When we’re focussing on improving our health, an easy way to help detoxify the system is with Hot Water Therapy.
Over many years now, I’ve followed the Aurveydic recommendation of having a cup of hot water first thing in the morning (often with a squeeze of lemon in it), then sipping a flask of hot water throughout the day.
The idea is to cleanse and hydrate the body before drinking/eating anything else and it also gets the digestion working.
Sipping hot water throughout the day is a bit like washing dishes in hot soapy water, the ‘ama’ – stagnant accumulation of toxins from foods, gets ‘washed away’ and eliminated from the system. This is a really important exercise when there’s inflammation in the body.
It also just feels really nice in the body – a lot more so than drinking cold water.
Here’s some info I’ve copied from a Ayurvedic website to explain this more:
One of the main Ayurvedic pillars of health is the elimination of toxins from the body. These toxins can be formed internally, from the incomplete processing of food (due to overeating or low digestion) and from stress. Toxins can also be absorbed from the external world through breathing, drinking and eating.
Ayurveda’s collective name for all type of toxic impurities is Ama, and preventing the build-up of Ama in your tissues is crucial for health.
When your digestive fire, called Agni, is low, digestion is poor. Low digestion can result in incompletely digested food residing in your gut. From this mixture, toxic Ama gradually forms. If this build-up of Ama is not dealt with, it can enter the circulatory system and be transported and distributed throughout your body.
Because it disrupts the fine biochemistry within your cells and tissues, and blocks the channels of circulation and communication, Ayurveda considers the build-up of Ama to be a contributing factor in almost all diseases.
One of the most effective Ama-removing approaches is to drink hot water frequently through-out the day.
As the hot water flows through your digestive tract, it will cleanse the entire digestive and eliminative system and help dissolve Ama impurities. Your digestion and assimilation of food will improve, as will your elimination. Having a stronger digestive fire, and more effective elimination, will also prevent any further Ama from forming.
The hot water will also be absorbed into your circulatory system and travel throughout your body. The extra fluidity and warmth this provides helps open the circulatory channels, known as Shrotas, and helps dissolve and wash away any accumulated Ama that is blocking both tissue and cellular channels. The result is that nutrition can be delivered more effectively to your cells and cellular metabolic waste is more efficiently eliminated.
After just a few weeks of regularly hot water drinking, many people report that their digestion and elimination have improved and they feel fresher and lighter.
What’s the procedure?
Usually it’s recommended to boil some water, put it into a flask and pour out small amounts to sip frequently throughout the day — up to every 30 minutes. Even a few small sips of hot water helps clear the body channels, remove toxins and aids the appetite. (Though be careful not to have the water so hot that it burns your mouth.)
Herbal Add-ons
A few herbs/spices can increase the cleansing influence of the water. In your hot water flask, you can add:
- a few slices of ginger root
- a pinch of turmeric (or a few slices of turmeric root)
- a few fennel seeds
- a little lemon or lime juice can also be added
‘Hot Eater Therapy’ (a fancy term for drinking hot water) really is a very easy but incredibly effective way to boost your overall health and wellbeing.
Whilst you’re at the kettle boiling the water, you could add in some hip rotations (imagine swirling a hole hoop) and ‘do the twist’ Elvis Presley style to ease tight hip rotator muscles and tone your waist.
Easy Movement and Detox tools – winning!
