In one of the first course modules it was suggested that we get some coconut oil and start putting globs of it in our mouths and swishing it around for 20 minutes a day. When I first heard this in my lecture I thought "what kind of hippie crap school have I signed up for?" There was no way I was going to put a yucky glob of oil in my mouth to swish around. First of all, I don't have time for that. And, second of all, eeeeew!
But then I read the rest of the lecture and saw the list of benefits associated with oil pulling. These benefits include clearer skin, whiter teeth, improved oral health, decreased inflammation, improved allergies, improved digestion and kidney function and more. This list is, admittedly, impressive. But I still wasn't going to start doing some mambo jambo gross thing that I didn't have time for anyway.
Or, so I thought.
The list of benefits of oil pulling haunted me. I read social media posts from fellow classmates who were starting to do oil pulling and having great experiences doing so. I also was getting deeper into the school curriculum and loving the information they offered. My respect for the school was so great that I knew they weren't a 'hippie crap school' so I had trust that the information they were giving me was legitimate. All of it, even the 'mambo jambo' oil pulling.
It took a few months of stubbornly resisting before I finally caved in and decided to give oil pulling a go. I grabbed my jar of organic coconut oil and a teaspoon from the kitchen and headed to the bathroom. I started small and just put half a teaspoon of oil in my mouth. It was pretty grody at first. The globby, oily consistency in my mouth was odd. But I put my big girl panties on and didn't freak out. I started swishing and the globby oil became a liquid as it heated up to my body temperature.
This first time I only swished for about 5 minutes and then spit it out into the garbage (you don't want to spit it down the drain and have the heated oil solidify in your pipes as it cools). I rinsed my mouth thoroughly, brushed and voila! I had just pulled oil!
I felt cool and alternative. It didn't suck, not one bit. I actually enjoyed the time to myself while I 'pulled' the oil. Standing in my bathroom swishing the oil, moving the muscles in my face and mouth and letting my mind wander was an extremely relaxing experience. I actually enjoyed myself.
I decided to keep this up and pull oil every day for a week.
Each day I used a little more oil and each day I 'pulled' for a slightly longer amount of time until I was oil pulling for the full 20 minutes. I didn't have time to stand in my bathroom just pulling oil for this amount of time so I pulled oil while I folded laundry, or put away the dishes, or watered my plants. I did chores that I would have been doing anyway, but pulled oil while I did them. It was some brilliant multitasking.
I did this every day for a week.
Read about my results and if I continued to pull oil after the week HERE.
