4 ways cleansing relieves pain & improves flexibility

If you are stiff, your muscles hurt and your joints ache, your body has a message for you.

You are toxic, acidic and dehydrated.

You need to flush those acids from your tissues, eliminate toxic inflammatory foods from your diet and nourish your muscles and joints through movement - yoga is ideal in this regard.

Have you ever noticed that a lot of retreats combine raw foods with yoga?

That's because raw foods are cleansing and they help flush acids out of your tissues and joints - in other words they bring down inflammation and deeply hydrate you creating optimal pH balance.

While it is true that the yogic philosophy and raw food paradigm mesh quite well together on principle- we don’t all need to become raw foodists or fly to the tropics to get the same results (although attending a raw food yoga retreat is definately on my bucket list!).

So what to do if you can’t afford to fly to a retreat centre?

Don’t worry, you can still get the same benefits at home (minus the eco- luxury and palm trees maybe?).

Getting the benefit of raw alkalizing foods in your yoga practice isn’t as much about going raw, as it is about reducing inflammation in your body.

There are real physiological reasons why yoga and raw foods work so well together.

Like I mentioned previously, raw foods are inherently cleansing and hydrating - which helps to reduce inflammation and pain in the body - therefore enhancing flexibility.

But did you know that sluggish digestion and a congested liver can also cause tension and tightness in your body - and therefore limit your yoga practice because of decreased flexibility?

Here’s how:
1) The liver rules the tendons. When the liver is overburdened, it becomes nutrient depleted and will draw on nutrition from the tendons causing unusual contraction, weakness in related muscles and an inflexible and rigid body.

2) When the liver can’t catch up on detoxification it will send toxins to the joints as a storage space (too protect our vital organs) thus causing inflammation and pain in the joints.

3) Toxic bodies are often too acidic (from poor diet and lifestyle habits) – these acids cause pain and inflammation, making us feel stiff and achy.

4) When bile flow is low – the synovial fluids that protect and bathe our joints decreases. Many back problems and joint pains are the direct result of inadequate bile flow.

But what if you don't like eating a lot of raw food (or can't digest raw foods well)?

That is no problem at all, there are plenty of alkaline rich anti-inflammatory foods that you can eat to give you the same benefit without having to become a raw 'foodist'. 

And you don't have to wait until you have the time and money to fly to the tropics either.

You can cleanse from the comfort of your own home!

If you want to take your yoga practice to the next level and increase your flexibility or simply just bring pain and inflammation down in your body, then you'll love this free training on how to cleanse (and of course as a good side effect of improved health, normalize your weight too)!

Click here to get FREE access!

If you are looking to go on a tropical yoga retreat, then you might want to connect with my friend Shri who hosts yoga retreats in Costa Rica.