In this digital era, we are experiencing information overload every single day. Facebook and Watsapp are flooded with information. Ranging from comedy memes to memes of concern, some information just gets ignored while some goes deep into your heart. I came across one such message in recent days. Guess what? It's about an everyday activity . It's part of our regular routine. Ages ago, we had rules and regulations for this activity but in recent days, we are doing it in a hurry. Yes, it is our everyday bath, which was called as Snana in olden days. We already knew that sanatan dharma is just not a religion, but a way of living. As such, even this everyday ritual had lots of rules and regulations. I came across a recent watsapp message, which said, how a bath, if done in a wrong way, can trigger strokes. Interestingly, I found a connection between this and our sanatan dharma rules about bath. The result is this blog post. Let's dive into the quick article!
The news which was the base for this article (circulated in watsapp) is "why do strokes often happen in the bathroom?". Let me first give the full news before we go into full analysis.
Why do strokes often happen in the bathroom?
Written by a UiTM Prof with the national sports board.
He has been advising people not to wet the head and hair first when showering as this is in the wrong sequence. This will cause the body to adjust its temperature too quickly because we are warm blooded. By performing this incorrect sequence, blood rushing up the head may cause capillary or artery breakage hence a stroke and a fall.
Right way of showering is to start wetting the body from the feet up to the shoulders slowly.
A sensation of vapour coming out of the crown on the head or bristling of body hair may be felt for some people.
Follow this procedure then shower as usual.
Especially useful for people with high blood, high cholesterol and even migraine.
You can also check in google to get more information about the above concept.
Bath in olden days :
Now imagine our ancestors taking bath in natural water bodies like Rivers and Lakes. They need to step down to reach the river/lake/pond, slowly wetting their feet and ankles first, then legs, thighs, hips, chest, face and finally head. Just see the sequence. No effort was required here. It happened naturally. They took an early morning bath and hence the water was naturally cold. (It is always best to take bath in cold water rather than hot water). And in those days, taking a head bath on all days (snana) was mandatory. A bath is completed only after wetting the head. This way, body heat was kept in control.
Apart from this, our ancestors had followed several methods to energize and revitalize the physical body through bath. They interlinked body and mind to achieve the ultimate ideology, "realization of the soul". Every single activity was inclined towards that ultimate goal. Even day to day activities like, bathing, eating, sleeping etc. had "methods" to be followed. They were imposed just to follow mindfulness, which is greatly spoken today. Each and every day to day activity was outlined by certain rules and even mantras to chant during that ritual only for this reason. Mindfulness!! To be fully present in the current moment and to immerse both the body and mind in the particular activity and have complete awareness, rather than letting your mind wander in the past or in the future.
Bathing rules outlined by Manusmriti :
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| Image source : Hinduwebsite.com |
Manusmriti is a sacred text in sanatan dharma which is commonly called as the law book or Dharmasashtra. It is said to be given by the first Manu of the current Aeon, who is the Svayambhuva Manu. The text outlines the dharmas of the four varnas respectively. A common man may find the rules very difficult to follow. Interestingly, chapter 4 of this text outlines certain rules and regulations to be followed for bathing. They are listed below :
1. Never take a bath naked
2. Never bathe immediately after a meal nor when sick
3. Never take a bath in the middle of the night
4. Never step in the water used for cleansing the body (bath)
5. Best time to take a bath is early morning
6. Never take a bath in a tank that belongs to another person (if done, he will be tainted with a portion of the guilt of the person who built the tank)
7. Always take bath in rivers, ponds, lakes or natural springs
Okay! great! We have come to the end of this article. In our so called modern, stress filled daily life, we are all aware that taking bath in rivers and lakes is not possible every day. Once in a blue moon, it may be possible😃. But on day to day basis, our life is limited to taking baths in bathrooms. But what we can do from our side is, we can try to follow the correct sequence of bathing. That is definitely in our control. Isn't it? In order to have a healthy lifestyle, let us take bath in cold water whenever possible and also try to start wetting the feet first and gradually go upwards. Let us try and make this as our everyday routine. Thank you all for reading!
