Overnight, as the body processes everything that was ingested that day, toxins (called Ama in Ayuveda) begin to form, and are visible as a coating on the tongue. If the Ama is more of the Kapha variety, it will appear as a thick, white coating. Pitta Ama tends to be more yellow, and Vata Ama is brown. Scraping the coating off first thing in the morning prevents reabsorption of the toxins that your body worked so hard to expel.
Tongue scraping, or jihwa prakshalana, is a traditional part of Ayurvedic self-care and also a great way to check in with your body each morning. Notice the color of the coating as well as the quantity. The amount can be a good indication as to whether or not your body was able to digest the food you consumed the previous day.
For example, I notice that when I eat heavier foods such as hamburgers or ice cream I tend to have a thicker coating on my tongue the next morning. According to Ayurveda, these toxins cause obstructions in respiration, as well as foul-smelling breath. The coating they produce can interfere with our ability to taste, clouding this sense organ and even creating unhealthy cravings.
Ayurveda considers the tongue a road map of the entire body, with each section corresponding to a different organ. When we scrape the tongue, it’s like giving our internal organs a gentle massage.
