{{Short description|Hatha yoga purification of the body}} [[File:Shatkarmas.svg|thumb|The Shatkarmas are six preliminary purifications used in traditional hatha yoga.<ref name="Mallinson 2017"/>]] The '''shatkarmas''' (Sanskrit: षटकर्म ''ṣaṭkarma'', literally ''six actions''), also known as '''shatkriyas''',<ref name="YogaMag">[http://www.yogamag.net/archives/1991/cmay91/shat.shtml Shatkarmas - Cleansing Techniques] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013085055/http://www.yogamag.net/archives/1991/cmay91/shat.shtml |date=2016-10-13 }}, in Yoga Magazine, a publication of Bihar School of Yoga</ref> are a set of Hatha yoga purifications of the body, to prepare for the main work of yoga towards moksha (liberation). These practices, outlined by Svatmarama in the ''Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā'' as kriya, are Netī, Dhautī, Naulī, Basti, Kapālabhātī, and Trāṭaka.<ref name="YogaMag"/><ref>Muktibodhananda, Swami. (1985). ''Hatha Yoga Pradipika''. New Delhi India: Thomson Press India, for The Yoga Publications Trust.</ref><ref>These techniques and their practice are outlined in considerable detail by Swami Rama in his two volume set:<br/>Rama, Swami. (1988). ''Path of Fire and Light, Volume I: Advanced Practices of Yoga''; ''Volume II: A Practical Companion to Volume I''. Honesdale, Pennsylvania. Himalayan Institute Press.</ref> The ''Haṭha Ratnavali'' mentions two additional purifications, Cakri and Gajakarani, criticising the ''Hatha Yoga Pradipika'' for only describing the other six.<ref name="Mallinson 2017">{{cite book | last1=Mallinson | first1=James |author1link=James Mallinson (author) |last2=Singleton |first2=Mark |author2link=Mark Singleton (yoga teacher) | title=Roots of Yoga | publisher=Penguin Books | year=2017 | isbn=978-0-241-25304-5 | oclc=928480104 |pages=xxviii-xxxii, 46, 49–50, 71–79}}</ref>
==Purpose== [[File:Nauli.jpg|thumb|Nauli, one of the shatkarmas, is the purification of the abdomen using the muscles of the abdominal wall.]]
The shatkarmas are six (or more) preliminary purifications described in the ''Hatha Yoga Pradipika'' and later texts. Their purpose is to remove "gross impurities", cure a range of diseases, and prepare the body for pranayama, trapping the breath so as to force the vital energy prana into the central sushumna channel, allowing kundalini to rise, and so to attain moksha, liberation.<ref name="Mallinson 2017"/>
==Description== [[File:Kapalabhati - International Day of Yoga Celebration - NCSM - Kolkata 2017-06-21 2472.JPG|thumb|Kapālabhātī]]
The six purifications taught in the ''Hatha Yoga Pradipika'', and repeated in the ''Gheranda Samhita'', are:
* Netī, a nasal wash. This is the practice of using a neti pot to cleanse the nasal passages. A basic neti wash consists of purified water and non-iodized salt, to create a gentle saline solution.<ref name="YogaMag"/><ref>[https://archive.today/20040623082253/http://netipot.org/demo_video.htm demonstration]</ref> * Dhautī, the cleansing of the whole digestive tract.<ref name="YogaMag"/> * Naulī, a self-administered abdominal massage, using only the muscles of the abdominal wall. The practitioner stands with the feet about hip width apart, hands on knees, and body at about a 45-degree angle. The core is rotated internally by moving the abdominal muscles alternately in a clockwise, then in a counterclockwise direction.<ref name="YogaMag"/> * Basti, a colonic irrigation.<ref name="YogaMag"/> * Kapālabhātī, a skull polishing, and is a pranayama (breathing) practice intended to energize and balance the nadis, and the chakras. Specifically, it is a sharp, short outbreath, followed by a relaxation of the core that allows the body to inhale on its own.<ref name="YogaMag"/> * Trāṭaka, gazing at a fixed point such as a black spot or a candle flame.<ref name="YogaMag"/>
The two additional purifications in the ''Hatha Ratnavali'' are:
* Cakri, the dilation of the anus, using a finger moved about in the rectum.<ref name="Mallinson 2017"/> * Gajakarani (present but described differently in the ''Hatha Yoga Pradipika''), holding sweetened water and the breath in the oesophagus, followed by expulsion of its contents.<ref name="Mallinson 2017"/>
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
{{Yoga}}
Category:Kriyas Category:Shatkarmas