Note: In the AYP Book, detailed instructions on amaroli (urine therapy) are provided.

Lesson 40 - Amaroli – Some Interesting Observations

From: Yogani
Date: Thu Mar 3, 2005 10:22am

New Members: It is recommended you read from the beginning of this
tantra yoga archive, as previous lessons are prerequisite to this
one. The first lesson is, "What is tantra yoga?"


Q1: I'm glad you did put up that stuff about amaroli (urine therapy)
in the AYP book. Without it, I may never have discovered it. I might
only suggest that in later editions (if you do intend to make them),
you make it more prominent.

As for stigma, fortunately most people reading your book are way
beyond a grade-school mentality about the body. It's worth
acknowledging that some people will have to work against instinct if
they want the benefit of amaroli, but that's about it.

I am amazed at the effects of amaroli so far in my case. I had no
idea it was so effective.

If you are scientifically curious, I have some observations and
speculations about amaroli.

The main speculation I have is that its main mode of action (or, at
least the first mode of action) is not in fact "nutritional" in the
normal sense (its mode of action is not through bringing body
chemicals to a good level of supply), but it is rather catalytic (it
initiates a process in the body). The reason I think there is a
profound affect which is not nutritional is that a very small amount
(of what is already eliminated by the body) is enough to get a
profound process going. This would seem to contradict the idea that
it brings about change by changing body supply levels.

The catalytic affect may be "hormetic" (you have suggested this
yourself in your book, not using the same word); possibly toxins in
the urine start the process.

What I have found is that one teaspoon per day is actually far too
much for me at this point (this amount makes me feel quite feverish
and want to spend most of the day in bed). I can only take a few
drops. Even at this level, the effect is profound, and I have only
been at it for about three weeks. I feel stronger, both psychically
and physically. I don't find myself as inclined to want to sit down;
standing is good, for longer. My vision seems higher-resolution. My
mood is better. My meditation is calmer and stronger. I wake up less
tired, and am in general more energetic. I concentrate for longer and
am less subject to longings for my working day to be over. I crave
chocolate less -- in fact, I am more or less ignoring it. I am less
subject to regretful moods.

Since a few drops is what my body eliminates in a few minutes, there
is no way that this is a nutritional effect. Some very profound
process can get started when someone does amaroli.

Any thoughts or comments?


A1: Yes, I am very interested in a scientific assessment of the
cause/effect of all yoga practices, including amaroli. It is what AYP
is about -- a balancing between ancient knowledge and current
applications, and making appropriate adjustments in practice aimed at
achieving the most effective (and safe) progress. AYP is not a one-
person operation. The input from hundreds of practitioners have
enriched it immeasurably. So thank you very much for your
observations on amaroli.

I have noticed the same thing about amaroli over a longer period.
Though the ancient scriptures (the Damar Tantra especially) call
for "a cup a day," I have found that less can be more, just as
you have observed. Using self-pacing to go up and down in the dosage
is the key -- being flexible in the application of amaroli. Sometimes
the body wants more, and sometimes less. We can gauge it by how we
feel, just as you have been doing. While it is important to have a
base-line daily habit, amaroli seems to call for adjustments more
often than other yoga practices. Perhaps this is because its effects
are felt fairly quickly. If we are overdoing, we will usually know
soon. If we are under-doing, our body will call for more soon. Doing
other yoga practices (meditation, spinal breathing pranayama, etc.)
will refine our sensitivity in using amaroli. The limiting of
quantity through self-pacing, even while simultaneously increasing
results, supports your supposition on the "hormetic" (homeopathic)
effect of amaroli. Less can be more. This is good news for beginners,
of course -- it does not require much intake to gain some good
benefits from amaroli.

There is a noticeable synergy between amaroli and other yoga
practices, i.e., with the rise of inner silence and ecstatic
conductivity. So the integration of practices is an important
element. Perhaps this is a factor in your experience as well. Just as
mudras and bandhas are not very useful for spiritual development (and
sometimes hazardous) without deep meditation and spinal breathing
being established first, so too is amaroli not as effective in the
spiritual arena without the other practices. It would seem that no
yoga practice stands entirely alone in the overall scheme of human
spiritual transformation. That makes sense, as the nervous system is
an integrated entity -- a whole with many inter-connected parts.
Yoga, in its diversity of approaches, mirrors this.

In any case, it is an interesting observation you have that amaroli
is possibly catalyst as well as chemical replacement in the body. It
makes sense. With self-pacing, everyone can find their own balance
with it. I hope we will get more feedback from practitioners on this.

It is an important perspective you have offered. Thanks much!


Q2: Thanks for your reply. I appreciate the advice on what to expect
in the long term.

A note on "hormesis" versus "homeopathy": I don't say homeopathic
because homeopathy is a little different, although people do tend to
say, in a loose sense, "homeopathic," when "hormetic" is more
accurate. Hormesis is the phenomenon of a positive body response to a
small (but real and measurable) dose of a toxin. A certain amount of
the toxin must be present, and, as it starts to get too small,
hormesis eventually becomes ineffective. This is expected, and the
graphs coming from the scientific studies bear it out.

Homeopathic treatment is about doses that are so small that there is
no molecule of the toxin left. Hormesis, on the one hand, is a
scientifically documented (and laboratory-reproducible) phenomenon;
it is not scientifically controversial. Homeopathy, on the other hand
is scientifically controversial because the effects are not
reproducible in double-blind studies.


A2: Thank you for the clarification on "hormesis" versus "homeopathy."
Additional feedback from others on their experiences with amaroli
will add to our understanding of how it works at different quantity
levels, particularly when combined with advanced yoga practices.

While the health benefits are becoming better known, we are yet to do
the research in modern times on amaroli in relation to the process of
human spiritual transformation. No doubt we will be addressing that
in more detail as time goes on. Clearly, amaroli is adding something
important to the enlightenment process, as many are experiencing. The
self-pacing aspect of amaroli is a great aid in navigating
continually forward with it. By using self-pacing in combination with
our bhakti (divine desire) for more, we know what the right amount is
for us at any point in time.

The guru is in you.

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