Tongue scraping' - The Many Health Benefits & Technique

Tongue scraping' - Benefits & Technique

My past 2 blog posts emphasized the importance of scraping your tongue in order to both prevent disease or, heal faster, when already sick. Tongue scraping was performed by yogis long before tongue scrapers even existed. Back then, they simply used their fingers or twigs from Neem trees - which also offer many other benefits for oral hygiene. Tongue scraping was included as part of 'Kriya Yoga & shatkarmas', i.e. the purification techniques that form part of Yoga as it is performed by earnest spiritual aspirants. Through those techniques, yogis and sages intended to  keep their bodies healthy and pure because they knew that physical pains and ailments were the main root cause for mental disturbances. And without peace of mind, they knew that they could never hope to reach spiritual enlightenment. Whether you are after 'illumination' or not, you will greatly benefit from the ancient practices inherited from Kriya Yoga. Following is a short explanation on the benefits of scraping the tongue and some easy tips on how to do it effectively.

Benefits

In addition to brushing and flossing your teeth daily, scraping the tongue is an important daily routine to assure optimal oral and overall health. Using a tongue scrapper will dislodge bacteria, food deposits and other impurities which cause an unhealthy coating on the surface of your tongue and are later re-absorbed into the blood stream each time you eat or drink. Scraping the tongue will also freshen your breath and improve tasting foods. 

Technique

When choosing a tongue scraper, favor a stainless steel apparel. Always rinse your tongue scraper before each use. Scrape your tongue starting from the very back and moving towards the front. Scrape gently but firmly until the coat has disappeared or greatly subsided. You will know that you are finished when there is no remaining mucus substance on your tongue scraper. Be sure to rinse your scraper under warm running water after each sweep of the tongue. Scraping should be performed 3 times a day right after brushing your teeth following each meal. You may increase the frequency if you are sick or feel like you have large deposits on your tongue all the time, which will surely happen if you drink a lot of coffee, smoke, eat large volumes of dairy products or/ and processed foods.

Scraping your tongue won't treat the root cause for excessive deposits on your tongue and it is therefore a good idea to try and identify the root cause by looking at your food intake so that you may have a healthy looking tongue, reflecting a good state of health. That said, scrapping your tongue will most definitely lead to be an improvement in both your breath and health, or at least prevent any deterioration!

If you enjoyed this bog, keep following our posts on this blog, like our page, join our group and be sure to visit my website at www.thesouthbeachdetox.com where I cover detox tips and the most effective ways to holistic body and mind cleansing.

Enjoy your day and keep scraping…that tongue!

Tips For A Healthy Lifestyle: 'Placebos Work Even When Patients Aren't Fooled'

Tips For A Healthy Lifestyle: 'Placebos Work Even When Patients Aren't Fooled'
Dr. Weil's Daily Tip, December 22, 2010

The result of this recent study is significant in outlining the importance of psychological factors in healing. If the very act of taking a pill ritualistically and bringing attention to one's health and healing in the process generates benefits that are comparable to taking a "real" remedy, that says a lot about the power of the mind to heal our body.  For more, read the short article by Dr. Weil below. 

Placebos - pills that have no active ingredients - are used in scientific studies as controls, and investigations are often designed so that neither patients nor doctors know who is getting the fake and who is getting the real drug. Placebos are effective about one-third of the time anyway because patients expect to feel better when given what they think is medication. Now a study has found that they can work even when patients know they're getting a blank instead of a bullet. Here, 80 individuals with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) were divided into two groups. The first received no treatment; the second were given what were described as "sugar pills" to take twice a day for three weeks. At that point, 59 percent of the patients who used the placebos reported "adequate symptom relief" compared to 35 percent of those who had no treatment. The researchers said that the improvement was "roughly equivalent to the effects of the most powerful IBS medications" and suggested that performing the "medical ritual" of taking pills may be of significant benefit and needs more study. The results were published in the journal PLoS ONE on Dec. 22, 2010.