गण्डूष कर्म (Oil Pulling)

गण्डूष कर्म (Oil pulling) is an important part of दिनचर्या (daily regime) that support and maintain good health by activating the immune system.

There are two terms; one is गण्डूष which means holding the oil in mouth. The other term is कवल which means swishing or gargling the oil in the mouth. In गण्डूष, liquid or oil is filled in mouth fully so there’s no movement in mouth making it completely distended. Thus cheek muscles are stretched. कवल is a gargling to the back of throat for a specific amount of time.

The main purpose of गण्डूष is to balance बोधक कफ situated primarily in mouth. बोधक कफ facilitates all senses. गण्डूष with bitter or astringent taste is opposite to the sweet taste of बोधक कफ; thereby maintaining quality of बोधक कफ.

आम or undigested food circulates in whole body thereby creating a stress on the immune system. गण्डूष releases आम which acts a toxin by literally pulling it out. That’s the reason why गण्डूष (oil pulling) activates the immune system.

Oral cavity or Nose are exposed to outside stimulation; thus keeping them moist and lubricated is one of the best ways of preventing infection. With नस्य- nose and with गण्डूष- oral cavity is protected.

Another benefit of गण्डूष is the oral health including teeth and tongue. Teeth problems are connected to other systems in the body; specially digestive pathways. With आम accumulation, teeth problems arise like dental cavities. Also when the thousands of taste buds on the tongue are coated with आम; one can not appreciate food taste leading to digestion very issues.

So regular गण्डूष cleans the coating of आम over tongue and protects teeth and gums health.

Both गण्डूष and कवल can be done with different types of liquids like sesame oil, triphala, yashtimadhu or turmeric decoctions or fresh juices of herbs. It should be warm. Ideally it should be done in morning and evening after दन्तधावन. Choice of drug varies as per need of individual and it can be best assessed by an Ayurvedic expert.