Page:Hatha yoga - or the yogi philosophy of physical well-being, with numberous excercises.djvu/216

216 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 worn-out 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 worn-out 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 own system, which is just as much dirt as the other, and sometimes occasions worse results?

Everyone should wash off his body at least once a day. We do not mean that a bath-tub is necessary (although a tub is, of course, a great convenience), but a good wash-off is requisite. Those who have