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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 338
 
| Hi,
I was thinking last night, while I was awake next to my husband who is suffering from a terrible cold/flu, about What ARE Toxins?. I go to Bikram where I flush out toxins, I eat organic and drink filtered water to avoid toxins. I do breathe air, but how much de-toxing do we need. I wonder if sweating so much is so necessary.
If sweating itself were helpful then people in hot climates would be healthier that people in moderate climates. Maybe we should take walks with too many clothes on. I think of what my mother would say about this. She would say that if your body needed to sweat, it would sweat.
Well, I'm not totally serious, but I think you understand my midnight musings.
I go to yoga 2 to 3 times a week. Oh, I forgot to mention i see a Tibetan healer who is detoxing my digestive system.. OH my.
I know what the dictionary says toxins are but I thought of all the wisdom on this site, and thought it would be good to ask.
Edited by gogirl58 2010-12-09 2:27 AM
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| Sweating does not remove toxins. Toxins are removed by exhaling, urinating and defecating. Toxins are processed by your liver and kidneys, not your sweat glands. Yes, there is an extremely tiny percentage of toxins that can be removed by sweating, but it is such a small amount that it does not make any difference. The sole purpose of sweating is to cool the body. Also, you should leave your digestive system alone! Your digestive system has bacteria that helps digest your food. To remove it is harmful. Our bodies are self cleaning and require no extra anything (other than exercise and relatively healthy air, water and food) to function optimally. We are designed (by evolution or a creator) to process and eliminate toxins without any additional actions or equipment.
The people who are telling you about toxins and how to get rid of them are all making money, and quite a lot, off the gullibility of the general public.
I think that "toxin" is the new word for 'sin". A lot of people are trying to get rid of their toxins/sins by fasting (going hungry), excessive heat and/or exercise and many other unpleasant actions. Beating yourself, pain, suffering and unpleasantness in general does NOT remove either sins or toxins. They do supress your immune system.
If you want to get rid of toxins, exactly which toxins do you want to get rid of? Your body is not "pure" and will never be. It is home to all sorts of nasty things. You maintain health by keeping a healthy immune system, not by eliminating toxins or anything else.
No matter what, you will get sick, get old and die. Being excessive about your health is just as injurious as ignoring it. Think more about adding joy to your life instead of eliminating sin/toxins! |
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Member
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| jimg,so glad you wrote that,its saved me the job. . so many books and supplements for so called toxin release,like you say God made a pretty good job of our excretory organs etc.
I would guess that the body's main source of toxins is our thoughts creating emotions that need to be released. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 338
| Well. I think everyone for their responses. This is the only place that I know to talk about this stuff.
I will still go to Bikram because it has improved my life immensely. I will still take Tibetan medication because they are helping my digestive symptoms (constant burping), and my body is showing signs of being cleaner. All of this said, I do think there is something "trendy" about the whole toxin business. If it makes you feel good though, hey do it.
There is no lack of joy in my life.
Of interest to me, and maybe to others is the effects that I have noticed about Tibetan herbs. My skin is less oily. I feel cleaner in general, not "bath clean but more internally clean" The little bumps on my upper arms that I thought were normal are gone. My dentist was thrilled by the lack of deposits on my teeth.
This is very interesting to me.
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| snake - 2010-12-09 2:49 PM
I would guess that the body's main source of toxins is our thoughts creating emotions that need to be released.
YES. It is "emotional detox," as much as anything else. The body has a long memory. I'm convinced that one of the biggest reasons why you feel better after class is because you release all the weird emotional/psychological stuff that gets stored up in your body.
Sweat is nice, but any idiot can turn up a thermostat and sit around sweating in a hot room. (The ancient Romans liked doing this, but it didn't make them yogis.) Yoga does way more than that! The really interesting stuff all has to do with the circulatory system. Heating enhances the effects of the postures because it really gets your blood going, so to speak.
Bikram's answer when you ask him "How often should I do yoga" is usually something along the lines of "How often are you planning on using your body?" (Every day.) It's good maintenance. If you read a little more closely, he DOESN'T say that you need to do the full 90 minute series every day, just that you should do SOMETHING to keep your body functioning nicely. It's good hygiene, like brushing your teeth. |
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| Also - (sorry for the "also") - I think that the whole "detoxing" thing gets overblown when people talk about Bikram just because it's a concept that people can understand and latch onto easily. Everyone has this vague idea that "detoxing" is a good thing to do and that sweat is detoxifying (because it certainly feels that way)! It gets repeated over and over because it's a simple explanation for why the yoga makes you feel good.
BUT! If you pick up Bikram's book and start reading the bits about "how yoga works," the sweat has nothing to do with it. It's all about breathing, circulation, heart and lungs, brain, and SPINE. It's great stuff, worth reading. But those parts aren't as easy to explain to the "casual viewer." That's why the hype ends up centered around the most obvious part of the practice, the part that everyone understands from day one: "OMG, try Bikram yoga, you sweat soooooo much!!1!!!"
Just my opinion. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 338
| very well said. |
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Member
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| Once again:The cheapest resource to make money out of is the ignorance of men. This is the basis of the private insurance sector, and the yoga business is very similar. Detox diet, detox tablets, detox yoga -all nonsense from a medical, scientific, evidence based perspective. But it appeals to people obsessed with health, well being, hygiene, appearance, and there are lots of them among yogis. Yoga Thailand on Koh Samui have a detox center in their retreat, and in particular women like to spend their money there.
Eat and drink what you like, get regular exercise, enjoy what you are doing, and be considerate of others. And for detox, drink tab water, sleep early, and go to the toilet once in a while. Life is not that difficult...
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Veteran
Posts: 149
| I love it !!! move, drink good water, eat good food, sleep, and poop LOL life is pretty easy when you look at like that
very true though I esp always seem to try and get my brain involved in things it has no business being involved in. God's job is his not mine (wink) let him worry I'll rest easy and follow his path thanks |
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| Actually, I had added "be considerate of others" to my list which sometimes complicate things:be a considerate husband and father, stand up for labor rights, give up eating animals. As for God, he (or she or it or they, if there is more than one) hasn't introduced himself to me yet, so I can't comment. But by temperament, I am not a person following the paths of others, however mighty they are. Sorry, need to go quickly to the detox room... |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 399
Location: Oregon | I dunno. Even before I drunk the Birkam kool aide, I felt that sweating released something. I crave a certain vigor. There are many cultures who use a sweat or sweat lodge in cerimonies to purify themselves for certain rituals or just periodic cleansing. Maybe it's intangible in terms of science. It's very real for me.
I'll also add, I take Birkam as a whole. The entire series, the vigor, the heat, the compression postures, the sweat... so what if it's minescule? The end result for me, is to be wrung out completely. The type of person that I am, it's just a very good thing for me. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 338
| Hi, I'm showing my ambivalence in saying this but I now remember our local paper did a series of articles about the toxicity found in the body of people in the Sf bay area. They took a series of random subjects and tested them for small amounts of known carcinogens. They found a lot of toxic residue in their bodies.
I just remembered that. I don't know if Bikram gets those out, but I think the compression of different body parts along with the sweating MIGHT. peggy |
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| A toxin is a poisonous substance produced by living cells or organisms (technically, although humans are living organisms, man-made substances created by artificial processes usually are not considered toxins by this definition).
Toxins can be small molecules, peptides, or proteins that are capable of causing disease on contact with or absorption by body tissues interacting with biological macromolecules such as enzymes or cellular receptors. Toxins vary greatly in their severity, ranging from usually minor and acute (as in a bee sting) to almost immediately deadly (as in botulinum toxin).
When used non-technically, the term "toxin" is often applied to any toxic substance. Toxic substances not of biological origin are more properly termed poisons.
In the context of alternative medicine the term is often used non-scientifically to refer to any substance claimed to cause ill health, ranging anywhere from trace amounts of pesticides to common food items like refined sugar or additives such as monosodium glutamate.
The difference between a medicine and a poison (toxin?) is usually the dosage.
Our environment is full of toxins and poisons, produced both naturally and man made. Carcinogens are also everywhere. Even sunlight can cause cancer. Sweat all you want, if you smoke cigarettes, you greatly increase your risk of lung cancer. No matter how many Bikram classes you attend, if you get too much radiation from the sun, you will probably get skin cancer.
Viruses and bacteria are also everywhere. Our bodies are full of viruses and harmful, as well as useful bacteria. We also take in trace amounts of all kinds of toxins and poisons which are naturally removed by exhaling, urination and defecation. A healthy immune system and well functioning liver and kidneys keep all these potentially dangerous things in balance. Too much of any particular item or a compromised immune system will throw the body out of balance and disease will result.
Compression of body parts and/or sweating will not change the results of smoking, a diet too high in fat, excessive sugar intake or excessive environmental poisons and toxins (natural or man made). Excessive alcohol intake will ruin your liver whether you sweat it out the next day and compress your body parts or not.
The heat and stretching in a Bikram class does makes your muscles relax and that relaxation feels good. You feel both energetic and relaxed after a Bikram class because you have relaxed your muscles and stimulated your circulation (and also maybe released some mental tension), not because you have sweat and compressed your body parts or released any toxins.
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 399
Location: Oregon | I used to be more literal than I am. I think people take things way to literally, esp. in critiquing Bikrams. Or Yoga or Chi Gong or other energy/body work. ::shrugs:: Carry on. |
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| Andre,
Do you mean that sweating out and compressing (squeezing out) "toxins" is not literally true, but rather figuratively true or metaphorically true?
Are the "toxins" real (literal) or not. If they are not real, I am wasting my time (and money) trying to get rid of them. If they are real, then I really want to literally get rid of them and I want a method that is literally real.
Jim |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 399
Location: Oregon | Jim,
I believe in metaphor. I believe that reality changes. And I believe that not everything that comprises the energy of our life force is measureable or visible using literal/western intellect or science.
Andre |
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| Andre,
I agree. Many things in life are metaphorical. But either toxins are tangible, literal poisons that need to be released using tangible, literal methods to release them or they are metaphors for something else. Sweating does not release metaphors. Sweating does release salts and a lot of water, which are both tangible and literal. The release of that water literally cools the body so that it doesn't overheat and one's core temperature stays in a healthy range.
Jim |
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Member
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| while we're debunking how about religiously drinking so many glasses of water a day,do animals think to themselves i must get my 8 glasses of water or do they drink when feeling the need,shouldnt we follow the natural way rather than dowse our kidneys constantly with the stuff,
just a thought |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 338
| Animals die all of the time. Who is to say which ones needed more water and which didn't. From my understanding domesticated animals such as dogs and cats live longer that feral animals ofthe same species. I don't think we can blame
conscious thught for all of our problems. |
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Member
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| I put water down for my cats and they drink when thirsty,and i agree about concious thought not being the cause of our problems,more like unconcious thought |
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| Conscious thought (or should I just say thought) is what makes humans different from the other life forms on this planet. It is the source of our power (domination) as well as the source of many of our problems. I am fully confidant that in another couple of thousand years we will have learned how to use it better!
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toxins? how much yoga do we need
