Other cleansing techniques

It's not really that hard to say: shank - a - prac - sha - lana. "Shanka" means conch and "prakshalana" means cleaning out. The ancient yogis conceptualized the digestive system as being like a conch, a long spiraled passageway through which food traveled. To clean out the whole digestive system from mouth to anus, they invented/discovered a wonderfully clever but simple method.

First thing in the morning, before any food or drink is taken, a quantity of warm saline water is prepared. The water is drunk 2 cupfuls at a time and then a series of stretching exercise is done. More water is drunk, and again the exercises are performed over and over again. After about 6 - 8 cups, pressure is built up inside the bowels, stimulating the urge to evacuate. The drinking, exercising and evacuating sequence is continued until the water coming out is as clean as the water going in!

There are two versions of this technique. The short form, Laghoo Shankaprakshalana, is performed only up to about 6 or 8 cups of water and takes only 15 - 20 minutes. The full form, Poorna Shankaprakshalana is continued to the state of complete bowel cleanliness and may involve 20 - 60 cups of water and take 4 hours. They are most often just called "Laghoo" and "Shankaprakshalana" respectively.

The time it takes to get fully clean, and the time which one can continue for, depends on many things, such as the number of times one has done the practice, physical fitness, emotional stability, internal blockages, remnant toxins and drug deposits, etc. The common symptoms of people needing to do this technique - like constipation, impure blood, bad breath, pimples, menstrual problems, PMT, mental overload, repressed anger, depression, hormonal imbalances, anaemia, hepatitis, chronic infections, migraines, asthma, sinusitis, etc, - all mean that the body has not been cleansing properly in the past.