In Ayurveda, there are three important purgation means. These are sweat, urine and stool. It is through these means that the toxic and waste materials produced within the body are brought out of the physical system.
It is of utmost importance that the functioning processes of the organs possessing the three purgation means, viz., the skin; the urinary tract; and the anus function regularly, normally and adequately. When any of them fails to properly work, the human body is exposed to various disorders. As a result, there is malfunctioning of one or a combination of the different Malas. The outcome is disease.
Each of the Malas functions in its typical mechanism.
The skin is made up of the different sweating glands.
The urinary tract is composed of the bladder and the kidneys among others.
The anus is a congregation of the entire digestive system – the enzymes, stomach, intestines, liver and the primary excretory mechanism including the anal tract).
Sweating is the body’s natural process to maintain the body temperature. It serves as an air conditioning tool. Moreover, sweating cleans the cells in the skin. The skin is always directly exposed to many pollutants. The body uses the skin pores to serve all these important bodily functions.
Hence we should keep the skin clean through means other than the natural ones as well. These means to clean the skin are regular scrubbing and bathing, exercises, and fomentation once in a month.
The moot point is to aid the purgation mechanism of the skin.
The urinary tract is one of the main channels through which certain highly toxic substances (produced by the body) are purged naturally.
To ensure regular and proper functioning of the urinary tract, one should drink enough quantities of hygienic and pure water.
It is normal to pass urine at least six times during the daytime.
However, abnormally frequent passing of urine is considered symptomatic of diseases like diabetes.
The stool consists of two elements: One is the refuse or remnant of the food items that we consume and after our body digests or absorbs the necessary minerals and vitamins from them. The other is the eliminated substances from the Sapta Dhatus or the tissue cells of our bodies.
The significance of evacuation of stool can never be overestimated:
1. To maintain the tissue cells in their prime condition, there must be regular and natural movement of the bowels.
2. Else, gastro-intestinal and several other diseases will attack us.
3. Improper bowel movement further creates an ideal breeding ground for intestinal worms.
4. These worms then adversely affect the friendly bacteria that generally reside in the colon.
5. These friendly worms play a pivotal role in the synthesis of many useful materials which are absolutely necessary for the proper functioning of the body.
6. Proper bowel movement obviates the possibilities of one contracting chronic diseases like asthma, bronchitis, sciatica, rheumatism, lumbago and even paralysis.
7. Ensuring of the regular bowel movements is a pre-requisite to commencement of Ayurvedic treatments.