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Chapter XII: The Irrigation of the Body.1829
washes away the sediment and waste which have settled during the night.
They usually drink a cupful about an hour before each meal, following it
by some mild exercise, believing that this prepares the digestive apparatus
for the meal, and promotes natural hunger. They are not afraid of drinking
a little water even at meals (imagine the horror of some of our “healthteachers”
when they read this), but are careful not to “wash-down” their
food with water. Washing down the food with water not only dilutes the
saliva, but causes one to swallow his food imperfectly insalivated and
masticated—makes it go down before Nature is ready—and interferes with
the Yogi method of masticating the food (see chapter on same). The Yogis
believe that only in this way is water harmful when taken at meals—and for
the reason given, alone—they take a little at each meal to soften up the
food mass in the stomach, and that little does not weaken the strength of
the gastric-juices, etc.
Many of our readers are familiar with the use of hot water as a means of
cleansing a foul stomach. We approve of its use in that way, when needed,
but we think that if our students will carefully follow the Yogi plan of living,
as given in this book, they will have no foul stomachs needing cleansing—
their stomachs will be good, healthy ones. As a preliminary toward rational
eating, the sufferer may find it advantageous to use hot water in this way. The
best way is to take about one pint, slowly sipping it, in the morning before
breakfast, or about one hour before other meals. It will excite a muscular
action in the digestive organs, which will tend to pass from the system the
foul matter stored up there, which the hot water has loosened up and diluted,
as well. But this is only a temporary expedient. Nature did not contemplate
hot water as steady beverage, and water at ordinary temperature is all that
she requires in health—and that she requires to maintain health—but when
health has been lost through disobedience to her laws, hot water is a good
thing with which to clean house before resuming natural habits.