The Ultimate Facial Cardio

The Ultimate Facial Cardio

Have you never wondered why there is no gym for the face? Imagine having a tiny treadmill, and leg press for the chin or cross trainers for the cheeks (we can call them cheeky trainers, right?)???? Imagine if you could join the gym for some cardio for the face!!!

So… I set my little mind thinking about the possibilities and exploring how we could achieve that and knocked at the doors of Google! And after multiple searches and reading articles and papers chanced upon an article on “Oil Pulling”!  Now if you are like me, the first time you heard the words “Oil Pulling” your mind conjured up a picture of an oil well, a bucket and rope and lot of elbow grease lifting the bucket load of oil out!!!

So its not any of that! This ancient piece of Ayurvedic wisdom called ‘Gandhusha’, involves a teaspoon of cold pressed organic oil (preferably coconut) and your mouth! Yep you heard me…. The cheapest Gym on the planet! Oil pulling, is simply swishing oil in your mouth on an empty stomach. The key here is consistency. All you need is 20 minutes each day, 3-5 times a week.

Detoxification: Good oral health is the beginning of a healthy body. As you know, the tongue is connected to various organs of our body, like the kidney, intestines, liver etc. Oil pulling works by cleaning (detoxifying) the oral cavity in a similar way that soap cleans dirty dishes. It literally sucks the dirt (toxins) out of your mouth and creates a clean, antiseptic oral environment that contributes to the proper flow of dental liquid that’s needed to prevent cavities and disease.

Facial Cardio: When you swish oil (which is denser than water and therefore takes effort) for twenty minutes you inadvertently end up exercising the facial muscles! Imagine ironing out those wrinkles and clearing sinus pouches because you are cleaning your teeth?!?!?! And if you are a singer… trust me those vocal chords will get a run they will thank you for!!! So many benefits for spending just 20 minutes every morning!

Silence: To gain the best results you have to swish oil in your mouth for 20 min first thing in the morning. You are forced to keep quiet. This is a time to meditate and be with your own thoughts. Concentrate on breathing and still the mind. While detoxifying the body, you can also detoxify the mind and get prepared for the awesome day ahead.

The process of oil pulling:

• Begin on an empty stomach (do not eat or drink anything, except water, for 20 minutes before and after oil pulling)
• Take a tablespoon of Cold Pressed Coconut oil (AyurDeva Coconut oil chews have a dash of clove cinnamon and peppermint essential oils all of which are good for the teeth and leave the breath smelling fresh) or Cold Pressed Sesame oil and swish it in your mouth for 15-20 minutes. You can start with 5 minutes and build your way up every day. Take it slowly as you don’t want the jaw to tire! (It is tiring – trust me!!)
• Do not gargle or swallow the oil as gradually the oil gathers the various toxins from the mouth and become toxic! Just SWISH and SPIT the oil!
• You can dance (do not sing), shower, go for a walk or read a book, to pass away the 20 minutes but at that time of morning it can be particularly meditative to still the mind chatter.
• After 20 minutes, spit out the oil into the trash (not in the sink). The liquid that you spit out should now be a milky white and should have doubled in size and thinned in consistency with the saliva and toxins.
• Once you do, rinse the mouth thoroughly in warm salt water for an extra clean mouth!
• Follow up with brushing your teeth as normal.

Remember that the key is consistency. Ayurveda is famous for slow but everlasting effects. There is no quick fix but a just a fix for every problem. And consistency is the ultimate tenet!