Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
I first started to get professional massages and dry skin brushing over 25 years ago. I was living an extremely stressful, toxic lifestyle at the time with lots of business travel, eating out nearly every meal, and a rush-rush manner of living pretty much all the time. It seemed glamorous and exciting for about a year or two. After that point, it gradually became an unbearable grind.
I compensated for this very unhealthy lifestyle by working out way too much (aerobically, no less, which is not the healthiest way to exercise) and getting full-body massages every two weeks to de-stress and detoxify.
During one particular session, the massage therapist commented that I was toxic. She wasn’t talking about my muscles being tight. She had actually detected toxins in my skin during the massage.
Curious, I asked her how could she tell. She explained that she could feel tiny toxic crystals underneath my skin.
She then showed me the method by rolling the skin up my back. I nearly jumped off the table it hurt so much! It felt like she was forcibly peeling my skin away from the underlying tissue. In other words, the skin did not separate easily from the muscle and tissue underneath – there was some sort of “stickiness” that seemed like the skin had adhesive on it from the inside! This “stickiness” on the underside of the skin and the lack of ready separation from the underlying muscle/tissue as the skin is rolled up the back is what indicates toxic buildup.
Rolling the skin up the back should normally feel very pleasurable and be pain-free. If there is toxic buildup, however, rolling the skin in this manner is quite painful and slow. The feeling of the toxic stickiness as your skin and muscle tissue are separated is rather like a piece of tape being pulled off cardboard and gives the unpleasant sensation of running your fingernails across a chalkboard.
Want to try it? Are you game to check and see how toxic you are?
If so, lay down on a couch or bed like you are going to get a back massage and have a loved one try the following on you:
The “Am I Toxic?” Test
Gather up a piece of skin between both thumbs and forefingers and roll it in a wave from the base of the spine near the tailbone all the way up to the neck.
Repeat several times starting from a different place on the lower back each time until the entire back has been rolled. About 5-6 complete rolls is all you need.
If you feel any pain as this exercise is being performed, then you have toxicity issues. If it has to be done slowly, there are toxicity issues. Normally, the skin should effortlessly roll up your back and the test can be performed in less that a minute or two. The more pain and discomfort and the slower this takes, however, the more toxicity.
Sometimes, rolling the skin may hurt at the base of the spine and up by the neck but not toward the middle of the back. In this case, there are toxicity issues, but not everywhere.
When this test was first performed on me, it hurt everywhere and I could barely tolerate the pain. I am happy to say that today, this test can be done quickly and I find that it feels wonderful. There is no pain or discomfort whatsoever!
If you decide to try this test out and find that you are quite toxic, take heart and know that this can be completely reversed! A diet of traditional, whole foods is all that is necessary to accomplish this under normal circumstances.
Your body knows how to cleanse itself!
You don’t need to force anything or go on sketchy cayenne pepper, maple syrup, lemon juice and water fast, aka Master Cleanse, which unduly stresses the body. Just eat traditional, whole foods and cut out the junk and the process of cleansing will naturally occur. Be sure to consume plenty of healthy, nourishing fats. Some gentle detoxification bathing will help too without unduly taxing your system.
I would suggest Epsom salt baths and/or vinegar baths as the best overall types.
Don’t be in such a hurry to cleanse yourself with harmful fasts and other forcible herbal cleanses. It took you a long time to get so toxic, it will take some time to undo the damage. Doing it quickly and forcing the issue can do more harm than good.
If you absolutely feel that you must cleanse at a faster rate, try this instead. Drink fresh, raw veggie juice. It is a proven way to gently detoxify according to Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride MD. The best way to drink your juice (it MUST be fresh and use veggies that are safe to consume RAW) is on an empty stomach. No food for at least 30 minutes after drinking the juice and no food for 2 hours before.
Those of you that try this test, what did you discover about your toxicity load? Are you going to make any changes to your eating habits or lifestyle based on what you discover? Why or why not?
Ok, I'm a licensed Massage Therapist, holding a Florida license for 20 years. I take some issue with this article. The process that you are describing is a Myofasical Release Technique. The fascia is connected to everything and it is a tough, fiberous tissue that connects muscle to skin, blood vessels … everything. If the skin rolling technique is done properly it will hurt and be slow because the connective tissue is too tight not to indicate toxic stuff. As you continue to get this done it will loosen, as it should, and become less painful or pain free. The proper way to do this tech is to roll the skin and when it becomes slow and tight you are to hold the spot gently until you feel a release or letting go under your fingers and then you move on up the back. You are releasing fascial tissue. Goggle John Barns Myofascial Release and learn more about this. This is very effective at changing the stuckness of your tissue due to strain or injuries from life. Yes, your tissue will become red due to vessel dilation. Red doesn't mean toxic. It can feel Hot also for the same reason. You will become sore, like you worked out, after the first several massages, but that is due to a release of lactic acid and the movement of changing the body. A word of caution here. Massage should not bruise you, and it should be done to YOUR tolerance not the therapists idea of what you need. I may know that a certain thing needs to be worked out and it will hurt while I do it, but my agenda is not above my clients. Cheaper is not better, nor is a lot of New Age agendas from therapists. Look up Rolfing also as they deal with fascia also. Watch out for therapists that diagnose too many things other than what they are trained to know.
B. Mardock
I agree with you. I’m also a licensed massage therapist and this MFR technique does not in any way directly indicate that you are toxic depending on your findings. A person that has “skin that is stuck”, which is the facia adhering to the underlying structure, could be caused by dehydration alone. It does however indicate tension in the body, which most of us carry. Destressing, stretching, massage, drinking plenty of water, would all help. I guess one could argue that if you are operating at a high stress level and your body is responding to that by tight muscles, your body is not being as efficient as it could at getting rid of toxins. But saying this is a direct “test” of toxic buildup is not entirely true.
I agree with my colleagues on this one. As a Florida Licensed Massage Therapist for the last 9 years and a therapeutic massage therapist practicing MFR daily I can say that this is no way is a ‘test’ to determine toxicity. A wonderful technique for healing and wellness, but it would be incorrect to use this technique as a means of determining toxic load in a body. MFR generally is uncomfortable and can even be downright painful depending on many individual factors and as mentioned above clients comfort need always be the determining factor for clinical treatment, not therapist’s agenda. In MFR slow and steady wins the race, for sure! However, I will disagree with one point made by B Mardock and that is the idea that a proper massage should never bruise a client. If the massage therapist is working within the clients true range of comfort for the technique being applied and not beyond it and the client experiences minimal/light bruising as a result then I find that to be acceptable. Deep bruising that results from overworking the tissue or proceeding beyond the comfort of the client is always unacceptable.
My favorite is 3-4 organic carrots, 1/2- 1 organic cucumber, 2-3 stalks of celery, and a beet. A shot of wheatgrass juice is amazing too, but tastes terrible.
Would you recommend specific veggie juice recipes/combinations?
Pick up a piece of skin and roll it up the back. It's very simple. If you pick up the piece of skin with both thumbs and forefingers, it looks like a wave or roll of skin.
I'm having a hard time picturing exactly how you "roll in a wave" the skin on the back. Can you help me better understand this?
I agree, I’m confused by what to do
Do you have a friend who is a massage therapist … perhaps he/she could help by showing you the technique.
Mama G – couldn't the redness be as a result of blood vessel dilation… which we'd want because more blood would be flowing to our tissues. Why does red mean toxic?
Anonymous, you really need to see a specialized practicioner about lead poisoning.
It has been found that I have high levels of lead in my system. We have been eating traditionaly for 8 years. What suggestions can you give me? Reciepts? thank you.
I am thrilled to report that it felt great! And, I just wish my husband hadn't had to go to work right after we did the test! 😉 He was already dressed for work, so I'll have to test his toxicity later!
Another indication is how red or pink your skin becomes during massage and how long that redness lasts. More/longer = more toxic. Also excess sorness, headaches, dizziness or nausea following a massage (by a qualified therapist).
Sadly after almost a decade of practice I can say that toxicity of the general population is much worse than what most of us believe.