This article to get you thinking twice about enemas and anything you consider sticking up your pelvic floor’s larger orifice, whether it’s water, oil, salt water, coffee or a herbal decoction.
Note, enemas are one of the five most powerful therapies in Ayurveda (Panchakarma), and Ayurveda has significantly extensive knowledge and experience in this medical intervention.
A Few Things To Be Aware Of:
1. Unctuousness
In Ayurveda, there are thousands of enemas, (called Bastis) made up of various formulas. Not one of them are without the unctuousness quality, (a “friendly” type “oily” quality, called snigdha in Ayurveda).
Water irrigation colonics, decoction enemas (including Ayurvedic herbal decoctions) and coffee enemas without any oil and procured without specific preparation processes will have a scarping action (langhana) inside the gut. This can damage the internal tissues and eliminate the healthy tissue (improper catabolism).
2. Honour Your Nervous System
Enemas are not only for the gut! As a matter of fact, the primary use of enemas are for your nervous system! Your navel is home to the Enteric Nervous System (the largest nerve plexus in the body) where all your nerve plexuses end in. This is why Ayurvedic bastis are powerful to nourish, (not detox), the nervous system, emotions, the mind and help in psychiatric disorders, auto-immune disorders, severe genetic conditions and dry nervous disorders like Parkinson’s and dementia.
Most bastis are small amounts of medicated oil (20ml-60ml) to be held in and absorbed into the gut, and not eliminated. They stay there to nourish your rich gut flora and can even penetrate every cell in your body if you use a precious basti oil. Contact Vital Veda to order matra basti oil. Orders via email only.
3. Coffee Enemas
Since your enteric system is the main organism getting flooded with the intra-rectal fluid of your choice, think twice before you pour your morning cappuccino up your bum.
Coffee enemas are definitely not suited to the majority of people and can act as a dehydrating gastro-intestinal irritant.
4. Not All Oils are Equal
Those who know Ayurveda, know it holds profound knowledge on oils.
There are many methods of preparing the oils, and there is a specific one that is ideal for bastis – which is a “soft preparation method” (“mrdu paka”) to be gentle on the gut. Other oils may have some ama (toxins) as they are not purified properly and this enters into vulnerable organs since bastis bypass the liver.
5. Holistic Treatment Approach
As with all purification procedures, consider pre treatment and post treatment. We can learn from Ayurveda’s premier cleansing therapy called “Panchakarma,” in that it has a “Purva Karma” (pre-action) and a “Pasjart Karma” (post-karma) with all cleansing therapies. Also your agni (digestive fire) has to be in a precise state before doing cleansing enemas. For this you need an experienced physician.
Have you had an enema before? What is your experience? Comment below.
Vital Veda Enema (Basti) Oil
We use a precious, fine basti oil and supply the kit and instructions.
This oil is prepared by the Raju family in a complex procedure.
You can read about the basti oils here: