Basti
This can be practised with or without a bamboo tube. But it is better to have a bamboo-tube. Sit in a tub of water covering your navel. Assume the posture Utkatasana by resting your body on the forepart of your feet, the heels pressing against the posteriors. Take a small bamboo-tube 6 fingers long and insert 4 fingers of its length into the anus after lubricating the tube with vaseline or soap or castor oil. Then contract the anus. Draw the water into the bowels slowly. Shake well the water within the bowels and then expel the water outside. It is known as Jala-Basti. It cures Pleeha, urinary disorders, Gulma, myalga, dropsy, disorders of digestion, diseases of the spleen andbowels, diseases arising from the excess of wind, bile and phlegm. This Kriya should be done in the morning when the stomach is empty. Drink a cup of milk or take your meals when the Kriya is over. This Kriya can be practised while standing in a river. There is another way of doing Basti without the help of water. It is called Sthula-Basti. Sit in Paschimottanasana on the ground and churn the abdominal and intestinal portions slowly with a downward motion. Contract the sphincter muscles. This removes constipation and all the abdominal disorders.