That the Christmas period is a moment of extravagance is known: not for nothing, in January, gyms very often register a surge in enrollment.
But not everyone feels the vocation for physical exercise or not everyone has the time: what to do then to get back in shape and, above all, to clean oneself from the toxins that the dinners and afternoons at home have left behind?
"Squeeze" our liver
The detoxifying organ of our body par excellence is the liver: in short, it has the task of removing the toxic agents from the blood both through a filtering action and a chemical transformation.
Therefore a job that can be profitable is to go to stimulate and help the task of this fundamental bio-chemical laboratory of our organism. In yoga the postures most indicated for purification are those of torsion because they go to perform a "squeezing" action on the abdominal organs (including the liver) which helps to improve its functionality.
Yoga has a repertoire very rich in twists, unlike the majority of traditional gymnastics and sports where they are generally contemplated only to give greater strength to a tool (tennis, golf).
We will see three, one sitting, one standing and one lying down:
PADMASANA or SIDDHASANA or SUKHASANA or IN TORSIONE: choose one of the aforementioned sitting positions, the one that is deemed the most comfortable. Breathing in, place your right hand on your left knee and twist your upper body . The left hand is positioned behind to support the back, the look is on the left shoulder or on a point behind you. Perform until the position is comfortable, without forgetting the breath, and then change sides.
PARIVRTTA UTKATASANA: stand up, reach the position of Uktatasana with your arms up . Breathing in, bring your hands to your chest in anjali mudra (palms of the hands together). Exhale, rotate the torso to the right (without lifting the back) and place the left elbow on the outside of the right thigh. The look is upward. Also perform on the other side.
JATARA PARIVARTANASANA: this twist is performed by lying down . In the supine position, lift the legs and bring them perpendicular to the ground without bending the knees. The arms are open at shoulder height, stretched out. Exhaling, bring your legs to the right, trying to touch your toes with your right hand, looking to the left. It is important to avoid detaching the shoulder from the ground: if this should occur, or if the position is too intense, keep the legs bent at 90 °. Repeat on the other side.
Twisting is possible and advisable to alternate forward bending positions which are also useful for detoxification purposes. Here too we offer three examples:
UTANANA: standing raise your arms in exhalation and exhaling bend forward, pivoting on your sides until your hands fall to the floor, palms to the floor. During the descent the back should remain as straight as possible and, once the position is reached, with each inhalation slightly lift the trunk and exhale letting go to the bending. To return to the standing position, place your hands on your hips and raise your back straight with a movement that is the same, but inverse, to the forward one.
JANU SIRSANANA: sitting, one leg is extended, the other bends with the heel towards the groin and the sole of the foot in contact with the stretched thigh thus forming a right angle between it and the shin of the bent leg. The pelvis is firmly fixed to the floor . Breathing in, raise the arms, stretch the back and align the trunk with the extended leg, turning it slightly. Exhaling, bring the sternum forward (keep the chest well open, in other words) and flex the trunk on the extended leg. Hands can grasp the foot, or lean on the floor. Also perform with the other leg.
UPAVISTHA KONASANA: starting from a sitting position with the legs extended and the back straight, widen the legs by turning the thighs slightly outwards. Breathing in, raise the arms and stretch the trunk, exhaling, bend forward as much as possible without "crumpling" with the back. The hands rest, then, possibly, the forehead, the nose and finally the chin on the ground. To loosen the position, lift the head, then the shoulders and finally the torso and return to the starting position.
Many roads, one goal
As always, there is no methodology that it alone is sufficient to give well-being, therefore it is useful to develop a holistic approach by intertwining and overlapping remedies belonging to several fields of action. So even with herbal teas, teas and herbal remedies that can play an important detoxifying action.
