In Ayurveda, Spring is the perfect time for cleansing and detoxing. The build up from the winter is more “liquid” now and available for movement. We often have more energy to put towards digestion, ritual and growth.
Our focus can be to clean out an organ, the skin, the lymphatic system-this process is more of a cleanse. We can do a cleanse for the gall bladder, the kidneys, use Laurel lymph compound and The lymphatic brush to move stagnation in the lymphatic system. How to spot a cleanse-lemon water, apple cider vinegar, jucing. You might also see certain herbs/plants-like cranberry for cleansing the urinary tract. Another is binders-to clean out the intestinal tract; allowing us to remove bacteria and pathogens. The Laurel Detox mask will cleanse the skin deeply.
Detoxing-think of this as more of a process of collecting/gathering/containing/binding things in the body and moving them out; whereas the cleanse is getting cleaner. An example of detoxing is accessing and binding heavy metals in the body to be removed. We use things like a biofilm disruptor to access protected pathogens. A slimy layer is the biofilm, it is actually very comples, and it protects bacteria, metlas, fungi and parasites to stay in us and live longer. It also protects them from our attempts at ridding our body. A biofilm disruptor uses enzymes to break this protection barrier, allowing our herbal and other remedies to work to remove them (detox).
A favorite of mine is the functional medicine detox for 7, 14, 21 days where we access and gather toxins accumulated in our fat cells, make it water soluble and allow it to move through our liver. It helps to clean up the blood and remove plastics, estrogens form these poducts, environmental toxins we are exposed to daily.
Both of these practices often include a form of fasting which is very supportive to the degstive tract, our organs (so long as getting needed nutrients), and the removal of cancer causing cell states. Cleanses can be a part of detoxing if they have needed herbs/vitamins. Combining the two into your lifestyle is one of the best ways to both wellness and longevity.