Posted 5:07 PM by Blah blah

My Tummy Says Hi

More from Swami Raymond...

Yesterday the yoga teacher did something really strange. She lifted her shirt, told us to blow out all of our air, and showed us her bare belly. She began to ripple her tummy side to side, like a wave. This photo of a guy's belly shows it all!

"Eww," we said.

"This exercise," she said while sucking her stomach in fully, "is called uddiyana bandha." Says this site, "Uddiyana-Bandha ensures the correct functioning of the internal organs and fosters control of the abdominal muscles. It is a highly effective way of reducing the volume of the abdomen when distended by pregnancy." Another guy belly pic of it.

"Now this exercise," she said, doing the belly wave again, "is called..."

"Blue Crush!" I said.

"Good one," she laughed. "No, it's called nauli." It's one of six techniques (shat kriyas) to cleanse and purify your body. Nauli is supposed to massage your abdomen and help with constipation.

Some of these six "shat kriyas" make me cringe. For example, under kunjal kriya (rated PG-13):

"Jivha-shodhan dhauti

Join the index, middle and ring fingers together, place them into the throat, and slowly rub well the root of the tongue, and wash out. Expel the phlegm.

Rub the tongue with butter and milk, repeatedly. Then by carefully holding the tip of the tongue, pull it out gradually and slowly.

The rubbing of the root of the tongue prevents the accumulation of phlegm which occurs throughout the years, and which is responsible for stale breath and general lack of freshness in one's mouth; it keeps at bay throat infections, even tooth decay. The manipulation (milking) of the tongue stimulates the inner recesses of the oral cavity and greatly adds to the perfect functioning of various glands in the deep of neck, i.e. thyroid and parathyroid."

India has these "laughing clubs" in Mumbai (aka Bombay) where people group to LAUGH for exercise. True. Read The Essential Link Between Laughter and Yoga. They use nauli and uddiyana bandha too.

Milking the tongue. Yeah.