Shank Prakshalana (complete digestive tract cleansing)

It's a simple and effective bowel cleansing made at home.

It consists of drinking slightly salty water ("isotonic", see the reason below) and making a few movements until what comes out through the anus is just as transparent as what enters through the mouth.

It's a technique called "Shank Prakshalana" and it's been used for 5,000 years in India.

The advantage over other techniques like enemas or colon hydrotherapy are:

• It cleanses the entire digestive tract, not just part of the large intestine.

• It's very simple to do at home without any appliance.

Recommendations

It is recommended that the first time we do it with a health professional. He will advise us on possible incompatibilities (e.g. pregnant women) and expected benefits for our health.

In ancient times it was recommended doing it at least once every change of season, to prepare the body for the new foods and climate.

Ingredients

Water with sea salt (although refined and sea salt are very similar, as explained in this other article, it's better to use sea salt), at the same concentration of salts in the body (which is why it is called "isotonic", with 9 grams of salt per liter of liquid), at body temperature (like a consommé). (9 grams are a level tablespoon).

If we do not measure the salt well and add too much salt, drinking will make us thirsty. Thirst for water without salt. (Obviously then we have to drink unsalted water).

If we can use sea water, the better (in the proportion of one glass of sea water and three of fresh water).

(If we use sea water, it is better to heat it in a water bath, or slowly stirring continuously and not above 111 degrees -which is the maximum temperature we can endure without burning-, so that it maintains its best properties).

Sea water is a very powerful remedy. We must take into account the notice on the page about seawater on this website.

We can also consult the book "Drinking sea water" (Taking into account Dr. Hamer's laws on self-healing), where its use for health and the precautions to take when drinking it in large quantities is explained.

It is not convenient to do it with pure sea water (without dilution) because the intestine will be irritated uselessly with so much salt.

(If we put too little salt, it will make us urinate more and force the kidneys to work more, if we put too much salt it will make us thirsty - for water without salt).

Procedure

It simply consists of drinking glasses of water (2 small glasses at a time) and executing a few simple movements to circulate the water through the digestive tract.

If after 6 glasses we cannot defecate, it is advisable to do an enema to undo the congestion from below. (We can use the same water or pure -undiluted- sea water).

If the stomach feels full and not the belly, we have to repeat the first exercise. If we feel full in the belly, we do not drink more water and continue doing the movements.

When we have practice we can do this procedure without the movements, and replace them with our daily tasks: washing clothes, children, doing DIY, ... we have to reserve one to three hours on the morning of a holiday where we can go to a toilet regularly (although without urgency).

While doing the procedure is advisable to write down the glasses we drink and how are the stools.

It is convenient that the previous days we eat vegetables so that the stools are less compact, hard. Or we can have a couple of small glasses of pure seawater that will soften our stools.

We stock up to 6 liters of water per person and we organize ourselves so that it does not get cold.

It is advisable to have a little Vaseline on hand, or better, not to use paper but to wash with water -no soap-, as many cultures do, because with paper we irritate the anus after several cleanings. And then we wash our hands.

After the intestinal lavage we should not drink anything before eating, from half an hour to an hour after the last evacuation. The first meals we have to take all food cooked (no salads, raw fruit, etc.) and not take whole foods, milk or yogurt, alcohol, coffee, tea.

Movements

We have to do them all quickly, in about a minute:

To get the water out of the stomach

Standing with our feet 30 cm apart. Arms extended upward with hands clasped palms up. We bend sideways 6 times on each side. We only move the trunk, the hips and feet remain still. It is not a turn that has the spine as its axis, but rather the trunk always looks forward, bending us at the waist.

For the water to advance through the intestine

Standing with our feet 30 cm apart. Right arm extended to the right horizontal with the palm facing down. Left arm horizontal and place it bent with the hand touching the clavicle. We rotate the trunk so that the extended arm goes backwards, while we look at the tips of its fingers and then to the other side (4 times on each side).

To keep water moving through the small intestine

Lying face down and lifting the trunk and head with arms extended. Only the toes (30 cm apart) and the palms of the hands (facing forward, each below your shoulder) touch the ground. We turn the head, arms and trunk to one side until we see the opposite heel. (We do it 4 times on each side).

For the water to move through the colon

Sitting on the floor with our legs stretched together and our body raised, supported by our outstretched arms. We bend the right leg and pass it over the left while keep grabbing the right foot with the right hand. We turn the body to the left and look back. (We do it 4 times on each side).

Why use isotonic water for bowel cleansing?

Our intestine is like a membrane (a wall with small holes):

• on the one hand is our body, with the serum, intercellular fluid, with its concentration of 9 gr./litre.

• on the other is what passes through the intestine.

If what passes through the intestine is fresh water, it is absorbed and eliminated by the kidney (and urinated).

If what passes through the intestine is very salty water, then the water that we have in the serum, in the body, goes through the anus (and we become dehydrated).

If what passes through the intestine is isotonic water (9 gr./litre) it neither assimilates nor sucks water from our serum (neither makes us urinate nor dehydrates us).

It passes without altering our serum, but it is dragging the materials it finds retained within the intestine.

This is based on the physical principle called osmosis: if we have pure water on one side of a membrane (which has pores that allow water to pass through but not salts) and on the other side we have salt water, the pure water passes to where there is the salty water.