Hatha Yoga - Cleansing techniques

Cleaning techniques are one of the most important component of Hatha Yoga, specifically meant to clear the acidity and remove toxics in the internal organs that gets accumulated over a period of time.

We take bath daily to cleanse our skin and brush our teeth to keep our mouth clean. These are example of some external cleansing process. Internal cleansing process aids in cleaning the toxics and other substances accumulated in internal organs.

The food that we eat passes through the esophagus (food pipe), gets broken down in the stomach and digested in intestines.Some of the harmful substances are detoxified by the liver.Remaining indigestible substances (fecal matter or faeces) finds its way out through the bowels.Some amount of toxic and indigestible substances stick to the walls of the internal organs and may not get removed. Toxic substances are classified into vata,pitta and kabha (toxic gas,toxic bile and phlegm).These accumulated toxics may give rise to diseases in later stages of life. For people who tend to eat lot of meat, the toxics may cause more harm.

Hatha Yoga Pradipika prescribes six cleansing techniques as given below.

Dauthi	Eradicates diseases caused by phlegm
Basthi	Disorders of vata,pitta and kapha are all cured
Nethi	Cures cervical (neck) and scapular (shoulder) regions
Trathika	Cures eye diseases and eliminates sluggishness
Nauli	Cures dyspepsia and other digestive ailments
Kapala bhati	Cures all disorders arising from excess of phlegm