 2 Feb 2002 @ 22:47, by Mahendra Bardiya
Water As Medicine (Pani Prayog)
If people start ignoring the lure of fluids like beer and soft drinks, and stick to drinking fresh, pure water instead, one shall soon observe a marked decrease in the number of patients all over the world. Naturopathy has studied the therapeutic qualities of water under two distinct parts : (1) Internal Application (2) External Application. If you desire the benefits of this therapy, you must, as a prerequisite, get rid of a so-called `modern habit'-- namely ``Bed tea'' or the habit of consuming tea, the moment one wakes up, even without brushing teeth or moving out of bed. Never forget, you can start on Water Therapy only after you clean your mouth thoroughly.
In olden days, tradition urged people to consume about 1 litre of water, kept in a copper vessel overnight, after they woke in the morning and brushed their teeth. The water, reacting chemically with the copper of its container, reached the benefits of the same deep into the being of its drinker. A small amount of copper intake, daily, is very conducive to our well-being, health-wise.
1. The Internal Use of Water Therapy: To initiate Water Therapy, drink 1.25 litres of pure, fresh water on an empty stomach each morning, after having starved for 8-10 hours the previous night-long. Please do not drink any less than 1.25 litres of water in the morning. Try consuming the entire quantity of water within 5 to 10 minutes. However, if in the initial stages of your therapy, you find drinking so much water rather difficult, you might start by drinking a quantity smaller than the prescribed 1.25 litres, and with time, graduate to drinking more and more water, till you reach the 1.25 litre mark. It is easy to determine this quantity : An average soft-drink bottle holds 250 ml. of liquid. 1 litre = 1000 ml. Gauging thus, 5 soft-drink-bottles-full will give you your daily 1.25 litres of fresh, pure water. This, you are to consume within 5 to 10 minutes. Make sure to give yourself ½ an hour of complete rest, after drinking the water. Exercises, moving bowels or bath can be taken care of, only after this rest-period. Make sure you don't eat or drink anything within 1½ to 2 hours of drinking water in the morning.
Benefits : Which are the ailments that can be cured or controlled by this form of Water Therapy? They are : Asthma, cough and other respiratory diseases, cold and sinus, acidity, constipation, dysentry, indigestion, infections of the intestines, piles, blood-pressure, angina (pain in the heart/chest), uneasiness etc. The above mentioned experiment, if carried out with lukewarm water instead of cold water, can prove to be more beneficial for people suffering from 'Vat'-related diseases. The juice of a whole lemon, if consumed with lukewarm water, with 1½ to 2 spoonsful of dry ginger powder added to it, can help a lot in such cases.
In case of Acidity[link]-related diseases, mix 1½ spoonsful 'Trikatu' (dry ginger, black pepper and piper longum) in 1.25 litres of plain pure water and add ½ spoonful of 'Trifla' (Almond, Beleric myrobalans and Myrobalans) powder to that, and use this mixture for water therapy. If one requires relief from Cough (mucus) related diseases, one should carry out this experiment, with lukewarm water. In 1.25 litres of lukewarm water, add : 1½ spoonsful of ghee made from cow-milk, 1 or 1½ spoonsful of salt and 2 spoonsful of honey. Some people drink coconut-water on an empty stomach every morning, which is a good habit indeed. There is no water as pure as coconut-water, which is rich in potassium and other mineral nutrients. If you have the habit of drinking coconut-water every morning, keep in mind the quantity of coconut-water you consume. If you consume 100 ml. of coconut water every morning, and are into Water Therapy as well, subtract 100 ml from the stipulated 1.25 litres of water (for Water Therapy) and balance the remaining quantity with pure water, for Therapy. The same instruction applies for the juice of wheat leaves and lemon-water. Subtract the quantity of wheat leaves' juice that you drink every morning, from the stipulated quantity of 1.25 litre water for Therapy. Likewise, subtract the quantity of lemon-juice that you consume, from the mandatory 1.25 litres of water you are to drink, and drink pure water accordingly, to make your daily, morning fluid-intake add to 1.25 litres
How does this form of Water Therapy act within the body?
(1) When 1.25 litres of water is drunk in a span of 5-10 minutes, after a night of fasting that lasts for no less than 8-10 hours, the pressure of water that grips the intestines, activates them a lot more than usual.
(2) Due to the sudden water-pressure, the bits and particles of food that adhere to the walls of the intestines, along with gases and other undigested materials, disengage themselves from the intestinal walls, dissolve into the inflowing water and leave the body along with the same. This in turn, gives the intestinal cells a new lease of life.
(3) The intestines are not the only parts of the body to benefit from this Water Therapy. The cells of the entire being get revitalized. When, after 8-10 hours of fasting, water is drunk, the insides of the body soak it up thirstily and as a result, every single cell of the body gets affected by the water-intake. The free radicles and toxic elements adhering to the cells, are literally pressurised into removing themselves from the cells, and then the body's in-built cleansing system gets rid of these unwanted elements very easily, afterwards. This sort of cleansing is good, in cases of cancer and 'metabolic' diseases. Water is directly related to the kidneys and that is why Water Therapy does away with impediments within and ailments of the urinary track very fast. Water Therapy not only destroys the bacteria of the urinary track but there is also a chance of ridding the body of 'Pathri' (Stone) with the same therapy.
Caution:
(1) The first 3-7 days of Water Therapy could trouble the patient somewhat. He might suffer headaches and body-aches, as well as feel his head swimming. Sweating, nausea and loose-motions could also form parts of the 'symptoms'. If not all these, he might definitely experience a certain sort of uneasiness. The thing to keep in mind is that these are not harmful 'after-effects' of Water Therapy. These symptoms merely serve to testify that the body is getting rid of all the toxic elements trapped within its cells. Since these are not signs of harmful after-effects of Water Therapy, the therapy ought to be continued despite them. If necessary, the quantity of water drunk every morning could be decreased to a bearable extent. After a couple of weeks, when these disturbing 'symptoms' subside or die their natural death, the water intake can be increased to its stipulated level.
(2) Though this sort of Water Therapy is good for kidney and heart-patients, they are however advised to try it out only after procuring their physicians' permission and relevant guidance.
2. The External Use of Water Therapy:
This therapy has been divided into two major parts :
(1) Enema
(2) Bathing.
We will give you some never-heard-before information on the subject of bathing but first, let us discuss Enema: It is quite a tradition to use soap-water for the purpose of Enema, but we would not advice that. 'Herbal Enema' is far better. Castor oil, wheat leaves juice and lemon juice mixed in lukewarm water and used for Enema make the intestines clean and strong within no time. During 'Herbal Enema' the so-called 'chemical reaction' that takes place between the intestines and herbs, has no chemicals involved in it and as such, has no side effect, either. One should avoid Enema in the following cases:
(a) If there is a serious blockage in the intestines.
(b) If one is suffering from high fever.
(c) If there exists an ulcer or hole in the stomach or intestines.
Now to discuss Bathing, which is an integral part of Water Therapy. There are various ways of Bathing, amongst which you might be aware of Steam Bath and 'Kati' (Bath below the waist length) Bath. Steam-bathing facilities are only available in big cities, so let us suffice it to say that in this form of bath, even the tiniest pores of the skin open up in such a way as to allow a thorough cleansing of the skin, making it glow. The name 'Kati' bath itself suggests that this is the art of bathing the waist. It helps eradicate problems like irregular periods, piles, pain along the waist, diabetes, and sciatica. The sort of Water Excercises that are gaining popularity in the western countries now-a-days, have their roots in the principles of Kati baths. People are made to excercise, first in cold, then hot and then, in cold water again. For a Kati-Bath, the patient requires a bath-tub first, in which he is expected to remain in a sitting position for about 30 minutes, in lukewarm water-- his waist immersed in the same. You might not be aware of 'Friction Rub Bath'. Ancient Indian Granths have adviced one to massage / rub the head, neck, hands and feet after a bath, with the help of a dry towel. Acupressure points are strewn all over our bodies and as and when these points are pressurised, the bodies develop strength to combat various diseases, internally. During a 'Friction Rub Bath', you press and rub against these special acupressure points and increase your body's immunity power. If you normally finish your simple bathing ritual in 10 minutes, 'Friction Rub Bath' wouldn't take you more than 15 minutes! But only this much can instantly deliver you from: fatigue and body-ache, headache and burning sensations in hands and feet, high blood-pressure and weak functioning of the heart, indigestion and 'Jhunjhuni' (pins and needles?). This sort of bath is especially useful if one suffers from 'Sandhi vaat' and insomnia. All you have to do in order achieve such benefits is stand beneath the shower and rub your head as you bathe, applying some pressure.Rub your neck from left to right. Rub the areas around and even behind your ears, applying pressure.
Hope this information has been helpful in enhancing your health !
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