Vamana is therapeutic vomiting, which is a medicated emesis therapy. People with high imbalance of kapha are given this type of treatment, which loosens and mobilizes the toxins, in an effort to eliminate them from the body. Waste products (vitiated dosha) are eliminated through the upper gastrointestinal tract.
Method: 3-5 glasses of water should be drunk while sitting down. The water should be normal in summer and lukewarm water should be drunk in winter. Then should stand straight and bent forward at 90 degree angel. Put two fingers down your throat and massage the back of your tongue as far down as possible. By pressing it you will feel the urge to vomit, which is called the pharyngeal reflex or gag reflex in medical terminology. Water will come out of your mouth in a quick series of gushes. Continue pressing until your Stomach is empty.
This practice should be done first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. It is also done after shankhaprakshalana. Follow Kunjal with neti. After completion of the practice it is best to wait twenty minutes or half an hour before eating. The stomach lining should have a chance to reform before the process of digestion starts pouring acids onto its sensitive surface.
At the physical level kunjal can aid the maintenance of good health as well as help in the cure of the following diseases: acidity and gas in the stomach, biliousness, nausea, food poisoning and auto-poisoning, indigestion, inflamed oesophageal mucosa, coughs, asthma, bronchitis and respiratory ailments, headaches, (both tension and migraine) and diseases of the nervous system.
At the pranic level, kunjal gives the whole body a flushing, untying knots and unblocking nadis (psychic nerves which conduct prana) so that the whole body feels revived and alive.
On the mental level, kunjal can help with many types of mental diseases and problems, acting as a kind of shock therapy to recharge the brain and mind. It especially helps with depression, lethargy, apathy, tensions, anxiety, neuroses and phobias.
Note: Those who suffer from any chronic disabling disease, an active stomach ulcer, hernia of the stomach or abdomen, high blood pressure, heart disease or oesophageal varices, should only practice kunjal under the guidance of a qualified yoga teacher or ashram.
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