kechari - turmeric powder -- just an antisceptic?

[david_obsidian]

Hello Oliver,

Thanks for your post.  I have read before of turmeric powder being rubbed into the frenum after snipping it;  or,  alternatively,  a mix of turmeric powder and salt.

quote:Originally posted by brauniver


The lower part of the front portion of the tongue, the frenum lingua, is cut to the extent of a hair's breadth with a sharp knife once in a week. Afterwards powder of turmeric is dusted over it. This is continued for some months. This is Chhedan.

However,  I cannot see any benefit to this whatsoever,  except possibly as an antisceptic.  Turmeric is indeed a primitive antisceptic, and so is salt.  Of course,  the ancient Yogis probably knew nothing of bacteria,  but experience may have told them that this practice reduced the possibility of infection.

Since we now (in the industrialized world at least) have better hygiene and an abundance of near-sterile tap water with which we can rinse our mouths out with,  this practice seems redundant.

If anyone has any alternative ideas about why this was done,  please let me know.

Thanks,

-David

[Victor]

Turmeric and salt is an antiseptic used in Ayurveda. When someone has a sore throat it is something good to gargle with. Its really not a very big deal as far as Kechari is concerned, just a precaution against infection.
 Oh, and the ancient Ayurvedics did indeed know about bacteria. They used the term "Krumi" which means worms. There are many types of Krumi that are classified ranging from the large easily identifyable ones down to Krumi too small to be seen (bacteria)

[Ute]

In praise of tumeric: It is also a pretty effective anti-inflammatory and I read recently about it being looked at (in the West) as basis for possible future cancer treatments because it destroyed cancer cells, at least in the lab. Great in curry, too
Blessings,
Ute

[brauniver]

By sprinkling salt and turmeric powder, the cut edges may not join together again.

[david_obsidian]

Hello Oliver,

quote:Originally posted by brauniver

By sprinkling salt and turmeric powder, the cut edges may not join together again.

I have heard this too -- it seems to be in the written lore on Kechari.  But honestly I think it is just folklore -- the tendon fibers never reattach after snipping.

This is a note from Yogani from

http://www.aypsite.com/plus/223.html

>> Once a tendon string is
snipped, it won't reconnect to itself or anything else that presents
a strong limitation. Once a tendon string is snipped there will not
be much there to hold the tongue down that can't be easily stretched
at any time in the future.

The discussion in that lesson is very well worth reading if you want to get a better grasp of what is going on.

Your frenum is made up of thousands of tiny but very strong fibers that that don't really stretch significantly;  and they don't re-grow either when broken ( this is a feature of tendons,  much to the dismay of people with certain injuries).  All that really matters is that these fibers are broken over time.  Everything else can stretch easily,  and presents no real limitation for the tongue.  In fact,  as Yogani has pointed out,  the tongue does not really need to stretch at all for Kechari;  only the frenum-limitation  needs to be removed.  Re-attachment is not an issue --- it just does not happen, despite what the folklore may say.

So the turmeric is just an ayurvedic wound-dressing,  nothing more.

-David

[brauniver]

Yes thats possible!

[brauniver]

I just read that in the Hatha Yoga Pradika interpretation of Yogi Hari he said too that the salt and the tumeric powder is an antisceptic.