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Blowing A Conch Shell Exercises Your Rectal Muscles, Says IAS Officer At Indian Science Congress

Blowing A Conch Shell Exercises Your Rectal Muscles, Says IAS Officer At Indian Science Congress
MIAMI, FL - MAY 13: Ishmael Bermudez holds a conch shell that he found while excavating the backyard of his home that is mostly surrounded by high rise buildings and ongoing construction projects on May 13, 2015 in Miami, Florida. Bermudez has been excavating the backyard of his home for the last few decades and believes it is a mystical place, has a natural spring and where he says he has found evidence of the earliest inhabitants of the area. Developers have driven up the value of his property to at least $1.8 million, but Ishmael has no plans to sell unless his backyard can be protected. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Joe Raedle via Getty Images
MIAMI, FL - MAY 13: Ishmael Bermudez holds a conch shell that he found while excavating the backyard of his home that is mostly surrounded by high rise buildings and ongoing construction projects on May 13, 2015 in Miami, Florida. Bermudez has been excavating the backyard of his home for the last few decades and believes it is a mystical place, has a natural spring and where he says he has found evidence of the earliest inhabitants of the area. Developers have driven up the value of his property to at least $1.8 million, but Ishmael has no plans to sell unless his backyard can be protected. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

IAS officer Rajeev Sharma set the tone for the 103rd Indian Science Congress by blowing a conch shell for two whole minutes to showcase the fact that the common Indian ritual at the beginning of any auspicious occasion has many positive effects on the body.

Speaking at the scientific meet which concluded on Thursday, Sharma said blowing a conch shell provides "excellent exercise for rectal muscles, prostrate, urinary tract, lower abdomen, diaphragm, chest and neck muscles."

He was presenting a paper at a symposium on indigenous approach to psychosomatic disorders.

"The conch, if blown in a correct and proper manner, has positive effect on our physical and mental health," Sharma told IANS after demonstrating to delegates the virtues of a conch found in the Indian Ocean.

Held in Mysore this year from 3-7 January, the ISC was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In his inaugural address Modi told the 500-odd scientists assembled for the event that their work should be focussed on the 'five-Es' -- economy, environment, energy, empathy and equity -- for greater progress, reported PTI.

The five-day event had already been in the news for allegedly being 'saffronised' by the BJP government. In 2015, one of the participants had delivered a lecture saying that the aircraft was invented during the Vedic times.

This year, Indian-born Nobel laureate Venkatraman Ramakrishnan called the ISC a 'circus' where matters of scientific importance were hardly discussed at all. He also announced that he would never attend it.

According to a report in Mint, a paper titled Lord Shiva: The Greatest Environmentalist in the World, which claimed that the Hindu god Shiva was one of the 'greenest' gods, was also published.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.