Yoga enemas - Basti - Ayurvedic

Hi - I thought I would recount my experiences with one of the yoga cleanses, called basti (or sometimes vasti, of jala basti). It is a method of giving yourself an enema without a bag. Maybe it is worth my mentioning it, because some of the web literature is a bit obsure (' find a river with clean water...').

I learn this from a book called 'Hatha Yoga', by Theos Bernard.

A pre-requisite is to be able to do nauli - this is where you isolate the central abdominal muscles into a ridge (you can see this on youtube, etc). This can take around a month to learn, doing 5 mins per day, and is beneficial in itself.

So... basti. You insert a short enema nozzle, and need to be able to squat or kneel so that the end of the tube is in water. It depends on you - it might work in a bath, or with a a pan of water on the floor.

When you do central nauli (not the rotations) very strongly, it creates a vacuum, and sucks water in. After a few of these, take the tube out, do some yoga postures to massage, the abdomen, and expel as normal.

So, is it any good? This is hard to assess - it is really intended for very serious hatha yogis, who are eating a restricted diet. Personally, I think that it is difficult to take in much water, because the act of doing nauli itself compresses the abdomen, and taking in much more than a pint is unlikely.

I welcome any other views (and can provide more info if needed).

I have tried a basti but I did not succeed in sucking up the water from the basin with my stomach muscles as yogis do.

I used to do this when I was much younger--40 yrs ago--I never found it all that useful as a cleansing routine----however it did help me train my abdominal muscle which I still find useful and helpful

Hydraulic weight would necessitate their be no significant air in the tube or pipe for the vacuum to be sufficient. The lift distance should be nil also, thus the need for 'find a river with clean water...' They are actually in this river.

In Ayurveda, there are various recipes for Basti (Ayurvedic enema). I have listed a few of these general recipes, but I must remind you to consult a qualified Ayurvedic Physician, Naturopath, or Medical Doctor if you have any major medical problems. Each recipe has benefits and contraindications. These recipes are not meant to heal or cure any specific illness, but nutritional basti can be used to assist with certain nutritional imbalances.

Basti treatments should not be used with very old or frail people, although a 2 oz. sesame oil basti may be helpful if constipation is a significant issue.

Ayurvedic basti involves the administration of certain herbal preparations in sesame oil into the colon. Basti is the most powerful of the five main procedures of Panchakarma. These medicated enemas are used for various specific purposes. However, in general, Basti treatments are used to promote the elimination of the loosened vata dosha out through the rectum. These vata disorders may include constipation, distention of the colon, chronic fever, the common cold, sexual disorders, kidney stones, heart pain, vomiting, backache, neck pain and hyperacidity.