The tongue scraper is the best little tool for your oral hygiene that you will ever purchase. I’ll get to that in a minute but first, let’s start with step 1 of your morning routine – waking up.
I have absolutely no doubt that the majority of you wake up to an alarm, a racing mind, a message or phone call, children calling or pets needing attention. You probably jump (or crawl) out of bed, potentially drowsy, lethargic or with your head spinning. Amongst all that, your body has had absolutely NO chance to wake up and regulate. Not great for the blood pressure, your digestion, sensory organs or your elimination processes. So, your challenge for this week is to spend exactly 30 seconds on waking up before your feet even touch the ground. I would like you to:
Rub the palms of your hands together to create some heat, then place the palms on your closed eyes. Open your eyes slowly under your hands and then gently take hands away.
Take a minimum of 4 deep breaths. Counting in for 4 as you breathe in through your nose. Hold for 4 counts and then exhale for 4 counts.
Then SLOWLY get out of bed, sitting on the edge for 5 seconds or so to allow the body to regulate and then get up.
All in all, it should really only take no more than an additional minute to get up, and for the benefits it creates, trust me, it’s worth it.
Next, I would like you to make a beeline for the bathroom and hopefully by your bathroom sink, you will have a tongue scraper. You can get them from The Sattva Centre Clinic (please inquire here for your purchase) or most good health food stores and suppliers. While asleep, particularly between the hours of 10pm and 2am, your body naturally detoxifies. Hence why you often wake up with a furry mouth, a need to go to the toilet, experience skin outbreaks and have bad breath. Cleansing in the morning is therefore really important, however in our community generally, we spend very little time doing this. Now I know that tongue scraping may initially sound a bit odd to some, but its actually very simple and quite a pleasant ritual to implement. Your mouth immediately feels cleaner and all the toxic gunk goes into the sink rather than back down into your stomach.
METHOD
Open the tongue scraper slightly to fit the shape of your tongue.
Gently starting from the back of the mouth scrape downwards and off, washing the collection of muck on the scraper down the sink.
Complete this up to as many times necessary before there is no further build up coming off the tongue. Please be gentle with your tongue – there is no need to scrape with force, it won’t be of any greater benefit and you will just damage the taste buds.
Lastly just rinse the scraper under some hot water to keep clean.
All best with starting your new morning routine!
DISCLAIMER
The sole purpose of these articles is to provide information about the science of Ayurveda. If you have an acute or chronic health concern, please consult your chosen trained health care professional who can fully assess your needs and address them effectively. If you are seeking the medical advice of a qualified Ayurvedic Practitioner, contact The Sattva Centre directly - info@thesattvacentre.com