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Removing Toxins
The Natural Way
by Su Hagan CertEd, CertAyNep,
SPClinDipA
www.theseedinstitute.co.uk
Lifestyles and health mutually influence
each other. It is increasingly apparent that our health depends on what
and how we eat, whether or not we exercise and, most
importantly, how we think and feel.
These theories are not new! Ayurvedic medicine,
rooted in the purification and rejuvenation of the body (such that the
mind can become enlightened) is the earliest known preventative medical
system in mankind~s history. In western medicine, we visit the doctor
when we are sick - by when, according to Ayurveda, it could be too late
to use gentle and gradual methods.
Regarding such concepts as free radicals
and liver enzymes, we see that this knowledge has long existed in Ayurvedic
texts. The theory of Ayurvedic bio-energy is very similar to Western
concepts of immunology and stress. An Ayurvedic lifestyle, of which
Aromatherapy is a large part, teaches that, if the body and the psyche
remain free of stress, this strengthens the immune system and pre-empts
illness.
The brain and immune system are not simply
like each other - they are each other to the degree that they work within
the same chemical network. The only difference between a brain-cell
and an immune-cell is that their DNA has, in each case, selected to
emphasise certain aspects of its
total knowledge and suppress others. To all intents and purposes, to
feel happy and to fight cancer is much the same thing at the molecular
level.
The Reticulo-endothelial System (R.E.S)
is a storage, exchange, elimination and defence system. It deals with
toxins from food, drugs, and medicines and is an essential part of the
Lymphatic System.
The R.E.S. comprises mesenchymal and connective
tissue, both liberally distributed throughout the body. It consists
of muscles, fat-deposits and intermediate tissues between the organs
~ representing a complete tissue-bank. These cells include phagocytes
(Greek - Phago - I eat and Kytos - cell), which destroy the results
of injury and/or infection and are found in the bone marrow, lymph nodes,
spleen, liver and kidneys. When acid gets into the blood, the homeostatic
control-area ensures that the acid is laid down in the R.E.S., which,
acts as a massive storage system, i.e. it stores all the toxic residue
that would otherwise be lethal. If the levels of acid in the body remain
constant, the R.E.S. becomes saturated and the body becomes heavily
predisposed towards disease.
It is at this point that detoxification
is urgently needed ~but it must be gentle and gradual. Ayurveda asserts
that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Therefore, combinations
of herbs and of treatments are used. Assessing the individual as a whole,
the Practitioner creates a
programme unique to the patient. For example, the patient might need
a liver tonic to de-toxify, or the stomach might need to be cleansed
to increase digestive fire - before liver de-toxifying herbs can be
used. No two programmes are the same ~ we are each unique.
Detoxification is a complex process, to
be undertaken only under the supervision of an accomplished Therapist.
However, regular self-massage is an excellent way to both prevent further
toxic build up and to prepare the body for deeper detoxification.
One very effective way of managing stress
and the resulting ill health is through Aromatherapy Massage. Such a
massage loosens tight muscles, facilitating toxins to be cleared from
the body. The oils used should be pure essential oils, individually
chosen, so that the blend complements
the person and their symptoms.
Bodies respond positively to routine and
react to lack of it. One cannot de-toxify in the midst of one's usual
schedule. One cannot ask the body to release its accumulated toxicity
and concurrently expect it to dash for the train, eat on the run and
clinch 3 deals before lunchtime.
When we de-toxify the body, we act on one
of the most important systems of the human body - the Lymphatic System.
An important part in the body's defence-mechanisms, it filters out organisms
that cause disease, produces certain white blood cells, generates antibodies
and distributes fluids and nutrients for the body as part of its drainage
- so that tissues do not become oedematous.
The human organism comprises approximately
70% water and it is from this fluid that the cells draw their nutritious
elements - minerals and vitamins in solution - supplied by the blood.
This fluid is both a food store and a dump into which cells also abandon
the residues of their digestion - the waste products of the cellular
metabolism.
The fraction of interstitial fluid that
penetrates into drainage ducts is subject to alteration. The chemical
composition changes and the fluid acquires new properties - it becomes
lymph. Lymph plays an important role in the immune system and in absorbing
fats from the intestines. There are more than 100 oval, lymph nodes,
mainly in the neck, groin and armpits - though they are also scattered
all along the lymphatic vessels. The size of the nodes/glands varies
from the size of a grain of rice to that of an olive stone. They are
joined into chains at different levels and act as barriers erected to
defend the organism against infection by filtering out and destroying
toxins and germs.
In de-toxifying the body, we assist the
Lymphatic and Immune System. An excellent way to begin a cleansing programme
is to use the Castor Oil Pack. In the past, it has been used in pregnancy
~ both to induce birth and to cleanse the colon prior to birth.
Personal experience, both with ourselves
and with clients, has proven the efficacy of Castor Oil in countering
congestion of the lymphatic system and its results, e.g. inflammation,
skin-disorders, liver and gall-bladder disturbances, abscesses, haemorrhoids,
constipation, headaches, lumpy, painful breasts, intestinal obstructions
and varicose veins.
A cloth of cotton sheeting, or a washing
flannel, is folded in several layers, then saturated with warm, high
quality, cold-pressed, castor oil and placed upon the affected area.
Cover with a plastic bag and place a hot water bottle on top. Wrap a
towel around the area to hold everything in place. Keep the pack on
for 1 ~ 1.5 hours. The oil penetrates the skin and works down into the
tissues.
Keep the flannel pack wrapped in plastic
for future use. It can be used many times. Beware, Castor Oil is messy;
lie on plastic or something that you do not mind being soaked in oil.
Edgar Cayce suggested that castor oil packs
can strengthen Peyer's Patches ~ tiny patches of lymphatic tissue on
the mucosal surface of the small intestine. According to Cayce, the
Peyer's Patches produce a substance which facilities electrical contact
between the autonomous and
the cerebrospinal nervous system when it reaches those areas via the
bloodstream. Cayce says that the health of the entire nervous system
is, to an extent, maintained through the substance produced by the Peyer's
Patches when they are in good health. Although the Peyer's Patches were
discovered in 1677, it is only in more recent times that medical science
has begun to recognise them as constituents of the body's immune system.
When we begin to de-toxify, there will be
changes in the bodily systems. Symptoms may get worse before they get
better.
An important part of healing is psychological
improvement ~ even though physical symptoms may be worse.
Symptoms often leave the body downwards;
a headache may become a backache, an upset stomach may eliminate as
diarrhoea and a rash on the chest may leave via the feet. Problems usually
resolve from inside, outwards; internal illness may expel itself as
a rash - as in the case of
measles or chickenpox; food poisoning may cause vomiting; toxins can
express through the hair, nails or soles of the feet. Sweating can increase
and have a stronger smell than when in good health.
Recovery from illness can appear to regress
through symptoms previously suffered. For example, in pneumonia, it
is rare that one wakes up with pneumonia; it is far more usual to go
through cold symptoms, flu-like symptoms and a mild chest infection
before one develops pneumonia.
Recovery reverses the process - the way down is the way up~. Chronic
conditions often respond in the same way. For example, a rheumatoid
arthritic may find a rash accompanies improvement that is reminiscent
of one they had in their earlier years ~ a rash that may have been suppressed,
causing the condition to deepen.
Penultimately Ayurveda states that:
-
It is a natural state of the individual
to be
healthy
-
disease can be prevented by the treatment
of the
three Doshas (which means ~that which can easily go out of
balance~) inherent in everyone
-
the root cause of disease is a lack
of digestive
fire and this results in the formation of ~ama~, or toxins
that disrupt the Doshas, as food is not digested properly.
-
illness is produced by a sense of separation
from
reality.
-
And finally: the body has an innate,
inborn, ability to heal itself.
Su Hagan
The S.E.E.D. Institute
10 Magnolia Way
Fleet
Hampshire
GU52 7JZ
U.K.
01252 626448
E-mail: SEEDInstUK@aol.com
www.theseedinstitute.co.uk
For information on Ayurvedic and Aromatherapy training and
treatment please contact the above.
This article courtesy of http://www.health-resources.co.uk.
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