Article from Bindu no 8
Intestinal cleansing - Shankprakshalana
Many years ago I met a friend on the street who cheerfully told me of a girl he had just met. Then he said something that caused me to prick up my ears: "she rinses her intestines with salt water!" I had never heard the like before. I was both curious and sceptical at the same time!
Katrin's Christmas present...
A woman wrote to me five months after her first intestinal cleansing: "As I'm sure you remember, I was allergic to milk and sugar, when I visited you in November. I say was, as just before Christmas I received the best Christmas present ever. I cautiously tried to eat normally, and it worked! Since then I haven't had any problems at all. A very happy Katrin."
Hatha Yoga
The yoga tradition is very rich, containing a comprehensive knowledge of the body and mind. It is a science, whose methods are tried and tested and refined over thousands of years. Everybody can use yoga, regardless of what you believe in or who you are. The methods work precisely and without side effects. They give you access to your own resources.
Hatha Yoga is the area of the yoga tradition that includes the physical cleansing processes which remove toxins and waste products and ease the coarser tensions of the body. The state of health can be improved with Hatha Yoga. Stomach problems and indigestion, psychosomatic illnesses such as diabetes, asthma and migraine can be relieved, even cured, by yoga.
A young man with diabetes stayed at Håå Course Centre on a longer course. His pancreas did not produce any insulin at all when he arrived, and he had to take insulin several times a day. After just a couple of days of yoga training, his insulin requirement decreased. We teachers had prepared him for the possibility of change after the intestinal cleansing, but we did not expect such a quick response. His pancreas began to work, and towards the end of the course he needed very little supplementary insulin.
The cleansing processes of Hatha Yoga are divided into six main groups: Shat Karma. Some of the simpler methods are, for example, brushing the teeth and "cleaning the scalp." In one of the old scriptures, Gheranda Samhita, they are described alongside other more comprehensive methods.
There is, for instance, nose cleansing, Neti, where lukewarm salt water is poured through the nose (read Bindu no. 3) and stomach cleansing, Kunjal Kriya, where salt water is drunk and vomited up again. And stomach exercises such as Agnisar and Nauli, where the muscles of the abdomen are rotated, massaging the intestines and kindling the digestion. The breathing exercise Kapalabhati cleanses the lungs. It is also said to "purify the frontal region of the brain" (partly by oxidising the blood). Tratak, where you concentrate on the flame of a candle, gives a better balance in the brain and strengthens and cleanses the eyes. Tratak is also a concentration technique. And finally there is Shankprakshalana, intestinal cleansing:
Shankprakshalana
Here we have the most comprehensive cleansing process, which cleans all the way from the mouth to the anus. In Sanskrit, the approximately seven meter long folded intestine is called a conch shell (Shankha). "Prakshalana" means to wash thoroughly.
In the intestines "residue" accu-mulates, waste products remain sitting in the small folds of the intestines, around which tensions arise, binding energy and affecting one's well-being. When the intestines are rinsed, the residue and tensions are removed.
The skin becomes soft and various kinds of skin allergies and eczema are relieved, and can even disappear completely. Pallid skin becomes purer and clearer.
The senses are sharpened to such a degree that they feel as though they were "muffled", and have now been unwrapped. I will never forget the taste of that boiled carrot I ate after my first intestinal cleansing. Its taste was more carrot-like than I had ever previously experienced.
The effects, however, are not only physical, such as an improvement in taste and sight. When the coarse tensions are removed from the stomach and abdomen, you have the released energy at your disposal, and the body feels light and healthy. It becomes easier to calm down, something that facilitates the learning of meditation. In the old source material, the body is described as "radiant" after intestinal cleansing.
Preparation
Even though the intestinal cleansing is simple to perform, it nevertheless demands guidance by a teacher with personal experience in it, and therefore should not be done alone the first times.
It is necessary to set aside a whole day when you decide to do the intes-tinal cleansing. The evening meal the day before should also be skipped, but you can drink as much water or herbal tea as you like, but not dairy products.
The water and salt
The water for the intestinal cleansing must be physiological salt water, the same salt concentration as the body's own, 0.9%. This allows the water to leave the stomach more quickly, whilst maintaining the same osmotic pressure upon both sides of the intestinal wall. This means that the body neither absorbs nor yields salt and water in significant quantities. Ordinary salt is used. We have ascertained that some people are allergic to sea salt. Maybe this is because our oceans are presently polluted, or due to natural substances such as allergy provoking pollen and spores. We therefore suggest using ordinary salt from deep salt mines.
The ease with which the water passes through the intestines is also dependent on the temperature of the water. It is perfect when it is as warm as soup.
The procedure
Intestinal cleansing is done by drinking a glass of salt water and performing four simple exercises that help the water to pass through the intestines. Afterwards, you again drink a glass of salt water, do the exercises and continue like this. After the sixth glass, you begin to go to the toilet following the exercises. Gradually, as you drink more and more glasses and do the exercises, the water that is evacuated becomes lighter and contains fewer and fewer particles. Finally, it is as clear as the water you drink, and completely free from particles. The intestinal cleansing itself is now over. Altogether, about sixteen large glasses of salt water are drunk.
Kunjal Kriya - stomach cleansing
Now the stomach must be cleansed. The water for the stomach cleansing is also physiological, but only luke warm. This technique is called Kunjal Kriya, not to be confused with "Kriya Yoga", which is an advanced meditation technique.
In Sanskrit, Kunjal means "to throw up water", and Kriya "process".
You drink until the stomach is full; the water has a tendency to come up again by itself. Otherwise you can stick a couple of fingers down your throat and trigger the vomiting reflex, so that the water comes up.
Stomach cleansing is a simple and quick process followed by a feeling of well-being and deep relaxation.
If a more thorough acquaintance with the method is desired, then it can be done every morning on an empty stomach, for up to forty days. No special diet is required, but wait at least an hour before you eat anything.
Neti - nose cleansing
The nose is cleansed afterwards. It is also done with luke warm, physiological salt water. A neti pot is filled with luke warm salt water. The spout is placed into one nostril, so that it sits tight. The head is held at an angle so that the water runs by itself in through one nostril and out of the other. Read more about neti >>
Rest and food
When you have cleansed and dried the nose, again done the exercises, been to the toilet, and gotten the final water out, then lie down and rest for an hour. You don't sleep but just lie and relax, and maybe listen to some pleasant music.
The rest following the intestinal cleansing is described in this way in Yogic Management of Asthma and Diabetes, by Dr. Swami Shankaradevananda Saraswati: "This is the only time, where the digestion gets a total rest, as it is only when the stomach is completely empty, that the activity of the digestive nerve impulses and glands stops."
When you've finished resting, then you eat a special meal, consisting of rice, red lentils and ghee. This meal helps the digestive process start again in a gentle and balanced way.
Then take it easy for the rest of the day. Of course you can take a walk in the fresh air, but don't do anything strenuous.
The diet
A diet is observed after the intestinal cleansing, involving mild and easy digestible food, such as boiled grains (rice, pasta without egg, etc.), boiled vegetables and legumes, for instance beans or lentils. This gives the body time to stabilise the effect of the intestinal cleansing.
The first ten days the following things are to be refrained from: Coffee, tea, sugar, honey, chocolate, all varieties of sweets, tobacco, alcohol and also medicine that is not absolutely necessary. Vegetables such as onions and leeks, raw vegetables and spices are also to be avoided, as well as all forms of fruit and dairy produce. Meat, fish and eggs are not eaten for forty days.
If you are in doubt as to what you can eat during the diet period, then do a little experiment and ask yourself whether you would give it to a baby. If you wouldn't, then don't eat it until after the diet.
A diet of boiled vegetables and grains may sound a little bit boring to some, but you can make interesting food by just using your imagination. Already after a couple of days, you can begin to season the food with a tiny bit of herbs. All seasonings can be used in limited quantities, as your taste buds have been awoken from a slumber.
Even though ecological vegetables are a little dearer than others, the investment is worthwhile. This especially concerns base vegetables such as potatoes, carrots and parsnips.
At our city schools, we end the intestinal cleansing by going through the diet. On the courses at Håå it is easy as the food is served to you.
When you expand on your menu after the diet period, bear in mind the body's increased sensitivity which perhaps means that you don't need to eat the same as before. Be attentive to the body's signals. After the intestinal cleansing it is easier than at other times to change one's eating habits. It can also be a good time to stop smoking as many lose the desire following the process.
The small intestinal cleansing
There is also a shorter version called Laghoo Shankprakshalana. It is used by people undergoing special treatment, such as diabetics. They do it every day for forty days following the larger one.
It is simpler because there is no diet to observe afterwards, and only six to eight glasses are drunk. The same exercises are done after every other glass.
The little intestinal cleansing is done in the morning on an empty stomach. In contrast to the full intestinal cleansing, which is normally done only once or twice a year, the small one can be done as often as necessary.
In hospitals in the East and West
"Yoga hospitals" can be found in many places in India, where people with various psychosomatic illnesses, such as diabetes and asthma, are treated. Common to them all is that medicine is not used in the treatment; it consists entirely of yoga techniques.
At The Yogic Treatment-cum-Research Center in Jaipur, founded by Swami Anandananda, where he collaborated with a team of doctors, the treatment consists of intestinal cleansing. It is followed up by a few yoga programmes and supplemented with the small intestinal cleansing, which can be done as often as necessary with regard to the patients needs. With these simple forms of treatment, diabetic and asthma patients experience a noticeable improvement, if not full recovery.
A special surgeon at the university clinic in Cologne, Germany, heard about the intestinal cleansing from a colleague who had tried it on one of our courses. He became so interested in trying the technique on his patients prior to their operations, that he invited one of our yoga teachers to Cologne. Normally the doctors would use a method where the patient would sit on a special chair with a hole in the seat, and put a stomach pump in them. In this way the intestines were rinsed with a saline solution. It is a harsh treatment to say the least. The first one to do the intestinal cleansing was a 75 year old woman. The doctor was very surprised to find how easy, with the help of the exercises, the water passed through her system. He was even more surprised the following day during the operation, when he discovered that her entire alimentary canal was completely clean - no particles could be found even in the folds of the intestines.
The Exercises
1/ The first exercise is called Tiryaka Tadasana in Sanskrit. We call it "the tree in the wind". It influences the upper part of the intestinal tract.
Stand with the legs apart, fold the hands and turn the palms outwards. Stretch the arms over the head, look up at the hands and sway from side to side, eight times to each side.
2/ The second exercise is Kati Chakrasana, "the waist twist". The feet are slightly apart, arms hang loose by the sides of the body. Swing the body and head so that you look far back over the shoulder, in a rotating movement.
This movement causes the arms to swing loose horizontally outwards from the body. This exercise is also done eight times to each side. The effect here is mostly at the middle of the stomach.
3/ The third exercise is called Tiryaka Bhujangasana, which can be translated as "the twisted cobra". First lie on the floor with the legs wide apart; then raise the body up on straight arms and twist the head and torso so that you can look over the right shoulder and see down towards the left heel. Repeat to the other side. Here it is the lower part of the intestines that are stimulated. The exercise is repeated eight times relaxedly to each side.
4/ The fourth exercise, Uddarakarshanasana, translates as "abdominal massage." Sit in a squatting position with the hands placed upon the knees. Hold the upper body and head erect. Lower the right knee to the left foot, whilst pressing the left leg against the body so that it exerts a pressure against the stomach, all the way down to the groin. Repeat to the other side. This exercise massages the lowest part of the intestines. Do it eight times to each side.
When I had gall stone pains, I went to the hospital, to confirm that it was gall stones. I got an appointment for ultra-sound scanning, and later I should arrange a date for an operation. I said that I would only be operated on if it was absolutely necessary, and that I would first try an old-fashioned oil therapy to get the stones out.
At home in the yoga school I did the intestinal cleansing first. It took a little longer than usual, as I couldn't do the exercises thoroughly due to the pain, which felt as if there was a knife just below the ribcage on the right side. After the intestinal cleansing I rested for an hour as usual, and then - instead of the food - I drank a litre of olive oil. I had a slice of orange ready, so that after every swallow I chewed on the orange before I could taste the oil. I managed to drink the oil by thinking about the operation I was avoiding and the two week stay in the hospital afterwards. Since then I have heard from others, that it is sufficient with two decilitres of oil, which works just as well.
The next couple of hours I needed to rest again, so that the oil could work in peace. I lay on my right side and waited for the gall stones to come out. I went to the toilet a few times, but only oil and slime came out. At one point I gave up waiting, and ate the food and took it easy the rest of the day.
The next morning, when I went to the toilet, a large green gall stone as big as the nail on my thumb came out, and the pain was gone!
There was still a heavy sensation around the gall bladder, so I repeated the same process again a week later - intestinal cleansing, rest, this time only half a litre of oil, then again rest and food. The next morning I was prepared and caught over thirty smaller gall stones in a sieve.
A few days later I did the treatment for the third time. This resulted in more than half a handful of gall stones the size of grains of sand - and the last heavy sensation around the gall bladder was gone.
The time had come for a close examination before the operation. I took the small grass green stones in a glass to the hospital and told them what I had done and that there was no longer any pain. The scan showed that there were no more stones left. The doctor's conclusion was, "you can't just go home and remove the gall stones yourself, so there has probably been a misdiagnosis from the start." The slightly elder doctor, who performed the ultra-sound examination said to me in all confidence that research was being carried out on the effect of fatty acids on gall stones.
This all happened thirteen years ago, and I haven't had any more stones since. I have done the treatment quite a few times just to be on the safe side, but only green liquid from the gall bladder comes out. Naturally, I do yoga exercises that keep the gall bladder and the other digestive organs in form. Other teachers and students at our schools, who have tried the treatment, have had equally good results from it. Some have waited with the food, and have instead washed the stones out with the help of the small intestinal cleansing, where only six glasses of salt water are drunk.
A similar oil therapy is used by some health farms and natural doctors. My late grandmother removed her gall stones by drinking double cream and melted butter.
If you have a problem with the gall bladder yourself, you can contact an experienced yoga teacher at one of our schools.
Laxmi
