The Power of Sweat

HEALING ECZEMA NATURALLY: PART SIX

Another major key to the detoxification puzzle is SWEAT. Sweating absolutely helps to heal eczema, if you do it consistently and clean up your diet as best you can.

Is it really a surprise that just about all indigenous traditions have sweat as a daily or regular purification ritual? From Japanese bathhouses to Swedish saunas to healing hot springs all across the world, humans have been sweating to purify themselves since the dawn of time.

Remember: the skin is the third kidney.

When you sweat, you alleviate the bio-waste build-up within your kidneys. You also thin out the lymphatic fluid which allows it to also circulate (and exit the body) more easily. All of this also greatly benefits your liver, too.

There are many benefits to the heat, but skin health and detoxification is top on the list.

My two main methods of sweating are my infrared sauna blanket as well as practicing hot yoga (Bikram style 26 + 2) which I used to practice religiously back in the States and also teach.

I love my sauna blanket SO MUCH. I use it 2-3 times a week, and oftentimes take it outside the house to enjoy the sun and fresh air as well. It's super relaxing and immediately alleviates any swelling or lymphatic stiffness in my system. I often read, run quantum healing programs on myself, or channel while I sweat.

As for yoga, while there is no comparison to the heat and workout and sheer volume of sweat that I get from practicing at my local studio back in the States, Nikiforos and I have gerry-rigged a fine little hot yoga studio in our spare room. Because the space is so tiny, it does heat up! 

It's important to note that there are different types and qualities of sweat, depending on what state your nervous system is in: parasympathetic or sympathetic. 

When you're active (sympathetic, fight or flight) that is one type of sweat. When you are relaxed and induced to sweat (parasympathetic, rest and digest) your body undergoes a deeper detoxification process within the organs themselves because your nervous system is calmer, signaling to the rest of the body that it is 'safe' to go in for a deep clean.

The sweat released this way has a higher percentage of toxins. You may smell the difference, it may have a more metallic scent to it. Or you may even feel the difference: the sweat may feel somewhat 'fattier' or 'silkier' to the touch.

I should note that Dr. Morse does not approve of infrared saunas. But for myself, I haven't been convinced. I find that using a high-quality, low-EMF sauna has many benefits that have outweighed the potential yet low exposure.  But this is an important detail to consider yourself. 

The Bikram Scandal:

Many people have asked me how I could continue practicing Bikram-style yoga after its founder Bikram Choudhury was embroiled in sexual assault scandals and eventually fled the US.

It was never a difficult decision for me because I never entered this practice through a Bikram studio, and so luckily avoided its guru-centered culture.

It’s also my understanding that this sequence was originally designed by Bishnu Gosh, the brother of Paramahansa Yogananda’s (author of The Autobiography of a Yogi). So while it was popularized by Bikram, its healing intelligence hails from a higher source.