In its original form this method belongs to the Ayurvedic tradition, but in the form presented here it has been enriched by the immense knowledge of the Siberian Masters and healer of the international Universynergy Arts Academy.

It consists of a method for the cleansing of the intestinal tract by removing all residual impurities with salty water and accompanied by a series of exercises aiming at helping the water to pass through the digestive systems, so that it is not either expelled from the Urinary Bladder or held in the body. Shank Prakshalana, means ‘shell’ and this because the water drunk – as it will be explained later- passes through the digestive tract, as if through an empty pipe. In this practice, the water taken orally passes through the stomach and then, with the help of specific movements - easy for anyone to do - it goes through the entire intestinal system before eventually being expelled.  This exercise should be carried out until the water comes out as clean and transparent as it was originally.   

·         Pre-preparation

Set aside plenty of clean, warm water, to which 1 tea spoonful of salt per litre of water

has been added.  Make sure that the water is salty, as otherwise, it will be expelled as

usual as urine. Should the water feel too salty, the concentration of salt could be

decreased.  

·         Timing for this procedure

Start in the morning, with an empty stomach. This procedure will take more than an hour.

During the same day and the following you should do some asanas, but not sharp

movements.  

·         Steps of the procedure

     1. Drink a glass of salty water

2. Do a series of asanas (see below pgs. 12-13)

3.  Drink another glass of water and do a series of asanas.

4.   Continue to drink water and do exercises.

Contrary to Vamana-Bkhauti, where the water is assembled in the stomach (which causes nausea), with Shank Prakshalana water passes directly to the intestine, without causing nausea.

When you have drank six glasses of salty water and done the exercises, you must empty your bowels.  The first evacuation should occur almost immediately. The defecation starts off with formed stools, which become softer and softer, until they become a yellow liquid. Should this not happen, you should repeat the exercises within the next 15 minutes, without drinking any more water. If again there are no results, it is necessary to make an enema with 1/5 litres of water in order to ‘activate the siphon’. As soon as the first defecation comes, the rest will automatically follow. In order to prevent that the colon is irritated by the salt, after each visit to toilet the colon should be lubricated with sunflower oil.

After the first defecation, it is necessary to drink one more glass of salty water, do more exercises and keep on emptying the bowels. When the water that comes out becomes as transparent as that which you have drunk, the whole procedure has come to an end.  In order to turn off ‘the siphon’ drink three glasses of water, unsalted this time, and do Vamana-Bkhauti, which helps to empty the stomach totally. 

1.      What to do if things do no work out as outlined above?

If after drinking four glasses of water you feel full and nauseous, it means that the entry (pylorus) of the ‘siphon’ was not opened as it should have.  This is reparable.

Do again the series of exercises two or three more times, without drinking water: when the nausea disappears it indicated that the ‘gate’ has opened.  In some people it can happen hat the gases produced by food fermentation prevents the functions of the ‘siphon”. In this case it is important to press the stomach with the hands or to make ‘Sarvangasana’ and the other four exercises (see below). In the worse of cases, should the water does not leave the stomach, do ‘Vamana-Bkhauti’, which consists in emptying the stomach by inducing vomit with the help of the two fingers of the right hand placed against the base of the tongue. Another possibility is that you wait ‘till the excess water leaves as urine in due time. In any case, after the exercises, it is necessary to rest and to avoid being hungry. 

Introduction of food after the cleansing with Shank Prakshalana

1.      First meal

Half an hour (not earlier) after the exercises you must eat.

The first food must consist of boiled white rice (not integral, because its cellulose tissue

will irritate the mucous membranes of the intestines). Rice must be overcooked so that it

melts in the mouth. You can flavour it with tomato sauce, but avoid pepper, carrots or

lentils. You can also add 40gr of butter. If you prefer, instead of rice you can use wheat,

oats or spaghetti flavoured with grated cheese. Rice cannot be cooked in milk. In facts,

during the four hours following the exercises not only it is forbidden to drink milk, but also

coffee as well as make use of acid foods or beverages, fruits and fresh vegetables. Bread

is permitted only at the second meal. All solid and semisolid cheeses are permitted. After

fours hours you can go back to eat your normal portions, although you should really try

to avoid meat. 

2.      Drinking

Do not use any liquid till 6 hours after your first meal or, otherwise, you will feed ‘the

siphon’. During the first meal and after it you can drink water and light beverages. The

first defecation (besides the cleaning done before) will appear after about 24 to 36

hours. They will be watery and without smell.

The above practice should be done on an average of four times per year, at every

change of season or better, if possible, once a month. Dzhirenda Brakhmachari advises to

do this procedure after every fortnight. 

3.      Beneficial effects

This practice removes all the sediments that corrode the mucosa of the large intestine. A

close look at what can be found in the small intestine would be a real shock to any one

of us. In facts, it absorbs - and accumulates - an incredible amount of ‘murk’ that is very

toxic. Indeed, a real poison for our organism!

Beneficial effects: fresh breath, improved sleep patterns, disappearance of rashes from

face and body and, in those who make an excessive used of meat, the disappearance of

the bad body odour.  This practice, in addition, is also a tonic of the organism.

Exercises 

1.      First exercise

·         Keep your feet about 30 cm apart from each other

·         Lift both arms in front (to shoulder level) and interlock

·         your hands.

·         Raise the interlocked hands up with the palms up and straighten your arms

·         Stretch the body upward and bend towards the left from the waist. Hold this position for some time.

·         Return to the starting position and relax.

·         Repeat by bending to the right. Hold for some time.

·         Return to the starting position.

·         * repeat this asana four times and then move on to the next asana. 

This exercise opens the pylorus of stomach and with each inclination amounts of water leave the stomach flashing into the duodenum. This first exercise straightens the stomach and opens the pylorus.  

Second exercise

This exercise forces the water to move into the small intestine. The starting position is the same as in the previous exercise.

·         Keep your feet about 30 cm apart from each other

·         Raise your arms sideways to the shoulder level, with the palms facing downwards and parallel to ground.

·         Turn from the waist to the right keeping the arms parallel to ground.

·         Bend your left arm from the elbow and place it so that the thumb and index finger touch the clavicle on the right side.

·         Rotate the body moving the stretched hand as further as it is possible, whilst looking at the finger tips. 

·         Return to the initial position, and repeat on the other side.

·         *Repeat this double exercise positions four times.

This motion opens the passage to the duodenum.

Third exercise

Pose in the ‘cobra’ position.

·         Only the toes and the palms touch the floor. The feet are 30 cm apart from each other (this is important).

·         When your have adopted this position, twist your head, arms and body so that you can see opposite heel.

·         Return to the initial position and repeat the twisting on the other side.

·         Repeat this exercise four times. This exercise sends water along the small intestine. 

Fourth exercise

In spite of being more complex than the former exercises, this exercise is, nonetheless, accessible to all students.

·         Keep your feet about 30 cm apart from each other and squat down so that the soles of the feet touch each other. The heels face away from the thighs.
Put both hands on the knees by bending the elbows, also kept at a distance of about 30 cm. Twist your body and place the left knee on the floor so that it faces the opposite sole. The palms push alternately the right thigh to the left and the left hand to the right side in order to press the respective half of the stomach and to empty the small intestine.

·         To make the exercise stronger, when twisting the body try to look in the back so to increase stomach pressure. In this exercise it is preferable to squeeze first the right side of the stomach in order to help the emptying of the ascending colon first of all.

·         Repeat this exercise four times. This exercise sends water from the small intestine into the large intestine.

·         Study all these exercises and then begin Shank-Prakshalana.