Tongue Cleansing – Ayurvedic/Chinese wisdom

One of the great ancient practices that can be found in Ayurveda, Chinese medicine and kriya yoga and which can be included in our daily routine is tongue cleansing

Our mouth and tongue are one of the main gateways into our body system. Maintaining the health of this part is important to general well-being.

Benefits of tongue cleaning
  • Clears toxins & bacteria from the tongue and helps to avoid toxins being reabsorbed into your body
  • Helps remove the coating on the tongue that leads to bad breath
  • Helps eliminate undigested food particles from the tongue
  • Enhances the sense of taste
  • Promotes overall oral & digestive health
  • Gently stimulates the internal organs
  • Increases your awareness of your state of health

The tongue is the mirror to all the organs of the body

What do you need?

There are many special tools to clean your tongue from tongue scrapers to tongue brushes. You can buy a special tool or you can use just a simple spoon.

Technique
  1. Wet your cleaning tool under fresh running water and open your mouth
  2. Stick your tongue out as comfortably as you can
  3. Use the tool from the root of your tongue and move toward the tip of your tongue in one motion. Make sure that you cover the entire width of your tongue. If your tool is not wide enough use the “lawnmower technique” – move in strips that are overlapping to make sure that you cover the entire tongue area
  4. Use enough pressure to remove the coating/plaque but not to irritate your tongue, start gently and build up your confidence and pressure
  5. Clean the tool after a few motions as the coating/plaque may stay on your tool
  6. Make about 5-10 motions from the root of your tongue to the front, making sure that you cover the entire width of your tongue
  7. Once you finished, rinse your mouth with fresh water and clean your tool. Keep your tool somewhere where it can dry naturally
To observe
  • Go gently, especially at the root of your tongue as there are many taste buds located
  • Start as deep at the root of your tongue as possible as that is the area where your tongue needs to be cleaned the most, work gently
  • Ideally, clean your tongue before you brush your teeth in the morning and after you brush your teeth in the evening
  • Be aware of the gag reflex during scraping, which may indicate that the scraping is too aggressive. If this occurs with gentle scraping, begin slightly more forward on the tongue to avoid the gagging reflex. Once you get used to the sensation you might be able to get deeper. Do not rush anything.

I can personally recommend this cleansing technique. It may feel weird at the beginning, but soon you become familiar with the sensations and notice the benefits of this short and effective practice that can be included in your daily routine and it is also part of the kriya yoga practice.
If you have any questions, please let me know, I will try my best to answer or help you with this practice.


Happy tongue cleaning!

Resources: personal experience, Naturalsociety, Chopra.com, Wikihow
Photos: VivaPhotography

Summary
Article Name
Tongue Cleansing - Ayurvedic/Chinese wisdom
Description
One of the great ancient practices which can be found in Ayurveda and Chinese medicine that we can include in our daily routine and part of our kriya yoga practice is tongue cleansing. Our mouth and tongue are one of the main gateways into our body system. Maintaining the health of this connection is critical to general well-being.
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Walking the Path
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