Ayurveda about Colonic

Ayurveda teaches that digestion is key for a healthy and happy life. A weak digestive system can not work properly. Working properly means turning foreign substances in our bodies into part of us through adsorbtion, distribution, and elimination. Undigested food turns into ama – a toxic, sticky, foul – smelling substance. Disease is the body’s attempt to eliminate the toxicity.

There is no doubt that toxicity must be eliminated. Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Modern Western medicine suggest their methods for that. Let’s compare their views.

Western medicine praises colonic – a mechanical intestine cleansing. But Ayurveda states that toxins (ama) is not only in the colon but all over the body, clogging all the smallest channels (nadis). The colon is sit of Vata dosha, the principal of movement. Colon therapy aggravates Vata, which pushes toxins deeper into tissues (dhatus) all over the body.

Traditional Chinese medicine uses the principal of correcting Yin and Yan, the two energies which rule our health. From Ayurvedic point of view correction of  the energy flow can be done only after detoxification since toxic energy even circulating properly doesn’t do any good.

Ayurveda is the only one that dispose of  consecutive means to clean the body. Only Ayurveda uses individual constitutional approach. First the sticky substance clogging the cells and channels of our body needs to be unsticked. Then it is directed into the cavity of the body from where it can be easily eliminated (lungs for Kapha, small intestine for Pitta and colon for Vata). And only after cleansing, the organism can be tonified and rejuvenated.

Three parts of Pancha karma are the complete procedure which prepares the body (Purva Karma), cleanses (actual Pancha Karma), and invigorates it (Rasayanas).

To easily understand how sticky ama can be torn off let’s try an experiment. Take some sticky dough and place it into three glass jars. There is no way to get the dough completely out of the jars. We can try and put the first jar into the hot oven. The dough will adhere to the jar’s walls making it even harder to get out. We can pour water  into the second jar with little help. But if we pour oil into the third jar all the dough will fall out letting the walls completely free of the sticky substance. That is how Snehana (internal and external oliation) works. The ama is torn away and collected on the sit of a particular dosha. After that we use Vamana for Kapha toxins, Virechana for Pitta and Basti for Vata toxins to excrete it. And only after that it is time for gradual restoration and rejuvenation of the body.

TODAY’S TIP: When we use tonifying or rejuvenating products on a toxic body we accordingly nourish and energize the disease. Don’t expect the bottle with new “wonder pill“ to tell you that. Because where profit is in play only using one’s own brain can help.

See also: Panchakarma.