Dhauti is a cleaning practise, or shuddhikriya. It cleans the stomach in a special way. Since it is one of the most important organs in the body and its health affects the health of the whole body, it is very important to clean your stomach. Dhauti is a good way to clean up in this way.
There are three kinds of Dhauti:
This is the easiest of the three types, Vamana-dhauti. In this method, you drink about six glasses of water and then throw up by putting your index and middle fingers in your mouth all the way to your uvula. You throw up the water, which brings the waste out of your stomach with it.
- Vastra-dhauti: This is the hardest dhauti, but it is also the most useful. Here, a thin strip of muslin fabric about 3 inches wide and 20 feet long is taken. It is cleaned by putting it in boiling water for a while and then rolling it up. Hold one end between two fingers and put the other end in the mouth. Slowly swallow it. Stop gulping when only six inches of the cloth are outside the mouth. Make sure you don't put the other end in your mouth. The cloth was put inside the stomach by Nauli and used to turn the stomach. Now, slowly pull the strip off by the other end of the cloth. This dhauti cleans the stomach by rubbing against the inner lining of the stomach wall and removing all the dirt from the stomach.
- Danda-dhauti: Do the same thing as above, but instead of your fingers, put in a rubber tube that is about three feet long and a little wider than a lead pencil. It is swallowed slowly so that one end of the tube goes into the stomach while the other end is held outside the mouth. The water will come out of the stomach when the trunk is bent forward, like a syphon. Bring out the rubber tube when all the water has been thrown out. Put the tube in boiling water for a few minutes to clean and sterilise it before you use it. Many people find it hard to put the tube in without throwing up because their throats are sensitive to touch. For them, the vamana-dhauti is the better choice because it is the easier of the two. The good thing about danda-dhauti is that the stomach wall doesn't spasm and the water comes out very smoothly.
Dhauti is a very useful medicine. You can use it as part of a yogic treatment for acid reflux or asthma.
