Health and Therapeutic Benefits of Shatkarma

Shatkarma cleanses the body so that the body becomes pure from all doshas, and the practitioner can efficiently perform higher yogic practices with ease and effectiveness. These practices have various therapeutic benefits for both body and mind. But before incorporating any cleansing methods into your lifestyle, you must first understand the problems and consult with health care professionals or any qualified yoga consultant. You also need to learn and practice these Kriyas under the guidance of an expert.

To understand the health or therapeutic benefits of Shatkarma, we generally use two approaches. The first approach is to go through various authentic hatha yoga texts because the authors of these yoga texts were great sages; they wrote their teachings and experiences in their books, which are the basis of modern Yoga. The second is modern and scientific. In this approach, we study various research published on Shatkarma to understand its effectiveness as a preventive or curative method for different diseases.

Health Benefits in Traditional Hatha Yogic Text

So, if we look at authentic texts, there are many Hatha yogic texts in which we reference Hatha yoga Pradipika and Gherand Samhita.

मेदश्लेष्माधिकः पूर्वं षट्कर्माणि समाचरेत्।
अन्यस्तु नाचरेत्तानि दोषाणां समभावतः।। 2/21।।
 meda-śleṣhmādhikaḥ pūrvaṃ ṣhaṭ-karmāṇi samācharet | 
anyastu nācharettāni doṣhāṇāṃ samabhāvataḥ || 

Verse 2/21 of Hatha Pradipika, the author recommends purification methods for yoga practitioners with excess fat or mucus, and practitioners whose doshas (vata, pitta, kapha) are in a balanced state should not practice shatkarma.

Swami Swatmarama says that practitioners with excess fat or mucus should practice Shatkarma. Those who are balanced and healthy should directly start higher Pranayama practices.

Gheranda Samhita, written between 17th-18th C.E., Sage Gheranda gave much importance to Shatkarma, which is why in his book, he gave one complete chapter dedicated to Shatkarma; in his book, he mentioned Seven chapters, and Shatkarma is the beginning of Yoga practices.

शोधनं दृढता चैव स्थैर्यं धैर्यञ्च लाघवम् । 
प्रत्यक्षञ्च निर्लिप्तञ्च घटस्य सप्तसाधनम् ।।1/ 9 ।। 
Shodhanam dridhataa chaiva sthairyam dhairyam cha laaghavam;
Pratyaksham cha nirliptam cha ghatasya saptasaadhanam. 

षट्कर्मणा शोधनञ्च आसनेन भवेद्दृढम् । 
मुद्रया स्थिरता चैव प्रत्याहारेण धीरता ।।1/ 10 ।। 
Shatkarmanaa shodhanam cha aasanena bhaveddridham;
Mudrayaa sthirataa chaiva pratyaahaarena dheerataa.  

प्राणायामाल्लाघवञ्चध्यानात् प्रत्यक्षमात्मनि । 
समाधिना च निर्लिप्तं मुक्तिरेवं न संशय: ।। 1/11 ।। 
Praanaayaamaallaaghavam cha dhyaanaatpratyakshamaatmanah; 
Samaadhinaa nirliptam cha muktireva na samshayah.

Sage Gherand gave seven limbs for purification and strengthening of the body for higher Yogic practices: Purification, firmness, stability, patience, lightness, directness, and detachment. The practice of six cleansing actions: Shatkarma brings purity, the practice of asanas brings strength, the mudra brings stability, the pratyahara brings patience, the pranayama brings lightness, the meditation brings awareness, and the samadhi brings liberation. There is no doubt about them. So, according to both significant hatha yogic texts, Shatkarma is for the purification of the body; sage Gheranda, in the first chapter of his book Gherand Samhita, a classical Hatha yoga text, mentioned Shatkarma or six purification methods.

Many diseases are managed because of these cleansing practices, as discussed in Hatha yogic texts. This table shows the effect of Shatkarma on various diseases mentioned in Hatha yoga texts, such as Hatha Pradipika and Gherand Samhita.

Health and Therapeutic Benefits of Shatkarma in the Context of Modern Research

Modern days are evidence-based, and the scientific community does not believe anything just because it is written in ancient Hatha Yoga texts or because of any practitioner’s experience. Our experience gurus wrote their experience in book form so others could benefit from their expertise. Still, in this era, scientists are checking their claims, and slowly, a new branch of Yoga, known as Yoga Therapy, is emerging. Although Yoga is built for salvation, it has many other health benefits. Researchers published these claims in various clinical trials, and many researchers continuously working on it.

Various researchers and scholars have conducted modern research and clinical trials in Yoga, especially in Shatkarma, Asana, Pranayama, and Dhyana. Yoga research has been published in many journals, and when we look at these journals, we get to know the enormous health and therapeutic benefits of Shatkarma. Here are some health and therapeutic benefits associated with Shatkarma:

1 Detoxification: Shatkarma is designed in such a way that it helps to remove all toxins from your body. Shatkarma is a good detox of your organs, including the digestive and respiratory systems. [1]

2. Improve digestion: Shatkarma cleanses toxins from your digestive tract and helps improve your digestion.

3. Shatkarma on the respiratory system: A study shows that Shatkarma helps enhance and improve the respiratory system. [7]

4. Shatkarmat on chronic back pain: A controlled study was conducted, and the result shows that yoga sessions benefit patients; specifically, Shatkarma practice reduces pain and anxiety and helps increase flexibility. [6]

5. Shatkarma for sinusitis: Sinusitis is a common problem in kids and young people, and various studies show that Shatkarma, specifically Neti, is very beneficial for sinusitis. Results show that sinusitis symptoms are reduced. [8,9,10,11]

6. The complications of Shatkarma: Shatkarma is a very effective practice to purify your body, but you need to practice under the guidance of yoga experts. Various types of research show that you may get some adverse effects if you do extreme Shatkarma practice without guidance. [12, 13, 14]

Based on various research and clinical trials, yoga practices are very effective in treating different diseases and help to boost health in all dimensions. Still, it’s just an initial phase, and lots of work remains. 

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