As we venture forward into 2022 you may not be fully recovered from indulging over the festive period. If you’re feeling a bit slow in getting back to your routine it’s most likely too much Christmas and new year celebrations have taken their toll on your body and mind.
Consuming lots of rich, fatty, sugary foods and alcohol on top of extra social activities can be wonderfully fun but can leave you somewhat stressed and unable to function as optimally as you need to.
In Yoga, we are trained to seek balance, and when we’ve tipped the scales one way we look at how to tip it back. One way to reboot your body is by kickstarting the cleansing process.
Your liver is the master detoxifier in your body. Its role is to neutralize anything that could harm us via your internal systems. When overloaded, your liver struggles to keep up, and in some cases, can be damaged.
The liver performs many essential tasks, such as:
- purifying the blood to get rid of harmful substances,
- producing proteins, cholesterol to help our bodies process and create nutrients and hormones critical to our bodies and minds,
- storing vitamins, minerals, and carbohydrates,
- stores energy and transforms stored sugar to a usable form when our blood sugar levels drop below normal,
- producing bile to break down and digest fats,
- helps the immune system and destroys old red blood cells.
Your liver requires large amounts of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to be able to perform optimally. There are many foods that you can incorporate to help reboot the liver. Try including more:
- Fresh fish like tuna, mackerel, anchovies, and sardines.
- Cruciferous vegetables like cauliflower, radishes, cabbage, and broccoli
- Plant infusions like rosemary or herbal teas
- Turmeric and garlic
- And lots of water!!!
From a Chinese Medicine perspective, the liver helps you digest not only your food affecting your body, but it also impacts the way you think and therefore your emotions. Have you ever felt after a big night out that little things bother you? frustrated? or easily angered?
What also helps your liver and your emotions is exercise.
Yoga offers some great targeted movements that when performed with deep diaphragmatic breathing, will increase the oxygen flow in your bloodstream. These postures not only physically kickstart your liver’s function but will really help to clear your head of toxic emotions.
For a physical boost try some of these yoga poses, mostly folds and twists to help detox the liver:
- Butterfly
- Fallen Triangle
- Half lord of the fishes
- Revolved Triangle
- Pyramid
- Twisted chair
- Revolved Lunges
For a mental boost try some of the following practices.
- Spending some time outside in nature in the fresh air and some sunshine.
- Walk or even stand barefoot on a patch of grass focusing on grounding yourself through the senses in your feet. If you’re lucky to be near the ocean, bury your feet and ankles in the sand. The earth is alive and your body will absorb its energy.
- Try some simple meditations focusing on the smooth flows of your breaths in and out. More oxygen in and carbon dioxide (which causes sluggishness) out.
- Bhastrika (fire) Breath has favorable effects on your respiratory and digestive system.
- Chanting RAM (pronounced Rum) over and over helps to clear & align our Solar Plexus Chakra.. Chanting also stimulates your breathing rhythm, whilst the repetition of sound is calming and focuses your mind.
Your liver is one small organ but it plays a big part in kickstarting a better you.
If you would like to learn more, or for a complete reset and recovery from the festive season join the program created by yoga teachers Tanya and Korrine as they run an evening on Rebooting your system by refreshing your palate, renewing your physical practice, and resetting your goals. Learn some new inspirational seeds you can plant now to reap the rewards as you move further into 2022.
The event is being held at Clayfield Yoga Studio, on Saturday 29 January 2022.
