The origin of Dhouti Yog lies in the Ancient Practice of Hatha Yoga. Hatha Yoga emphasises the use and exercise of our body. Which helps in gaining total control over it and eventually the mind as well. Looking at the practice through the modern layman’s eyes, the postures and techniques of those ancient days may seem outlandish. However, these techniques have given us tremendous insight into cleansing different body systems of the different Doshas.
Dhouti Yog came into being as a modern approach towards Ayurvedic Medication building on the insights revealed through the ancient practice of the actual Yog. The practices of Hatha Yoga pertaining to the cleansing of the digestive and respiratory tract are discussed below:
Vastra Dhauti
A 7 by 125 centimetre finely woven cotton cloth is swallowed and taken out, strictly according to instruction of the Guru. This cleanses the stomach of excessive bile, acidity and other impurities.
Vatsara Dhauti
In this method, Air is slowly swallowed through the mouth in Kaki Mudra while expanding the abdomen. Then an inverted posture (Pashinee mudra) is assumed to let all the air out after passing it through the large intestine.
Vaisara Dhauti
This practice is also known as Shankhaprakshalana. One drinks a total of about 16 glasses of salt water and evacuates it through the bowels, after doing a set of 5 asanas: Tadasana, Tiryaka Tadasana, Kati Chakrasana, Tiryaka Bhujangasana and Udarakarshan Asana.
Vahnisara Dhauti
It is also known as Agnisara kriya. The purpose of this kriya is to move internal muscles of the abdomen in order to generate internal heat. Therefore, the techniques to accomplish that are similar to Kapalbhati and Bhastrika.
Danta Dhauti
A special neem or babool tree stick is used to cleanse the teeth in this method, as the name suggests. The starting point of the modern toothbrush is, perhaps, in Danta Dhauti.
Vaman Dhauti
This technique involves evacuating the stomach by vomiting three hours after a meal. After performing this practice, a traditional sweet milk rice pudding is eaten.
The combination of all the practices of dhauti cleans the entire digestive tract and respiratory tract. It removes excess and old bile, mucus and toxins. It restores the natural balance of the body’s chemical composition therefore alleviating ailments caused by such imbalances.
