Page:Hatha yoga - or the yogi philosophy of physical well-being, with numberous excercises.djvu/95

Rh matter is a source of poison to the whole system. The colon has walls which absorb the contents of the colon. Medical practice demonstrates that nourishment injected into the colon will be absorbed rapidly and carried to the blood. Drugs injected in the same way reach the other parts of the system. And as before stated, the fluid portion of the waste faecal matter is absorbed by the system, the sewage water being used in nature's work because of the shortage of purer fluids in the system. It is almost incredible how long old faecal matter will remain in a constipated colon. Cases are of record showing that when the colon is cleaned, among the masses of old faecal matter has been found cherry stones, etc., eaten several months before. Cathartics do not remove this old faecal matter, as they simply loosen up what is in the stomach and small intestines, and pass it off through the little opening in the hardened faecal matter with which the walls of a badly constipated colon is lined. In some persons the colon is impacted with hardened faeces, almost as solid as soft coal, to such an extent that their abdomens become swollen and hard. This old waste matter becomes sometimes so foul that it becomes the breeding place of worms, and even maggots, and the colon is filled with their eggs. The waste matter, or faeces, which is passed into the colon from the small intestine, is of a pasty substance, and if the bowels are clear and clean, and the movements natural, it should pass from the system in but a trifle more solid state, and of a light color. The longer faecal matter is retained in the colon, the harder and drier it becomes, and the darker in color. When