Shatkarma
The foreign elements and impurities that get accumulated over the human body can be cleansed only through the medium of yogic shuddhi kriyas. These shuddhi kriyas are also called as shatkarma because they are of six different varieties of karmas. Hathyoga Pradeepika, the authenticated scripture for yoga and Gherand Samhita emphasised equally well on shatkarma. In fact, Hath yoga is well known for the elaborate description of these shatkarma. The following is mentioned in Hathyoga Pradeepika –
धौतिर्वस्तिस्तया नेतिस्त्राटकं नैलिक तथा |
कपालभातिष्चेतानी शट कर्माणि प्रचक्षते || (ह० प्र० २/२२)
It means that dhauti, vasti, neti, tratak, naili and kapalbhati are categorised as shatkarma. Neti is used to clean nose. dhauti is used to clean the upper portion of the stomach and alimentary canal. Vasti cleans intestines and nauli provides exercise for stomach and kidneys. Kapalbhati is very effective in cleansing both mind and body. Tratak enhances the mental concentration and cleans mental disorders. Except for tratak, all the other shatkarmas are practiced early in the morning with empty stomach. The yoga teacher training program in India provided by us at Yoga faculty provides coaching for these cleansing techniques with utmost careful supervision of our experts.
These shatkarmas are surely beneficial to clean one’s body. However it does not only clean the physical body but it also purifies the soul of the seeker. Because when the mind is purified along with the physical body, we tend to experience tranquility. An individual cannot be ready to perceive the higher levels of yoga without cleansing his body and mind.
Dhauti – the practice of dhauti is done in five different ways. They are –
Vamana dhauti (gajakarani)
Dand dhauti
Vastra dhauti
Moolshodhan
Shank dhauti
Vamana dhauti – This is also called as gajakarani kriya. If an elephant in the forest fall ill, it would drink water and entirely fill its stomach with water. Then it lies down for a while turn to its sideways and expels all the water out of its stomach. Our sages and saints made an acute inspection of this behaviour and named it as gajakarani kriya. This process is very effective in cleansing the oesophagus and stomach. It enhances the efficiency of the abdominal muscles and relieves pressure on the heart.
Process: Take three to four liters of lukewarm water and add 15gms – 20gms of salt to it. Start the procedure by drinking this salinated water. Take care to gulp the water in large quantities and not sip it. Drink until your stomach is completely filled and you feel the sense of vomiting. When you feel the urge to vomit, stand, lean forward and keep your torso parallel to the ground. Open your mouth and exert slight pressure on uvula with index finger or middle finger. Consequently all the water from the stomach will be expelled out. If all the water does not expel out, repeat the process again. This process can be repeated until the stomach is emptied. You must take care to remove the finger while vomiting. If you notice blood while vomiting, you should stop the process immediately and should not try to vomit anymore. This process helps in cleansing the stomach and oesophagus thoroughly. It is helpful to release the fermented food and trapped gases from the stomach. As large quantities of water are consumed, gastric folds and stomach muscles are stretched. It is effective in the optimizing acid secretion and eliminating excess mucus. As salt is added to water it is not absorbed by the body instead it helps in clearing the wastes. Please join our yoga teacher training in Rishikesh to master this art of cleansing technique.
Precautions:
You must atleast wait for half an hour after practicing dhauti to eat or drink anything. Thus the stomach would get enough time to rest and rejuvenate. But you should strictly avoid chilli, pepper and spicy foods.
People suffering with high blood pressure, ulcer in stomach, hernia or any heart related problems should not practice dhauti.
Cleansing techniques like dhauti should not be practiced without the guidance of an expert. Such techniques should not be implemented just by reading books.
It should be practiced only once per week.
Advantges:
It is highly beneficial for people suffering with phlegm and bile.
Asthma patients can feel highly relaxed
Stomach will be thoroughly cleaned
It is effective in eliminating mucus from throat, throat pain and foul breath odour
Dandha dhauti: It is also similar to vamana dhauti. Vamana dhauti uses salt added lukewarm water. The yoga seeker drinks this until his stomach is full and vomits it by exerting certain pressure over uvula with index or middle finger. But dandha dhauti uses a kind of rubber tube.
Process: Start by drinking two or three glasses of water. Take a three feet long rubber tube with a circumference approximately equally to that of your little finger. You can get this rubber tube in any medical store. It should be boiled in water. Take it out from the water and insert the thinner part of it gradually into your throat. Initially dandha dhauti is practiced without drinking water. After finishing the practice one glass of water is given. Then two or three glasses of water is taken and performed. Once the rubber tube goes till the stomach, the seeker should lean forward slightly. All the water from the stomach is automatically expelled out through the tube immediately. The rubber tube is then removed, cleaned and again boiled in water in order to clear away the bacteria.
Precautions: You should never try to insert the tube into the throat forcibly. Due to this your throat might start bleeding or might even get scratched. Thus the tube should be inserted with utmost care. The throat initially will not allow any hard material to be passed in. Some kind of mental preparation is necessary to convince mind that it is done absolutely for a good purpose. Then the tube can be gradually inserted inside. Beginners should not practice for twice or thrice initially. You must have patience and invest some time to practice. It becomes easier automatically as the time passes. It has same advantages as vamana dhauti. We welcome you to join our yoga teacher training in Goa in order to avail the advantages of these cleansing techniques.
