Hatha yoga (shatkarma, mudras, bandhas)

Domain XIII · Contemplative & religious disciplines · Svatmarama · 1200 · India

What it is

Haṭha yoga is the body-and-breath branch of Indian yoga. In Mallinson's account, "haṭha" denotes physical techniques supplementary to yoga, probably named for practices that were difficult and forced their results, in the manner of tapas (austerity). The first text to teach a systematised haṭha and…

Format

• Moving between stages. The text marks progress by signs (for example a lean body and glowing complexion once the channels are clean, 2.19) and by the guru's judgement, not by session counts. Modern curricula say mahā bandha should not be attempted until the three single bandhas are mastered, and…
• Format and dose. No session count or duration is set in the sources for the therapist's purposes. The text's own counts and progressions for breath retention are deliberately not reproduced here.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• stopping medication in favour of practice; delaying investigation of symptoms. Working: doctor informed, practice adjusted as advised.
• weight loss, rigid eating, purging framed as cleansing, rituals expanding. Working: rules ease to the teacher's or tradition's actual guidance.
• a teacher who dismisses distress as "progress" or discourages medical or psychological help. Working: teacher and therapist agree on a gentler plan.
• the client feeling they have failed spiritually; continuing intensive practice secretly. Working: sleep and functioning improve within the agreed review period.
• dissociation (glazed look, losing time), rising arousal, compliance to please you or a teacher. Working: the client notices body signals and makes choices about them.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.