Basti_(hatha_yoga)
Basti (hatha yoga)
Cleansing practice in Hatha Yoga
Basti is an important shatkarma, a yogic purification, intended to clean the lower abdomen, especially the colon.[1] The Hatha Yoga Pradipika and other sources[2] attribute to it many beneficial effects. There are two ways to perform Basti:
- Sthala basti (aka Sushka basti or Vata basti), cleans the colon by sucking air in the body without the help of any catheter or tube.
- Jala basti (aka 'Vati basti') cleans the colon by sucking water into the anus through a pipe.
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika states that the pipe form of basti destroys swelling of the abdomen and diseases of the spleen among other ailments.[3]
The Gheranda Samhita states that the wet (pipe) form of basti wards off urinary diseases, wind, and constipation, conferring a physique "like the god of love".[4]