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Chapter XXVI: The Yogi Bath.1929
undone. Each pore is the end of a little canal called a sweat-tube, which
extends way down into the surface of the body. There are about 3,000
of these little canals to each square inch of our skin. They are continually
exuding a moisture called perspiration, or sweat, which moisture is really
a fluid secreted from the blood and laden with the impurities and wastematter
of the system. You will remember that the body is constantly tearing
down tissue and replacing it with new matter, and it must get rid of its waste
just as a family must get rid of its waste sweepings and garbage. And the skin
is one of the means by which the waste is removed. This waste, if allowed to
remain in the system, acts as a breeding place and food for bacteria, germs,
etc., and that is why nature is so anxious to get rid of it. The skin also exudes
an oily fluid which is used to keep the skin soft and flexible.
The skin itself is constantly undergoing great changes in its structure, just
as is any other part of the body. The outer skin, often called the scarf-skin, is
composed of cells, which are short-lived, and are constantly being sloughed
off and replaced by younger cells forcing their way up from beneath the old
ones. These wornout and discarded cells form a coating of waste matter on
the surface of the skin, if they are not brushed off or washed off. Of course
quite a number of them are rubbed off by the clothing, but a considerable
quantity remain, and the bath or a wash is needed to get rid of them.
In our chapter on the use of water as an irrigator for the internal man, we
told you of the importance of keeping the pores open, and how soon a man
would die if his pores were sealed, as shown by experiments and occurrences
in the past. And this accumulation of wornout cells, oil, perspiration, etc.,
will at least partially seal up the pores unless the body is kept clean. And
then, again, this filth on the surface of the skin is an invitation for stray germs
and bacteria to take up their abode there and thrive. Are you extending this
invitation to your friends, the germs? We are not speaking of dirt obtained
from the outside world now—we know that you would not carry that
around with you—but have you ever thought of this waste matter from your