Shatkarma — The Six Purification Practices
The six Shatkarmas are Tantric body-cleansing practices that purify the physical body at the deepest level, removing impediments to the flow of prana and creating the conditions for kundalini awakening.
The Shatkarmas (six actions) described in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika are: Neti (nasal cleansing with water or thread), Dhauti (alimentary tract cleansing), Nauli (abdominal churning through isolation and rotation of the rectus abdominis muscles), Basti (colon cleansing), Kapalbhati (forceful exhalation to clear the respiratory system), and Trataka (fixed gazing). These practices work at the intersection of the physical and subtle bodies — removing physical impurities that impede prana flow while simultaneously purifying the nadis and creating the conditions for deeper Hatha Yoga and meditation practices. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika states that for those without excess fat or phlegm, the Shatkarmas are not necessary — they are prescribed as remedial practices for specific constitutional imbalances.
First purify the body with the six actions. Then practice pranayama, then meditation — in this order, Hatha Yoga succeeds.
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika says the shatkarmas are needed chiefly by those with excess fat or phlegm; Jala Neti and the rest are offered as remedies for specific imbalances rather than as universal requirements.
Hatha Yoga Pradipika
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The six cleansings — neti, dhauti, nauli, basti, kapalbhati, trataka — are prescribed as remedies for specific imbalances, and the Pradipika says those without excess fat or phlegm do not need them at all. Tantra is unusually restrained here: the treatment is matched to a constitution, not sold to everyone.