Netra Basti

Overview

Netra Basti is an Ayurvedic treatment for the eyes. The name joins netra, the eye, with basti, which here means a holding vessel rather than the enema of the same word. In the treatment, a small ring of dough is set on the face around one eye, and warm ghee is poured gently into the well it makes. The ghee is held there for a few minutes while the eye blinks and moves beneath it.

The idea behind it is one of the steadiest in Ayurveda. The eye is treated by the tradition as a seat of heat and light, the qualities it gathers under Pitta. What settles heat is the cool and the oily, and ghee is the classical example of both. So the eye is bathed, quite literally, in something the texts consider cooling, smooth and nourishing.

Why ghee

Ghee sits at the centre of this treatment for a reason. Ayurveda counts it among the most balancing substances for Pitta and among the gentlest carriers of a herb’s qualities into delicate tissue. Its smooth, unctuous nature, what the texts call sneha, is exactly what the eye is thought to want: something to soothe, to lubricate and to feed.

Often the ghee is medicated, simmered beforehand with cooling, gentle herbs chosen to suit the person. Plain ghee is used too. The choice belongs to the practitioner, who matches it to the person’s constitution and the state of the eyes.

How it is done

The treatment is careful and unhurried. The face is first cleansed and the skin gently warmed and massaged. A ring of stiff dough is then built up around the eye socket, pressed down so it makes a watertight wall.

Warm ghee, no hotter than the skin can comfortably bear, is poured into the ring until it covers the closed eye. The person is then asked to open the eye and to blink and roll it slowly, so the ghee reaches all of the eye and its surrounds. This is held, in the classical accounts, for a few minutes. Afterwards the ghee and the dough are removed, the eye is wiped clean, and the person rests away from wind, dust and bright light for a while.

Who it suits, and who it does not

Like all the classical therapies, Netra Basti is matched to the person. The cool, oily nature of the treatment suits the dry, light quality of Vata and the heat of Pitta especially well. For the heavy, damp quality of Kapha the tradition is more cautious, using it less often and for shorter periods, since the treatment is itself oily.

It is set aside where the eye is acutely inflamed or injured, or soon after eye surgery. Because the eye is so delicate, the treatment is a clinical one, done by a trained practitioner and not at home.

This entry describes the classical Ayurvedic understanding of the procedure. It is not medical advice, and Netra Basti should only be done under the care of a qualified practitioner.

Frequently asked

Does the ghee go into the eye? Yes, gently. The eye is opened and bathed in the warm ghee, then blinked and rolled so the ghee covers it evenly. The dough ring is there to hold the ghee in place, not to keep it out.

Is it the same as the enema called Basti? No. The word basti means a holding vessel, and it is borrowed here for the little well of dough. Netra Basti is an eye treatment and has nothing to do with the enema therapy of the same name.

Can I do it myself? It is not a home practice. Building a watertight ring, keeping the ghee at the right warmth and caring for so delicate an organ all call for a trained hand.