Seane Corn calls yoga her 'alternative high'. After all, she says it saved her life by weaning her off an addiction to drugs and alcohol when she was 18.

Now 41, the Los Angeles-based yoga expert still gets a kick from contorting her supple body into positions that would have you and me calling for a chiropractor.

She was in town earlier this month to conduct a three-day course at Pure Yoga which focused on using yoga to detoxify the body.

Called Vinyasa Flow Yoga, the routine cleanses the system using poses that work the abdominal muscles and stimulate organs such as the kidneys, liver and intestines, giving them a 'wringing out feel' to make them more healthy.

On the other hand, the inversion poses - those that place your head below the level of your heart - increase the flow of blood, oxygen and fluid to the digestive tract as well as reduce blood stagnation.

There are some side effects though: These poses could leave you feeling nauseous, light-headed and with a headache. However, these will subside as your body rids itself of toxins.

Having gleaned some tips from Corn, Pure Yoga teacher Michelle Ricaille will conduct a 30-day detox programme that costs $275 starting on Oct 11. Participants should be familiar with the Sun Salutation.

» A sequence of 15 pictures showing the movements of the Sun Salutation.

This article was first published in Urban, The Straits Times on Aug 22, 2008.