Yoga Detoxification: Myth Vs. Fact

Myth 1: Toxins are released due to the squeezing of body muscles and organs

The idea of yoga for detoxification of body was conceptualized by Master yoga teacher BKS Iyengar. He came up with the squeeze and soak theory to support his claim which stated that stretching and compression in yoga causes the squeezing of organs and muscles. This causes the flowing of toxic blood and release of toxins.

To a layman, this may seem like a pretty straightforward thing, but science says otherwise. As for scientific evidence, there is none. The process of detoxification doesn’t work in the way BKS Iyengar suggests. The human body regularly detoxifies body with or without the intervention of stretching and compression.

Myth 2: One can sweat-out toxins due to yoga

This is another claim made by the proponents of yoga which states that toxic substances which accumulate in the body over time due to radiation, pollution, stress, food, and drinks are expelled through sweating in yoga. However, Dr Pam Peake, the American College of Sports Medicine national spokesperson disagrees with it. As per her, the elimination of only 1% percent of toxins takes place from the body.

In fact, the doctor says that excessive sweating can cause significant loss of water from the body. This can be harmful to the body. So, one must stay hydrated while performing yoga, if it causes excessive sweating.

Myth 3: Yoga purifies your liver

The liver plays the most important role in detoxification process. The proponents of yoga state that there is a direct relation between liver detoxification and yoga. They claim that yoga lets the liver perform its functions more efficiently. The truth is rather less inspiring as there is no scientific evidence for this particular claim. A normal healthy liver will perform its role without any yoga intervention.

Fact 1: Yoga assists in boosting the lymphatic system

While, there is no direct connection of yoga for detoxification of body, however, yoga does help indirectly in the working of body's detox systems. One of these ways is by boosting the body’s lymphatic system. The lymphatic system of the body is responsible for collecting and eliminating wastes and toxins from the body. So you can think of it as an aquarium which if not cleaned regularly will become susceptible to diseases and infections.This system depends on the movements of the diaphragm and abdomen the movements of which lead to lymph flow. With yoga, these movements are enhanced, which in turn improves lymphatic drainage.

Fact 2: Yoga assists in sweating out heavy metals

While you may not sweat out toxins with yoga as claimed, you may dispose heavy metals like arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and lead from the body. The downside here is that body may lose too much water, so care must be taken.

Fact 3: Yoga helps in releasing muscle tensions

Yoga assists in releasing tensions in the body muscles. For example, the spine vertebral discs have a tendency toward compressions due to age progression and the gravity effect. In yoga, a person stretches and twists various body parts which results in release of tension in those body parts.Due to this, many health experts recommend including yoga in ztheir routine workout plans. CEO of the personal training platform Kickoff, John Gardner, believes in the muscle-tension releasing benefit of yoga.