Ayurvedic Remedies: Oil Pulling and Ayurveda

Oil pulling or oil swishing is an age-old practice recommended by Ayurveda. This is done in the mornings on empty stomach after brushing your teeth. A teaspoonful of sesame oil is taken and swished in your mouth for 15-20 minutes. This is a form of cleansing recommended by Ayurveda. This is said to remove toxins from our body. The modern version of oil pulling is done using sesame oil or sunflower oil, before brushing your teeth. The term ‘oil pulling’ was coined by Dr. Karach after he experimented swishing oil in the above mentioned method and cured himself of a horrible blood disease. He further studied it, systematised it and propagated it throughout the world.


I have just finished my tonight’s swishing and had my supper. I re-started doing this from the morning. I had done this some 10 years back and had good results but don’t know why I stopped it. Yesterday I stumbled upon this forum http://www.curezone.com/forums/f.asp?f=738 here people share their experiences of oil pulling. After going through the site, I thought I should start oil pulling again, and here I am typing this post after my second session of oil pulling. Today morning, after the initial swishing, I felt my mouth to be fresh, didn’t have the late evening headache. I felt active throughout the day. Good results for a single session of oil pulling! I have made up my mind to continue this, and make it into a daily habit.

My vegetarian experiment is continuing. Also, no tea and coffee. Now my daily regimen is like this. I get up at 6:30 in the morning. I do the oil pulling first thing in the morning the first 20 minutes. I can also do some multi-tasking along with oil pulling. I can check mails, iron my shirts and pants, do some warming up exercises. Then I brush my teeth. I drink 2-3 glasses of water after this. Then I start doing some yogasanas. I start with suryanamaskars 10 cycles, then sarvangasana, dhanurasana, halasana, padmasana and savasana. All this takes around 30 minutes. Now it would be around 7:30 in the morning. Then I will have my bath, have breakfast and get ready. My office shift is from 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm. I work as a consultant in another company in the mornings. After a hectic day, I reach home by 11:00, have my supper and go to bed by 12:00. Now it is 11:45 pm when I am typing this.

Now for some benefits of oil pulling. Regular swishing twice or thrice a day is said to cure you of skin conditions like eczema, acne, digestive problems, sinusitis, migraines, constipation, diabetes, ulcers, post nasal drip, candida overgrowth, arthritis etc.

This is a simple method which is least expensive, with no side effects. Start swishing, and make it a habit. Cultivate healthy habits for better health.

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