Chances are, if you have a yoga practice, you are conscious about your health. Yoga is a complete discipline that addresses every aspects of life: the physical, mental and spiritual. So as you practice asanas to regain or maintain flexibility on the physical level, you may also meditate to give a break to the never ending activity of your mind and create space for new fresh thoughts. While you continue to care for your physical, mental and spiritual health you may want to implement some natural ayurvedic techniques such as tongue scrapping or oil pulling. Ayurveda is an ancient traditional healing system originated in India. Contrarily to the western medicine which treats symptoms, Ayurveda focuses on the root cause of a health problem.
Scrapping your tongue is done with a specific non sharp curved instrument, made from stainless steel or copper. I have used the ones with plastic ends but it got moldy. I now use this exact one
If practiced daily in the morning on an empty stomach, it helps remove the overnight bacteria and toxins build up. It can improve the sense of taste and on the energetic level, it is said scrapping daily stimulate the internal organs and digestion.
Another interesting method is oil pulling or swishing oil in your mouth for a few minutes, as you would with mouthwash. Except that it is not some sugary commercial mouthwash with ingredients names you cannot pronounce (yes, I have a strong opinion on store bought mouthwash). Cleansing, detoxifying and hydrating at the same time, oil pulling has many known benefits on the physical level. Personally, I find the exotic aroma of virgin coconut oil uplifting and calming. This organic virgin coconut oil
Scrapping your tongue or oil pulling may be less known in the West but they are fantastic natural care techniques. I highly recommend you give it a few shots and see the difference for yourself. It is inexpensive and can easily be integrated in your natural oral care routine.
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