Get a flat stomach with Vaishali’s super sixes

So I recently got a colonic. It was as invasive as you think it was, and as satisfying. I did feel lighter and yes, my belly was flat. But more on that in another post. My colonic got me thinking about natural ways to deep cleanse the colon, and flatten the belly. While I know the usual triphala and psyllium husk remedies, there had to be other ways to do it. So I turned to my naturopath Dr Vaishali Jain who came up with this list called the super sixes (cricket fan that she is). But before we get on to the list I must pass on her message. She says that the time for elimination is between 4am-12 noon. “We should respect this period and if you ‘go’ during this time then you are free to eat anything between 12 noon - 8pm.” With that in mind, here are Vaishali’s super sixes: 

1. When you wake up drink a glass of warm water with lime and a pinch each of salt and pepper. If you have blood pressure then remove the salt. 
2. Do breathing exercises (pranayama) before or after drinking water. Do three rounds of kapalabhanti (20 exhalations in each round) and 10 rounds of alternate nostril breathing. This is also great for elimination.
3. When you drink water lie down on your left side (if you don't want to exercise or do pranayama). With your thumb and index finger press your chin very hard. Thumb will go underneath the chin and the knuckle of the forefinger over the chin. This acupressure move will help flush out the system.
4. Grind equal portions of flaxseed, fenugreek, aniseed (saunf) and carrom (ajwain) seeds. Eat a tsp every morning and evening. This is great for body pains, joint pains, migraines, and also helps clear your stomach.
5. If you can’t ‘go’ completely, take a tsp of besan or any talcum powder and start massaging your belly clockwise with your hands of 5-10 minutes. This will work like a digestive and is good for all doshas.
6. Once in a week drink 3-4 glasses of salted hot water and then do four asanas. Start with the bhujang asana (lie down on your belly, place palms next to your chest, roll your shoulders back and lift your upper body grounding legs and feet on the floor). Then do the udharva hastasana (lift your arms up then stretch laterally from left to right), followed by the kati chakrasana (where you’re standing and rotating your waist the right and then to the left. Finish by doing the  kaua chalasana (fully squat and walk on haunches). You can do this once a week but on a holiday because you may get loose stools. When you are all cleared out, eat some light khichadi with ghee. 

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