षट्कर्मṣaṭ-karma · the six actions
Ṣaṭkarma, the six cleansing actions of hatha yoga
3 min read · Updated October 17, 2026 · sources checked October 17, 2026
In short
Ṣaṭkarma are the six cleansing actions of hatha yoga listed in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika (2.22): dhauti, basti, neti, trāṭaka, nauli and kapālabhāti. The text reserves them for people with an excess of fat or phlegm (2.21). Today, jala neti with sterile water, trāṭaka and a gentle kapālabhāti can be learned carefully; dhauti, basti and nauli are learned only in person, with a teacher.
The six actions
षट्कर्म (ṣaṭ-karma) means "the six actions". The Hatha Yoga Pradipika introduces them in its chapter on breath, before the kumbhakas.
धौतिर्बस्तिस्तथा नेतिस्त्राटकं नौलिकं तथा । कपालभातिश्चैतानि षट्कर्माणि प्रचक्षते ॥
dhautir bastis tathā netis trāṭakaṃ naulikaṃ tathā | kapāla-bhātiś caitāni ṣaṭ-karmāṇi pracakṣate ||
Dhauti, basti, neti, trāṭaka, nauli and kapālabhāti: these are called the six actions.
Just before, the text sets their limit:
मेदश्लेष्माधिकः पूर्वं षट्कर्माणि समाचरेत् । अन्यस्तु नाचरेत्तानि दोषाणां समभावतः ॥
meda-śleṣmādhikaḥ pūrvaṃ ṣaṭ-karmāṇi samācaret | anyas tu nācaret tāni doṣāṇāṃ samabhāvataḥ ||
One who has an excess of fat or phlegm should first perform the six actions. Another should not perform them, since his humours are in balance.
The kriyas are a targeted cleansing, not a daily routine for everyone. The text adds that they must be kept secret (2.23), that pranayama succeeds easily once they have done their work (2.36), and that some teachers hold that pranayama alone dries up all impurities (2.37). The Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā makes purification the first of its seven means (1.10-1.11) and lists the same six under slightly different names (1.12), with many sub-forms.
Each action, what the text says, what is done today
| Action | In the texts | Today | Self-practice? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dhauti | swallowing a moistened strip of cloth four fingers wide and fifteen hasta long, then drawing it out (HYP 2.24); the Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā adds drinking water and expelling it through the rectum (vārisāra, 1.17-1.19), a stalk pushed into the gullet (1.37), vomiting water (1.39) | cloth dhauti in a few ashrams; kuñjal (drinking salt water and vomiting it); śaṅkha prakṣālana (salt water and movements, passed through the bowel) | no |
| Basti | squatting in navel-deep water, drawing water into the rectum through a small tube, then expelling it (HYP 2.26) | rarely taught; replaced in practice by medical enemas | no |
| Neti | a thread passed through the nose and out of the mouth (sūtra neti, HYP 2.29) | jala neti, rinsing the nose with salt water from a small pot | jala neti yes, with sterile water; sūtra neti no |
| Trāṭaka | gazing at a small object without blinking until tears come (HYP 2.31) | candle gazing | yes, with precautions |
| Nauli | the belly moved forcibly from side to side, seated on the toes, palms on the ground (HYP 2.33) | nauli, isolating and rolling the abdominal muscles, from uḍḍīyāna | no, learned in person |
| Kapālabhāti | rapid in- and out-breaths "like a pair of bellows of a blacksmith" (HYP 2.35, Pancham Sinh) | short active exhalations, passive inhalation | short rounds, with precautions |
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika also names a seventh practice, gaja karaṇī, "the elephant's action": bringing up the contents of the stomach by drawing the apāna to the throat (2.38).
What can be learned carefully
- Jala neti: the only nasal practice to learn on your own, with sterile, distilled or boiled and cooled water, a clean pot, and the precautions of its page.
- Trāṭaka: steady gazing at a candle flame or a point, a few minutes, eyes relaxed; not with epilepsy, not with eye disease.
- Kapālabhāti: short rounds of 15 to 30 strokes with rests, empty stomach; never in pregnancy, with high blood pressure, heart disease, a hernia or glaucoma.
What research shows, and what it warns
There is little research on the kriyas, and what exists points as much to risks as to uses.
- Neti and water. In 2011 two adults in Louisiana died of amoebic meningoencephalitis after rinsing their sinuses with tap water containing Naegleria fowleri; the CDC investigators stress using distilled, boiled or properly filtered water for nasal irrigation (Yoder et al., 2012).
- Repeated vomiting. A dental journal describes a man of 38 who had practised kuñjal kriyā for over twelve years and developed severe dental erosion from stomach acid (Meshramkar et al., 2007). It is a single case report, but the mechanism is well known.
- Śaṅkha prakṣālana under supervision. In an Indian hospital, 238 patients prepared their bowel for colonoscopy by drinking lukewarm salt water and doing five movements; preparation was adequate in almost all, and 10 (4.2%) had minor side effects (nausea, pain, vomiting, giddiness, bloating). This was a retrospective, single-centre study under medical supervision, excluding people with other illnesses or past abdominal surgery (Panigrahi et al., 2024). It says nothing about doing it alone at home.
No study shows that the kriyas remove "toxins". The promises of the texts (curing twenty diseases of phlegm, a shining body) belong to their medical world.
Common mistakes
- Learning dhauti or nauli from a video. The texts themselves say these practices are taught by the teacher (HYP 2.24: "through the passage shown by the guru").
- Neti with tap water, or a pot left wet between uses.
- Treating the kriyas as a weekly detox. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika says those in balance should not perform them.
- Kapālabhāti for many minutes without pause, or after a meal.
In context
The kriyas belong to the preparation of the body in hatha yoga, before pranayama and the bandhas. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika explains the whole sequence, and the Breath chapter gives each technique its level.
Questions people ask
What are the six kriyas of hatha yoga?
Dhauti (cleansing the digestive tract), basti (yogic enema), neti (cleansing the nose), trāṭaka (steady gazing), nauli (abdominal churning) and kapālabhāti (rapid exhalations), listed in Hatha Yoga Pradipika 2.22.
Should everyone practise the shatkarmas?
No. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika says they are for those with an excess of fat or phlegm, and that others should not perform them (2.21). It also records teachers who held that pranayama alone is enough (2.37).
Is shankhaprakshalana safe to do at home?
It is not a practice to improvise. It involves drinking several litres of salted water with specific movements; studies were done under medical supervision, excluding people with other illnesses. Learn it in an ashram or a centre that supervises it, if at all.
Are the kriyas a detox?
The texts speak of removing phlegm and impurities in their own medical language. No study shows that they remove 'toxins'. Some carry real risks: dental erosion from repeated vomiting, infections from unsterile water.
Sources
- The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, translated by Pancham Sinh, Sacred Books of the Hindus vol. XV part 3 (1914), Internet Archive checked October 17, 2026
- Svātmārāma, Haṭhayogapradīpikā, Sanskrit text (GRETIL, University of Göttingen) checked October 17, 2026
- Srisa Chandra Vasu (tr.), The Gheranda Samhita, Sacred Books of the Hindus vol. XV (1914-1915), Internet Archive checked October 17, 2026
- Yoder JS et al. Primary amebic meningoencephalitis deaths associated with sinus irrigation using contaminated tap water. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2012 DOI 10.1093/cid/cis626 PMID 22919000 checked October 17, 2026
- Meshramkar R, Patil SB, Patil NP. A case report of patient practising yoga leading to dental erosion. International Dental Journal, 2007 DOI 10.1111/j.1875-595x.2007.tb00123.x PMID 17695740 checked October 17, 2026
- Panigrahi MK et al. Effectiveness and safety of Shankhaprakshalana, a yogic technique, in bowel preparation for colonoscopy: a retrospective study. Indian Journal of Gastroenterology, 2024 DOI 10.1007/s12664-023-01488-9 PMID 38112914 checked October 17, 2026
Yogide explains what the texts and the studies say; it is not medical advice. If you have a health condition, are pregnant or feel pain, talk to your doctor before practising, and stop any posture that hurts.