Shatkarmas- the yoga cleansing processes of the body are six in
number. According to Gherand Samhita , each of the practices has
several further varieties.
The six practices are:
1.
DHAUTI- It is an important
yogic system of auto cleaning. It has 4 types
a.
Antar ( internal )Dhauti
-This further divided into -
Vatsara
Dhauti (Expelling air through anus)
Varisara Dhauti
(Evacuating a large quantity of water
through the bowels)
Vahnisara Dhauti (rapid
expanse/contraction of the abdomen)
Bahiskrita Dhauti (washing the rectum in the hands)
b.
Hrida(cardiac) Dhauti
- It has 3 kinds of practices -
Danda Dhauti (Inserting
soft banana stem in the stomach)
Vastra Dhauti (Swallowing
a long thin strip of cloth)
Vaman Dhauti (Regurgirating
the contents of the stomach
2.
BASTI- This yoga practice of
colon cleansing has 2 parts
Jala
(water) Basti (Water is sucked in the large
intestine through the anus and expelled)
Sthal (Dry)
basti (Air is sucked in this case)
3.
NETI - this
yogic nasal irrigation technique is of 4 types
Jala
(water) Neti (passing warm saline water through
the nose)
Sutra
(thread) Neti (passing a soft thread through the
nose)
Ghrita
(ghee) Neti (passing clarified butter through
the nose)
Dugdha
(milk) Neti (passing of milk through the nose
4.
TRATAK- A yoga exercise for
the eyes, it involves steady and continuous gazing at a
point of concentration. It is further subdivided into:
Antar
(internal) Trataka, and
Bahir
(external ) Tratak
5.
NAULI - a yoga abdominal
cleansing technique which serves to massage the internal
organs of the body. In this the abdominal muscles are
isolated and churned. It has 3 parts
Dakshin
Nauli (when muscles are isolated to the right)
Vama Nauli
(left)
Madhyama
Nauli (middle)
6.
KAPALBHATI - this mind
detoxification technique of yoga has 3 components
Vatkrama Kapalbhati (similar to bhastrika pranayama)
Vyutkrama
Kapalbhati (sucking water in through the nose
and expelling it through the mouth)
Sheetkrama
Kapalbhati
These yoga cleansing practices
should be learnt under the guidance of an experienced master. He
shall be able to guide you which technique is best suited to
your body type. Also out of the above techniques mentioned some
of them are the advanced ones, and should be done after
perfecting the easier and basic ones.
The shatkarmas if practiced unnecessarily, will not be so
effective when genuinely required. Just as one would not have
tonsils or appendix removed if there were doing perfectly,
similarly shatkarmas have to be practiced by those who require
it.
No wonder these practices were treated with great esteem and
respect by the yogis who perfected them and knew about their
power.
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