The body has its own memory. Today, there is research going on in this direction. To put it in a simplified way—let us say your father, when he was a child, liked to play with round objects, and he developed a certain level of involvement with them. As his child, without knowing why, you will tend to choose similar things. It is proven that these repetitions happen. This is simply because you carry a certain genetic material.
There is also something called runanubandha, which is a certain kind of physical memory that you carry within you. Runanubandha cannot be equated with the genetic factors that are being transmitted from parent to child. It is a physical memory of where you came from—not necessarily in terms of colour of your skin, shape of your nose, how you are built, and so on.
It is just that the body remembers any kind of intimacy—not only with another physical body, but with any physical substance. Even if you as much as hold someone’s hand, you develop runanubandha. That is why in India, people greet you with folded hands. They do not want to acquire runanubandha. The same applies for passing on certain substances such as salt, sesame seeds, or soil—people never take them from somebody else’s hands, to avoid developing runanubandha. You pick up runanubandha in many ways, but sexual relationships have maximum impact in terms of the amount of memory that they leave behind.
When physical memory overlaps, it causes a physical level of confusion, which will bring a certain level of discomfort, lack of exuberance and involvement with anything around you. You become a veteran of life.
This can be fixed in so many ways. There are many processes to wash off the runanubandha. There are certain festivals such as pongal or bhogi that are about clearing up your mental and emotional baggage, and your runanubandha. You can also take to some chanting to create a certain reverberation in the body. At certain temples such as Linga Bhairavi, there is a ritual “fire wash”. This is a way of burning physical memories that you have picked up.
And of course, water wash every day. At the time in my life when I was into a lot of sadhana, I would have somewhere between five and seven showers a day, because your system becomes so sensitive. For example, you sit on a particular cushion, and you are conscious what this cushion is doing to you, so you want to wash it off by at least letting water run over your body.
Most yogis have bath at least twice a day.
During certain seasons, such as the shift of the Sun from the southern to northern hemisphere, and again, from north to south, the winds are strong on the Indian subcontinent. One simple process is to go and stand in the wind so that you get a proper air wash. Try this—when there is a strong breeze, wear something loose and stand there for half-an-hour, with your eyes closed. Turn both ways, so that the breeze flows over you from the front and back. You will feel so much lighter and better.
Sadhguru is a yogi, mystic, a bestselling author and poet. He has been conferred the Padma Vibhushan in 2017. Isha.sadhguru.org