Karuna Retreats

" I expected to learn about fasting and colonics, but I didn't expect it to be so interesting!"

The Colon (large intestine) is the penultimate stage in the digestive system. It is designed to absorb many vitamins and minerals, carried through the intestinal lining on water, drawn from the foods being digested. The Colon is also the body's primary eliminatory channel for toxins and metabolic waste.

Habitual eating of cooked and refined foods encourages the regular secretion of mucous along the whole of the intestine, furthermore, it destroys the fiber necessary to keep the bowel swept clean, thus the Colon becomes clogged with old debris.

Once blocked, the backing-up of material puts pressure on the bowel wall distorting it tremendously, then our earliest social trainings have left it sorrowfully cramped with pent-up emotions, further inhibiting the movement of waste matter, and blocking optimal absorption of nutrients through the membrane.

The other eliminative organs (liver, skin etc.) then have to perform beyond their capacity, and they in turn will become tired and blocked. The problems this causes are known to us at the surface level as "dis-eases", while their true causes remain hidden to he naked eye.

The supplements and colonics on our detox program help to clear the intestines, massively increases digestive and assimilative ability, and allowing both the liver and the lymphatic system to drain properly during the detox.

Numerous conditions deemed "incurable" have improved significantly and often disappeared altogether by cleaning the Colon, and changing the diet, thus addressing the root causes. Moreover, most of the 'normal' discomforts we take for granted (back ache, depression, Body Odour, Eczema, indigestion, irritability, infections, insomnia, etc.) are connected to a toxic bowel, and are actually reversible through a Colonic detox program.

Home colonic irrigations (as pictured here) are a relatively simple process, involving no pumps or valves. Low-pressure gravity-fed water flushes the whole length of the large intestine with water, whilst you are reclining and relaxing on a Colonic Board.

A rigorous colonic massage and supplements are used to further incite the release of the aged & hardened mucous which has accumulated over the years.

Want to Fast without Colonics?

Some people just find the idea unappealing, others have specific medical conditions that preclude colonic therapy.

Whatever your reason, because our Holistic approach erodes the problem from many angles, it is fine to decline one or two of them, as long as it is understood that the more angles we can cover, the more integrated the result.

Though colonics are the fastest way to move toxins out of the body, juice or water fasting is very beneficial on it's own and all the positive effects still apply. There are alternatives to the colonic procedure, such as using enemas with a good massage, and fasting alone without hydrotherapy. To find out more about the possibilities, and for more information on what is contraindicated: Contact us personally

A Bum Deal

Of all the organs in the body, the bowel is without doubt the most ignored and defiled. It is a subject that is avoided if possible, and briefed over in as pleasant a way as possible when it is necessary to discuss it. However, it is a vital part of our make-up, and there is a strong connection between the bowel's lowly status, its functional problems, and subsequent need for repair. It can be a great lesson to us. It is calling for our attention...

The bowel is best likened to the sewer system of a house. As with any system it will occasionally need maintenance and clearing. To do this in a house, it is necessary to stop the flow of material passing through it, for long enough for someone to do the repairs and shift any blockages!

How could this person do the repair job properly without first stemming the flow ?

It is the same for the body - a rest is needed for clearance to take place, only then will the body make real headway with its internal cleansing. Many years of backed-up waste from the small intestines, Liver, Pancreas, Lymph System, fat reserves, and even muscle structures, is released into the Colon for evacuation. But it must be cleared of previous wastes to be able to deal with new ones

Read over forty articles from the Constipation and Colon Cleansing Resource

The Stresses of Pressure

When one considers the tremendous amount of food consumed, and the atrocious food-combinations our societies have invented, it is no wonder that the body is not able to fully clean out even its own sewer system. No sooner has it started the process of cleansing, than another meal arrives to be digested. No time for cleaning its own metabolic wastes, let alone that of the digestion process. With such amounts of material being forced along without sufficient fiber to exercise the muscles which form the intestine, they become atrophied and will balloon out from the pressures created by other muscles working. Moreover, gases from the fermentation processes force them still further out of shape, and toxifies them into rigid and weak structures, rather than flexible and strong muscles.

Another phenomenon closely related to this "ballooning" is "constriction".

All muscles are prone to tension through emotional stimuli, but those of the bowel are especially at risk, as they have no bone structure to resist their constriction. Due to the weakening effects of toxic products in the bowel, the Peristaltic muscles can fall into an ever-tightening pattern. Unable to relax fully, the muscle becomes more and more toxic because the blood cannot enter it sufficiently. The muscle thus becomes evermore suffocated, and stews in its own metabolic wastes. Once griped, the muscles cannot release, and the cycle of degeneration needs a powerful catalyst to break it.

Left unattended, the bottle-neck effects on food, as they pass from balloon to stricture increases the pressure, thus they # are often found interspersed with balloons.

The Mucous Story

On its way through the 8 metres (28 feet) of intestinal tract, the food is lubricated by a slippery mucous, produced by the sensitive linings that transport it. Foods that are found to contain pathogenic material, or encourage unfriendly bacteria will need more mucous secreted to move them through the system faster, and in doing so the intestinal lining protects itself from being damaged by these components.

The fiber within natural foods wipe away any previous mucous residues, leaving a clean intestinal wall, ready to assimilate the next meal's nutrients. Food that does not contain this fibrous aspect (due to cooking and processing) will not have this effect, and will leave trails of old mucous within the system. If this happens daily, then the intestinal lining becomes coated.

One of the roles of the Colon is to draw water from its contents, as a vehicle for nutrients. When the Colon lining is in contact with old mucous instead of food, it will continue to do this work, hence the mucous against its walls become progressively drier, stickier, harder and more toxic. Moreover, the Colon is then receiving toxins, instead of nutrients, for delivery to the blood and liver.

This combination of elements make it a very powerful feedback loop that leaves the immune system clearing toxic waste and bacterial overgrowth, weakens the Peristaltic Muscle Structure, and otherwise hinders one's natural state of health.

How Colonics Help

When one decides to regain full health, a major step is to rid the Colon of years of this Mucoid Plaque. This is best done by undertaking a fast supplemented with enzymes, and fibre to release and draw old material into the lower bowel for elimination.

A series of Colonic cleanses during this treatment is the most efficient way of eliminating waste from the body, but if this cannot be done, the effectiveness of the supplemented fast alone will expel tremendous amounts of old matter, greatly aiding the body's attempts to balance itself.

Taking a Shower Inside

The motion of the water flushing around, being massaged about, and finally being driven out of the Colon by its own peristaltic responses has a multitude of effects.

1. The chunks of old debris are dislodged by the massaging, and carried out in the water.

2. The expansion of the Colon will ease the tensions of the Peristaltic muscles, and help bring out their associated emotions.

3. The contraction of the Colon wall to expel the water will exercise the muscle reflexes.

4. Awareness of what is happening inside, will provide a new awareness of how these muscles work, and how they feel.

5. The expelled material can give clues to which areas of the intestines need the most attention.

The resulting evacuations are often strange, but explainable. Shedding light upon areas of the person's health that need to be looked at in new ways. The material itself, once expelled is gone forever, but the lessons learned from it can last a lifetime...

A smooth, clean intestine, with no cramped or ballooned muscles is almost nonexistent today. Usually there are numerous places where pockets or constrictions are easily visible. Most of the material expelled is made up of Psyllium husks, a fibrous matter taken during these fasts, saturated in rehydrated toxic mucous.

Occasionally an entire layer of hardened mucous will be eliminated, and will still hold its form, even after passage through the bowel. It can be as hard and dark as tire rubber, 10cm across and usually around 30cm long.

FOR THE COURAGEOUS: To reveal this image clearly, move your mouse over the picture. Should you require a more graphic explanation and larger photo, just click on the picture.

Page Updated: 25/06/2008 09:08:18