How to Use Yoga to Detox

Any yoga pose can be detoxifying for your body. Yoga stimulates the adrenal system, which helps remove waste and toxins from your body. Hot yoga is especially detoxifying because sweat also releases many toxins from your body. Practicing yoga postures (asanas) in a hot room,can have powerful detoxifying effects. One lesser known method of detoxification is special breathing. Breath of Fire and Kapalabhati breathing are two yogic breathing techniques that can flood the system with oxygen and promote the release of toxins.

Instructions

    • 1

      Begin your practice in a heated room. Between 85 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit is optimal, but optional. Yoga is still effective for detoxifying even if you are practicing in a room-temperature environment or outdoors.

    • 2

      Warm up for five minutes. This can be done in any way you chose. A good warm-up routine would be three to five repetitions of Sun Salutations. After you are warmed up, you are ready to begin your yoga-detox postures.

    • 3

      Standing with legs straight, bend forward so that your fingers touch the ground. Feet should be hip-width apart. If you are not able to touch the ground, modify the pose by grasping your elbows in your hands and gently hang down.

    • 4

      Keep your abdominals tight and begin the Breath of Fire. Breath-of-fire is like panting, but through your nose, with your mouth closed. Hold the pose and continue to breathe for one or two minutes.

    • 5

      Take a deep breath in through the nose and breathe naturally.

    • 6

      Remain bent forward, hands touching the ground, shoulder-width apart. Inhale deeply and stretch your right leg out behind you. If you have hip issues or limited flexibility, stretch your leg behind you and modify by keeping the foot on the floor.

    • 7

      Inhale through your nose, hold your breath and stretch.

    • 8

      Exhale loudly through your mouth and pull your leg back in to your chest. Repeat the pose between five to ten times, then switch legs. These are called Shakti Kicks. Remember to inhale deeply through the nose and exhale loudly through the mouth. Shakti kicks detox your body by stimulating the digestive, circulatory and adrenal systems.

    • 9

      Step you feet backwards and come into downward dog pose. Stay in the pose and stretch your right leg out behind you, holding it as high up as you can.

    • 10

      Squeeze your belly into your spine and begin the Breath of Fire. Pulse your leg slowly 10 times. Switch sides and repeat with your left leg. These are called Down Dog Splits. The detox benefits of Down Dog Splits are that they stimulate your adrenal, digestive and circulatory systems. Any abdominal exercise will help to stimulate the stomach and intestines.

    • 11

      Move in to push-up position and change to long, slow deep breathing through the nose, or mouth if it is more comfortable. Hold the pose for one minute.

    • 12

      Lower yourself onto the floor, belly-down.

    • 13

      Move in to Bow Pose by bending your knees and grabbing your ankles with your hands.

    • 14

      Press your feet into your hands and allow your thighs, head, shoulders and chest to rise off the ground.

    • 15

      Begin the Breath of Fire and hold the pose for one or two minutes. Release the pose and rise to a kneeling position.

    • 16

      Closing your eyes, do several rounds of Kapalabhati breath. Kapalbhati breath is a forceful exhale and a passive inhale. Squeeze your abdominals in very tightly as you exhale, and relax them as you inhale. Breathe at a pace that feels comfortable.

    • 17

      Rest in Child's Pose to finish your detox. Use long, slow deep breathing and focus on being perfectly pure and clean inside.