It was almost a year ago when I decided that I should attempt the full ‘colon cleansing’ technique called "shankhaprakshalana" (SP). I heard about this technique almost fifteen years ago when I was trying to find a yogic way to help me with my constipation problem.
When I look back, I recall that I had been dealing with constipation right from my school days. In those days I used to drink one or two cups of tea first thing in the morning to help me with bowel movement. Sometimes even after two cups of tea I would have to wait about a half hour before the tea would have its effect.
 Laghu Shankhaprakshalana (short version of colon cleanse)
It was in the mid to late nineties that I learned about the "laghu shankhaprakshalana" (LSP) technique. The word "laghu" means short or abbreviated; so LSP is a much shorter version of the full SP technique. Around 1997 I tried LSP and it seemed to give excellent results. I gave up on my morning tea and started the LSP practice each morning. Within a few days I started feeling much lighter and more energetic since now my stomach felt very clean and I developed a much healthier appetite. Since then I have continued the practice of LSP every morning.
So, what is Laghu Shankhaprakshalana (short version of colon cleanse)? I found details about the technique in a book from the Bihar School of Yoga. incidentally, I am really fond of books from BSY; they have books on almost every aspect of yoga and they are all extremely well written. Essentially, LSP involves drinking four to five glasses of lukewarm, saline water, first thing in the morning. After drinking water, you are supposed to do a sequence of five postures, each eight times. Within a short time, this routine helps in bowel movement. As I mentioned, I have been practicing the LSP routine on a daily basis for nearly fifteen years. Even though the text strongly recommends using salt water, I have been using plain, unsalted water since I am on medication for high blood pressure and I feel using salt water can do some harm to my BP situation.
Shankhaprakshalan (Deep Colon cleanse)
Now coming to my experience of the full SP (full colon cleanse) routine. The word Shankhaprakshalana is a composite of two words – shankha meaning "conch" and prakshalana meaning to wash completely. The word shankha is used to represent the stomach which is roughly the shape of a conch. In practice, however, shankha represents the entire alimentary canal from mouth to anus. This practice is also known as "varisar dhouti", dhouti being one of the six cleansing routines mentioned in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Shankhaprakshalana is the process to cleanse the intestinal tract by removing the impurities with lukewarm, saline water.
As I mentioned above, I started thinking about it almost a year ago. However, given that the whole procedure takes 3 to 4 hours and then the whole day you can’t do any physical activity, I kept postponing it until I could find that ‘perfect’ day that I could devote just to this activity. So, it was Friday two weeks ago when I had no planned commitment that I finally decided to try it out. Please write to me if you would like to get the full details of the procedure. Here is a brief summary of the procedure:
- Eat a very light, sattvic dinner the previous night.
- Prepare a large amount of lukewarm water, adding about two teaspoons of salt per gallon of water.
- Start the practice early morning, around 6 to 7 AM.
- Drink two glasses of the prepared water quickly and perform the prescribed five asanas (stretching poses), repeating each asana eight times.
- Go to the toilet and try to empty the bowels. If no movement happens, don’t worry, just come out and repeat the process of drinking two glasses of water followed by the five asanas, as mentioned above. Once again go sit on the toilet for bowel movement.
- After a few rounds of this procedure, you will notice that only liquid begins to come out. Initially the liquid is brownish in color but gradually it begins to get clearer.
- The procedure is supposed to be completed when perfectly clear water, similar to what you drank, comes out.
- After completing the procedure, rest for about 50 minutes to an hour. Avoid sleep during this time.
- After the rest period, eat a nice helping of ‘khichari’ a cooked preparation consisting of rice and lentils.
- During the day, you are supposed to eat nothing but another helping of khichari toward the evening.
- For the next full week, maintain a very light, sattvic diet. Avoid milk, yogurt or any other dairy product, any citric juices etc or anything too heavy to digest.
My Own Experience
In order to prepare for the colon cleanse, I had to take a very light dinner the previous night. On that Friday morning, I started the procedure at 5 AM. I started with drinking two glasses of lukewarm saline water and did the full set of the prescribed stretches. At that time I had the regular bowel movement.
I repeated this sequence 3 or 4 times and the results were quick and I was pleased with the cleansing that was happening. In each round the stool was getting softer and after about 10 glasses I started getting the liquid stuff out. However, after about 12 glasses, the bowel movement was not very quick and I had to wait several minutes for results.
After each repetition of the routine, I kept getting brownish colored liquid out. After about 18 glasses, I started feeling a little bloated and the output reduced significantly compared to the intake of water. I was a little disappointed at the end as I did not see "clear" water coming out as mentioned in the book. At the end of almost four hours, I had consumed about 22-24 glasses of water but it seemed as if the last 5 or 6 glasses were still in my stomach. Despite waiting for several minutes, no more water would come out. This is when I declared to myself that the procedure was over and it was time for the prescribed 45-50 minutes of rest.
I have to admit that by the end of it all, I was totally exhausted, physically and mentally. Even though in the beginning the exercises don’t seem too demanding, but when you have to do 8 rounds of each exercise and do the whole routine 22-24 times, it really takes a toll on your energy resources. All I wanted to do at that point in time was to just crash into my bed. Since falling asleep is prohibited as a part of the instructions, I had to make extra effort to stay awake for fifty minutes.
At the end of the rest period, I had the prescribed "khichadi" (a preparation of rice and lentils cooked in ghee or clarified butter). The rest of day I just completely rested, mostly in bed. For the first few hours I didn’t seem to have the energy or the desire to even read anything while in bed. It was later in the afternoon when I started reading a book and also listened to some music.
Because I had consumed much more water than what came out in the morning, the excess water came out through very frequent urination throughout the day. In the evening, for dinner I once again had a bowl of khichadi. As per the instructions, one is supposed to eat nothing but khichadi on the day of the procedure. For the next seven days, one is supposed to avoid all dairy products, fruit juices and anything that can be considered acidic. Given that I am very fond of milk and yogurt it was quite a challenge for me to stay away from dairy for a whole week.
Now, coming to the best part of the experience. Yes, the overall feeling the next day was pretty amazing. It was a feeling of being light, clean and full of energy. Because I had spent so much time and energy into the cleansing routine, psychologically I did not feel like putting any more "garbage" into my system. In order to maintain that feeling of lightness I was very careful in eating only light and ‘sattvic" food for the next several days. Of course, now I am back to my usual routine diet which includes milk and yogurt.
In the book it is strongly recommended that one should practice shankhaprakshalana under the guidance of a teacher. If you would like to go through this experience, I will be glad to help you with it.
If you have any experience with shankhaprakshalana, I would love to hear about it. I would welcome your comments and feedback.
To Yoga with Subash,
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Dear Swami Poornaseva Saraswati,
I truly appreciate your reading the blog post and pointing out the potential violation of copyright. I have since removed any reference to the “scanned copy” of the text. Please review the blog again and let me know if it looks OK now.
As I have mentioned in the blog post, I am a big fan of the books from BSY. These books have been my main source of all yoga-related information.
With kind regards,
Subhash
Glad to read about your experience with Shankhaprakshalan. I’ve tried it several times and experienced the feeling of lightness that you described on the day after.
You were more persistent than I’ve ever been though. I always stop after 10-14 glasses. By that point, the excretion is completely liquid but not always as clear as water. It usually has a slight yellow shade.
One difficulty people may experience the first time is an urge to vommit if you drink too much and too fast. It’s important to pace yourself. In my experience, 2 hours has been adequate for the full routine. If you have a history of constipation, more time may be required.
Thanks, Prakash, for sharing your own experience with Shankhaprakshalana. I persisted with the procedure for as long as I did only because I was going with the instructions from the book. It was only when I felt fully bloated up and nothing was coming out did I decided to call it quits. But I still believe that the overall experience was great. The feeling for the following few days was amazing. I plan to try again some time in late summer or early fall this year.
I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time now. I have a history of constipation and also have acne even though I eat very well, do yoga frequently, and almost never drink any sodas, alcohol, etc.
I am sure that I would feel much better after doing this cleanse. Like you said, I’m waiting to find the right time to do it – a time when I have all day to spend recovering.
ANyways, I’ve read other instructions online that are very detailed, saying you can’t bathe the same day that you do the cleanse because the change intemperature is too drastic for your body, etc. I’ve also seen very specific lists of foods that cannot be eaten the entire week after performing this cleanse.. Can you tell me which foods you ate the week following the cleanse?
Finally, how long should you wait before going back to a yoga class?
Hi Kay, I am so glad to see that you are planning to try Shankhaprakshalana to help you with your constipation.
As mentioned in the post, I avoided all dairy products for one week. Other than that I continued with my regular diet which is mostly the typical Indian diet consisting of roti, veggie curry, dal (lentils), fruits and salads (raw veggies like cuke, tomato, raddish, carrot etc.). As for yoga practice, I went back to practicing and teaching yoga the very next day. Even though on the day of the kriya, I felt quite listless and lacking energy, the next morning I woke up feeling really good and had my full energy back. So I was able to get back to my regular yoga routine quite easily.
I would love to hear about your experience.
- Subhash
Dear All,
Its really a great technique to cleanse the colon. I did it under the super vision of a senior most yoga master who was at the age of 95 when he trained me.
what I experienced was full clean water comes out in the final. I felt no exhaustion because it was done systematically and slowly.
We have to do until the water itself comes out without any substance in that. Some times water may be yellowish but it should not contain any substance.
What I observed is dissatisfaction comes because of two things,
1. Drinking water quickly and more at a stretch
2. Performing the asanas fast or incorrect manner
My master advised me
1. we should not go to latrine until it becomes emergency
2. We should continue until clear water comes out
3. Drinking water or bathing may lead to high fever, so we should avoid water, if we are thirst we should do sheetkari pranayama.
4. After only water comes out in the final we should do vamana dhouti with normal water without salt.
5. We are advised to take rest on the floor on the mat if possible.
6. We are advised to practice this 4 times in a year for every season change
Regards
Ramakrishna
Dear Ramakrishna,
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with the Shankha Prakshalana technique. Your guidelines are valuable indeed. It is impressive and inspiring to see that you were taught by a teacher who was 95 years old!
Let us know what other yoga techniques you practice. Thanks.
Hi , i took my shankhprakshalan yesterday . I ate spicy food today with paneer in it.now i am having severe unbearable pain in my stomach. I hv had 3 glasses of water and a combiflam but it is not helping? What can i do…..shud i see a doctor ?
Hi Tripti, Without knowing more of your history with digestion etc, I don’t think I can suggest anything at this point. I think it might be better to see a doctor. In future, you may want to follow the strict diet guidelines for a whole week after the SP treatment. I wish you all the best.
Hello Subhash / Ramkrishna,
Greetings!
I’ve been reading a lot about – Shankha Prakshalana and relly wished to do. But the following things rather fear prevented me not to try,
1. It should be done under the guidance of an experienced yoga therapist/guru.
2. I’d approached one guru, who followed Bihar Yoga School teaching to propogate yoga and teach others. There’re some pre-requisites and he told me that you shouldn’t do it alone but under expert advise, and someone should be monitoring your blood pressure since if the BP goes down drastically it may prove fatal.
I stay in Pune, India and is looking for a yoga therapist/guru, who can help me in Shankhaprakshlana. Please advise.
With warm regards,
Chidambar
Dear Chidambar, it is so nice to see that you would like to practice Shankha-prakshalana technique for internal cleansing. As you have rightly mentioned, the full technique should indeed be practiced under the guidance of a yoga teacher. Since I live in the United States, I really have no information about teachers in the Pune area. As for the lowering of BP, I have not read anything about it in the texts from the BSY. HOwever since this statement came from someone associated with BSY, it cannot be ignored. I wish you luck in finding a suitable teacher for you.
As you may be aware, the Laghu Shankha-prakshalana technique can be practiced safely, even on a daily basis. My suggestion would be to start practicing the LSP technique on a regular basis and start deriving its benefits. As and when you find a suitable teacher to guide you through the full SP technique, you can try that out. I wish you all the best.
Colon cleanse is really necessary if you want to keep your colon free from polyps.,
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It is much more than just keeping the system free of polyps. It is a complete detoxifying practice. You can do the mini version everyday and the full version once a year.
[...] to appreciate my hard working GI Tract (if you are interested, I use the Bihar school ‘Laghu Shank Prakshalana‘ which is a short salt-water [...]
Hi, In the country I live in there is no moong daal. Can you please suggest an alternative? The only Indian daals I get are tuwar and Chana and masoor
Hello Gowmukhi, I don’t think it is very important that you only add moong daal to the khichri preparation. You can actually mix both Toor and Masoor daals in rice to make the khichri. Have you tried the Shankhaprakshalana yet?
Yes. Many times since many years. But this year am in a country where moong daal is not available. Moong daal has a sticky consistency so I guess it’s for this reason used in order to give a lining to the stomach…just guessing.
Dear Gowmukhi, you may be right about the consistency of moong daal. Since you have practiced Shankhaprakshanlana many times, it would be great if you could share your experience with the practice. Where are you located now?
Did you do Vamana Dhauti after the deep cleansing? It’s recommended as a good ending for the Shank Prakshalana.
My experience was semi-successful I would say. I drank about 5 glasses doing the asanas properly: slowly, relaxed, breathing normally. Everything seemed to work but then I realized the water is still not going out. I used the lavement to help. It started going.
Then I realized that the first batch of water was not salty enough and my body did not want to get it out, but tried to digest as a salty vegetable soup or something. I added a little bit more of salt in the next batch and the process started exactly as it should be: 1 glass – 1 exercise routine – 1 toilet visit.
After about 5-6 glasses I was tired and the water stopped going out effectively, I needed 2 exercise routines now to get one glass out. I was out of energy after nearly 4 hour of the procedure and decided it’s time to stop. The water coming out was orange/yellowish but at first it had some non-liquid stuff in it, and by the end it came out totally liquid YET not as clean as the water I drank first obviously. I was satisfied with my first experience at that point. I finished the procedure with Vamana Dhauti (drink 3 glasses of salt warm water and puke) as recommended (to remove the leftover water and clean the remainings). The only discomfort that I experienced was that I bent too much during Vamana Dhauti and my eyes have swollen a little bit after it. It was not anything too bad though, became ok after 2 hours. It is also very important to maintain a strict diet after Shankprakshalanah, as you need to restore the good bacteria. It is a very important part of the whole procedure. At least 2-3 days of very simple diet (rice, porridge without any salt or sugar), no dairy, no acidic fruits and no fresh vegetables, definitely no drugs: alcohol, coffee, cigarettes etc. A week or two of simple vegetarian diet should follow, with limited intake of dairy/acidic fruits, preferably no meat or fish and again no drugs.
I’m going to try the shankprakshalana again in about 4-5 months if I feel that it’s worked. I still need to see what I will feel in 1 month, mostly I am focusing on how my skin will look, if it will clear from acne that was caused by problems with my digestive tract and intestine.
Dear Anton, thanks for sharing your experience. No, I did not do Vaman Dhauti at the end of the practice as I was too exhausted to try anything else. However, as I have mentioned in my blog post, I did feel wonderful the next morning. The whole experience seemed totally worth all the effort and energy. I would definitely like to know how you feel after your next experience.
- subhash
Hello sir. Please tell how to perform the mini version of this technique everyday.
i have been suffering from constipation for the last 10 years. i want to get rid of it all costs. Please help me. what all asanas to be performed in mini version
where can i find bihar school of yoga booka. they are not available online. Please tell.
I am presently living in ambala cantt , haryana. Please suggest any teacher or institute near by , who an teach me this technique.
Thanks
Chetan
Dear Chetan,
I am sending you the link to download the instructions for the mini version in a separate email. Hope you will find it helpful. Unfortunately I am not familiar with yoga teachers in your area as I live in the USA. Please visit this page http://yogavision.net/publications/ypt-orders/ where you will find information on how to order Bihar School books within India. I hope it will work out for you. Regards,
Subhash
Thanks a lot sir. Please send me the link asap , I will start doing mini version then.
My email id is yahchetanyah@gmail.com
Thanks
Chetan
and sir please tell which of the bihar school of yoga book has details about lsp technique , i am unable to figure out from the title.
which are other useful books provided by bihar school of yoga for good health .
Thanks
Chetan
Good day.
Could you please advise whether it is safe for a person with type 2 Diabetes to do Shankha Prakshalan both deep and short version?
Regards.
Dear Vikas, as far as I know, it is safe to practice either of the two versions, SP or LSP, when one has diabetes. I haven’t seen any such statement that links SP with type 2 diabetes. Not being a medical person, I don’t know if there are any hidden dangers in the practice. In case of doubt it is best to double check with your personal physician. I would love to hear your experience with SP and LSP.
Hi good to hear everyone else’s experiences. I did this practice in full for the 3rd time yesterday. It took a lot of water about 22 – 24 and then I did vamana dahouti and netti after I did a yoga nidra and then had my meal. My face is swollen (this always happens)and I have the most horrendous headache you can imagine, and I feel far from light, also I’m very irritable, however I think this is due to sugar and caffine withdrawals as well as having small children running around, and the smell of roast Sunday dinner being cooked downstairs haha but it will pass in a couple of days. I can’t wait for the burst of energy and well being I normally get.
Hi Danielle,
Thanks for sharing your experience. I must say that your experience of swollen face and a headache are rather unusual. I certainly hope that you feel well soon and get that “burst of energy” that is normally associated with this practice. As I mentioned in my blog article, I felt totally exhausted on the day of the practice. However, the feeling on the following day and for several days afterwards was one of total exhilaration.
Dear Subhash,
May I request the link for LSP that you’ve mentioned above? I am very keen on starting the cleanse and am so glad you endorse doing the shorter version daily. I was going to begin with unsalted water for a week… when we do the cleanse, when can plain water be drunk?
Namaste and Many thanks for all you’ve shared
With warm regards,
N
Dear Nidhu, it is great to see that you would like to start practicing the shorter version of SP cleansing routine. I wish you all the best. I was just wondering why you would like to start with unsalted water. Unless you have problem with high BP, it is recommended that a small quantity of salt be added as it helps in the cleansing process. I am sending the link for the LSP document in an email to you. Please do write back with your experience.
Regards.
I have known about this for 40 years. I tried it many years ago for about 4-6 rounds. I was drinking the water but none was coming out my bowels. I felt very bloated and somewhat nauseaus. I gave up after an hour or so. What do you do in a case like this? Did I do something wrong?
Blessings
Since I have done this practice only once myself, it is hard for me to draw any conclusion from your experience. For me, the first couple of hours were quite successful. It is only in the last (the fourth) hour that I started feeling bloated. I stopped the practice after about four hours. The bloated feeling went away after I urinated frequently during the day to get rid of the excess water.
You may want to try it once again just to see if you can successfully cleanse the system. Did you add salt to the water? That is supposed to help. Also doing the prescribed exercises is an important step to get the proper bowel movement. I wish you luck!
One more question. Did you find that it cleaned out your whole digestive tract so you could do most any yoga posture?
Thanks
It was the morning after the practice that I really felt that my entire system has been cleansed out. At that time I was able to go back to my usual yoga routine without any restriction.
Thanks for your detailed explanation. I did the Laghu Shankaprakshalan (LSP) based on the instructions given by Yogi Ashwini in youtube. There were no other instructions for diet. Please let me know if there are any diet restrictions when we do LSP.
Also, can you please email me the procedure for LSP?
Thank you
Dear Paddu, I am not aware of any serious diet restrictions for the LSP practice. What is mentioned in the instructions is that you should take an early, light dinner the previous evening. That will help you better with the cleansing process. I am sending you the link to the instructions via email. Please share your ongoing experience here so others can benefit from the practice. Thanks.
Hello,
I have just tried sp for the first time, after preparing mentally for a couple of months. While I an quite happy with the procedure – it was easier than I had thougt – I have a couple of notes.
First, even after 20 glasses of water evacuations never became clear but persistedly stayed an acidic light yellow, and second, towards the end evacuations (and the cleaning of the area) started to hurt as my skin was getting increasingly sore.
I did use more time on the procedure than most as evacuating several times during each set of exercices became necessary, also I did not manage to drink rapidly. I suspect the cause of skin rash might be due to an excess of gall in evacuations (also explaining colouring)? What can I do differently next time?
Dear Catherine, let me congratulate you on completing your first SP kriya. Thank you so much for sharing your experience. As I mentioned in my article, even I had the same experience of not getting pure, clear water at the end. Another reason for the rash could be the constant wiping of the area. Maybe you can try a super-soft toilet paper next time. When do you plan to do it next? I still haven’t made up my mind when I want to do it next. Please keep us posted with your future experience. Thanks.
Hello, I am making enquiries for my sister who has a lot of digestive issues. She has had a section of bowel removed, which included the ileosecal valve, and this has left her with both constipation and diarrhoea at different times. She has been having colonic irrigation but this makes her quite ill afterwards and I am concerned that this is not the right thing to do with no valve to stop access to small intestine.
I think she is not strong enough for the deep cleanse but I’m thinking the short version might be a good starting point and she could progress to the deep cleanse later. Could you please send the links, and also which book would be best to obtain.
Thankyou so much for the great information on your site.
Kind Regards,
Judy
I do not have constipation; will this kriya still help me?
Thanks
Certainly, Vish, this kriya will help you cleanse the entire digestive track, colon and the intestines etc. It is a part of the six cleansing routines mentioned in the Hatha YOga Pradipika. You may practice the LSP kriya maybe twice a month and the full SP kriya once a year or so for the purpose of cleansing the system.
The practice of natural colon cleansing dates back to ancient Greece. In the U.S., cleansing the colon — the large intestine — became popular in the 1920s and 1930s. But when the theories behind it lost support, it fell out of favor. Recently, though, colon cleansing — using, for example, teas, enzymes, or colon irrigation — has experienced resurgence.`
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Dear Subhash,
I have had constipation for years. I tried laghu this morning since for the moment I don’t have enough time to do the full SP. However, it didn’t start any bowel movement. Is it normal since it is the first time I’m doing it? Maybe I didn’t put enough salt in the water? Do you have any advice for me?
Thank you very much for your help.
Dear Chloe, I was introduced to LSP several years ago because I suffered from severe constipation pretty much all my life. i now use it everyday and almost never have problem with bowel movement. I think you need to be patient and try it a few more times. Your body may take some time to adjust to it. No, I don’t think you need more salt – the water should be only mildly salty. Give it a try and let me know how it goes. Wishing you all the best.
I tried the shanka prakshlana two weeks ago. It was a really good and healthy experience, though it was somewhat tiring. It left me with a very light feeling overall and not just in my stomach. I am going to repeat it after a 40 days gap.
Hi Deepika, yes, that was my experience as well. After almost four hours, I was quite exhausted. I would love to know how it goes the next time.
Dear Subhash,
I really wanted to ask you if you could send or give me the instructions for the mini version.
I have seem to have lazy bowels and constant constipation, my belly is totally full and sometimes very painful. Stools only come once every 4 to 14 days. I suspect it is the cause of my tiredness, which has a very big effect on my life. I stopped school and such. Last fall I had surgery for an infected appendix, and after that it got even worse. I am only 28 but completely feel like an old lady..
I would love to try this way in addition to what my doctor is doing/trying. I am not sure if he understands that it takes energy, and maybe does not see the fullness of the problem.
If you can, please send me the instructions. I would be very grateful and I will follow them with care.
Bumblebee
Dear Bumblebee, I am sorry to hear of your constipation problem. I am sending you the document for the mini version via email. I hope you will find some relief with this procedure. Let me know how it goes. All the best.
ear Mr.Subhash,
My age is 38 & I stay in Pune.
I am suffering from severe & chronic constipation from last 20 years.
I have tried every pathy & every kind of diet, exercise etc but in vain!!
Can you please send me the complete procedure for LSP?
Regards
Madhav
Dear Madhav,
I am sorry to learn that you have a bad constipation problem. I certainly hope that the practice of LSP will help you. I am sending you the link to the full document in an email. I would love to hear about your experience with the practice. All the best,
Hello Bumblebee / Subhash,
Just wanted to inform that, I’ve read that the people w/ acute intestinal problems should do the Shankh Prakshalana exercises under the supervision of a yoga teacher after consulting the doctor. I don’t intend to discourage, but it’s better to be careful.
Regards,
Chidambar
Thanks, Chidambar, for this cautionary note. I fully agree with you that anyone with acute intestinal problem should consult with a doctor before attempting the full SP routine.
Dear Mr. Subhash,
Its unfortunate for me but to tell you, I lost my father-in-law on 22nd March. He was practicing the Shankhprakshalan procedure under the guidance of Dr. Narayanrao in a special camp organized to teach the technique at the Veer Savarkar Smarak, Dadar, Mumbai last week.
My father in law was a diabetic and was on insulin for the last couple of years.
He was told by the organizer that this therapy would get rid of the insulin for him. He also had a history of heart problem that was diagnosed just a couple of years ago.
He died of a cardiac arrest just after practicing the therapy in the morning of 22nd March and collapsed just after reaching home tired and exhausted with breathlessness.
I want to know from you if practicing the technique could have led to increased stress and pressure on his heart as it was the last day of the camp?
Also, wouldnt his life have been saved had the yoga teacher/doctor noticed the symptoms and persuaded him to stop the exercises right away?
Isn’t it a wrong practice to advice a treatment to someone and convince him that an ailment like diabetice would be cured permanently with it?
Your valuable thoughts shall be highly appreciated.
Regards,
Amit
Dear Amit, please accept my heartfelt condolences on this very tragic and unfortunate happening. I don’t consider myself an expert on the shankhaprakshalan technique so it not possible for me to comment whether this particular practice could have played a part in your father-in-law’s demise. It could be a combination of multiple factors which worked together to cause his death. In my own experience, though, even though I have been teaching yoga for over 17 years, I can never make a claim that the practice of yoga could cure anyone completely of a chronic disease. Even though I myself practice yoga regularly every day, I am on medication for blood pressure for the last ten years or so. All I can say is that the practice of yoga can help stabilize the ailment. More importantly it teaches us how to deal with any eventuality in life. I hope this helps.
Wishing you all the best.
Dear Subhash,
Today is the 2nd time I have done Shankhprakshalan. The first time was last December 4 months ago. Both times took 4-5 hours & went well except I was pretty sore in the last hour, soft toilet paper notwithstanding!
I tried Shankhprakshalan because my digestion wasn’t very good & my toilet habits were irregular my entire life. Last year it almost seem I was suffering symptoms of IBS (my Dad has it). After the first Shankhprakshalan, I did feel much better, lighter, not bloated. Together with daily hatha yoga & eating yoghurt, I started to have regular bowel movements soon after. From January I took priobiotics every 2nd month.
2 months after the first Shankhprakshalan my digestive powers seem to weaken although the constipation didn’t come back. I kept putting off doing Shankhprakshalan again because it takes up an entire afternoon of a weekend. Furthermore it is very challenging to avoid yoghurt, dairy products, meat & acidic food for one week. I confessed that I went back to my regular eating habits after 48 hours…
Having just finished the 2nd Shankhprakshalan process less than an hour ago, I seem to be feeling better already although slightly tired. In fact I feel hungry!
May I know when exactly can we resume drinking normal water during the end of Shankhprakshalan?
Both times I became very thirsty in the last hour. I started drinking water when I had 4-5 bouts of passing clear (slightly yellow) water. Is this correct?
Hi Bel,
First of all I would like to congratulate you for going through the SP process the second time in four months. Yes, I agree it can be very exhausting. I have only done it once so far; I too felt very tired during the last hour of the practice. As for drinking regular water, my understanding is that you should wait for at least 45 minutes before consuming any liquid or solid food. I am assuming you had been drinking saline water during the procedure but had the urge to drink regular water. In the text from Bihar School, they mention that one should eat only “khichadi” (a cooled mix of lentils and rice, with extra ghee in it) during the whole day. All the best.
Hi Subhash
Thank you for letting me know I have to wait around 45mins before resuming drinking regular water! Yes the urge to drink regular water became more & more pressing in the last hour. After the first time I had porridge with leafy vegetables because I am not experienced in cooking lentils. I am from Singapore, so admittedly it is not a very good excuse since it shouldn’t be difficult to source for Indian food stalls that sell lentils. Must plan better next time.. Thank you again for your advice and fast response, greatly appreciate it!
Are u online.need help
Yes, I am online now.
Hello Subhash,
Hope this finds you doing well.
1. As per your advice, I’ve started w/ LSP. Please confirm if all the following 5 asanas to be done 8 times (only 1 set), since I found different versions of “LSP” on the net.
Tadasan
Tiryak Tadasan
Kati Chakrasan
Tiryak Bhujangasan
Udar Karasanasan
2. If you feel the urge to go to toilet in the middle of these asanas, should you continue the remaining after coming back from the toilet?
3. Even after 8 times(1 set), if nothing happens(no urge), should we have more water and continue again with 8 times or end there and repeat the same the next day?
Please advise.
Regards,
Chidambar
Hello Chidambar,
I am glad to see that you have started the practice of LSP. I hope this will help you with any issues with digestion that you might have. The sequence of the asanas that you have mentioned is right – that’s what is recommended in the book from the Bihar School of yoga, the practice that I personally follow. If you have to go to the toilet in the middle of the sequence then you should restart the sequence from the beginning the next time. If nothing happens after one set, you should try at least one more set. If still nothing happens, then, of course, you give up for the day and try it back the next day. I hope this is helpful. Please keep updating here with your practice and future experiences. Wishing you all the best.
Hi!
thank you for sharing your experiences.
I am really curious to try this.. will share my experience here then too
would you send me the information or link to download the mini and full detailed
LSP, i am looking for all information and sources.
i would appreciate a lot.
hope you are doing well.
Hi Cathrin,
I have sent the links to the two documents in an email to you. I am so glad that you would like to try this cleansing technique. Let me know how it goes. All the best.
Greetings Subhash!
I’m in the same boat as bumblebee. Only sadly I’ve grown to not know how to properly care for my body. Laziness wreaks havoc on me. So tired all the time, Difficulty breathing, constipation, severe internal pain, Mental unstability, depression, heavy heavy overeating, Something seems to be attempting to kill me through the corruption in my mind. Although realized, one must admit. The flesh is full of temptation. Can you please send me the full, and short disciplines, I don’t wish to die. Ego battles are very tough. the path to enlightenment is no easy road.
Now is the time for health,
Love, light, and life
33,000,000,000 blessings!
lheureux.raymond@gmail.com
Thanks, Ray, for your interest in the documents for colon cleansing. I have sent the links in an email to you. Please update me with your experience. Thanks and wishing you all the best.