Ayurvedic Tongue Scraping

Hello Friends,

So this one is more of a "Health Tip" then an Asana class. If you have never heard of it before... welcome to the tradition of scraping your tongue.

In the evening while we sleep, our body tries to restore, rejuvenate, clean our bodies. Our bodies are trying to move the toxins out of our system. Upon waking the surface of the tongue has a layer of toxic film (Ama) on it that in Ayurveda we scrape off every morning during our daily routine. It removes the toxic film and clears it from the body. Not only does it help keep the mouth cleaner (your dentist will be happy), but it also helps you maintain a healthy mouth microbiome. Yep - you have one of those not just in your gut, but also in your mouth (actually on/in pretty much every part of your body inside and out).

This is important not only for oral hygiene, but more importantly for digestion. Ya see, the mouth is the beginning of the digest process. Chewing food not only literally breaks it down size wise, but the saliva has important enzymes (REALLY important enzymes) that start to break down the food. If we skip this process and just hurry the food into the stomach, our body has a harder time breaking down complex carbohydrates and fats into a form we can absorb and utilize. If we have a film of toxic substances on your tongue we are not creating a space for the beneficial bacteria to thrive.

Personal share - I'm so guilty of barely chewing my food and just shoving it in. My whole life I have been in such a hurry to eat so I can get to the next thing. Often eating while working, or driving, or something on the move. I also have lived with Disordered Eating and just shoved food into my mouth, not even remotely mindfully, and barely chewed (Binge Eating Disorder). This has been the main habit around my digestion for most of my life and I am practicing to change that. Boy of boy has it been hard to change. But it's happening. Poco a poco!!!!!

Back to tongue scraping... It is disgusting (in a good way) to see what comes off of your tongue. After watching the amount of toxic film I scrape off of my tongue each day... there is no way I can't NOT scrape it. And it's crazy to see how much more I have on the days when I eat the things I know my body can't digest. When I cleanse each spring, I have very little I scrape off after the initial coupla days. I love that it's another form of awareness of what my body can and can't easily digest.

Here in Walla, there are no metal scrapers that I have found, so I would suggest purchasing one online. Friends in big cities: Whole Foods, Local Natural Health Care Stores, etc.... have them (or used to when I lived there). I encourage each of you to get a metal scraper and not a plastic one for sooooooooooo many reasons.

Banyan Botanicals is where I got mine. Love it. Keeps it's shape, has lasted for 5 years and will last for many more. Probably the last one I'll ever buy.

For a copper tongue scraper I found this one online.

Ayurveda uses copper utensils, drinking cups, tea kettles, etc... Copper is an extremely important mineral that not only kills bacteria but helps to balance the body’s doshas. That's the short of it. Maybe someday I'll upgrade, but probably not. I have a stainless steel one the works well and I try not to buy any more metal than I need as we pull it out of Mama Gaia's body to make all of our "things". That is an awfully long post about tongue scraping. I think it is crazy important and a great new ritual to add to your morning that takes almost no time and has NUMEROUS benefits for your mouth, your digestion, and your health.

Have a great day Friends!!!

SO.MUCH.LOVE