We all have tried detox diets, fasting, ayurvedic treatments and the shatkarmas to detox the body. As they eliminate waste, improve health, aid in weight loss and help us feel light and more energetic.

But, what about the mind? We have around 60,000 thoughts everyday. Besides, emotions, perceptions, fears and impressions; cloud our minds like muddy water. In yoga, physical and mental cleansing is required to be able to meditate and improve one’s quality of life.

Mental Detox Techniques

Thoughts are natural, but sometimes desires, samskaras, worries create an in-equilibrium. Thus, these techniques help in improved clarity and understanding the self better.

1) Antar Mouna

Antar Mouna or Inner silence works with the activities of the waking consciousness. The practitioners learns to witness their thoughts and feelings in a neutral way. Thus, with no story or overwhelming compulsions, one is able to reduce the congestion of the mind. Thereby, inducing calmness and  improving concentration.

2) Antar Japa

Antar Japa is a concentration technique than can lead the practitioner from physical awareness to meditation. The repetition of the mantra goes into the mind and scratches out the impressions and tensions.

3) Ajapa Japa

Japa means repeating a mantra  and ajapa-japa means constant repetition of the mantra. The technique consists of breath awareness, visualization as well as mental and eventually spontaneous repetition of the universal mantra so-hum or the personal guru mantra.

Ajapa japa is a complete practice in itself because it utilizes our different sensory abilities by working with awareness and breath (clairsentience), visualization (clairvoyance) and mantra (clairaudience).

4) Tratak

It includes fixing the gaze (internal and external) on a chosen object. The goal is to gather the scattered mind and concentrate on one object. Traditionally, Tratak is the sixth technique of the shatkarmas.

These techniques help us withdraw the consciousness inside. Where we come across innumerable samskaras in various forms. These are the root cause of mental and physical ailments. When the yogi looks at these thoughts without getting overwhelmed. They dissolve or they stop mattering. A calm/clear mind is the most powerful tool during the strongest storms.

Iti Jain

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