not be felt immediately, so you need to give your body grace and be patient.