Nath yoga (Gorakhnath)

Domain XIII · Contemplative & religious disciplines · Gorakhnath · India

What it is

Nāth yoga is the yoga of the Nāth sampradāya (also called Nāth Yogīs, Kānphaṭa or "split-ear" yogis), an order of Śaiva ascetics that traces its founding to the guru Gorakhnāth (Sanskrit Gorakṣa/Gorakṣanātha) and to his teacher Matsyendranāth. The Haṭhapradīpikā opens by naming Ādinātha (Śiva) as…

Format

• The tradition's stages. The Haṭhapradīpikā gives four stages of inner-sound practice (IV.69–77), each described as a subtle-body event, not a session plan:
• Typical format. The text describes a solitary, quiet, clean room and a seated posture (HYP I.12–13, IV.67). The sources give no number or length of sessions; none is stated here.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Client-led integration. Goal: use the practice, in the client's language, as a resource for regulation and meaning. Move on (or step back) when the client is stable and the practice is not producing distress.

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

• stopped treatment, restrictive eating, injuries.
• reassurance-seeking about whether the sound or gaze was "done right".
• the client asking you for spiritual rulings; your own enthusiasm or scepticism shaping the work.
• fear, secrecy, shame about doubts; working: the client can hold faith and personal limits together.
• the client experiencing the secular version as a dilution of their tradition; ask before offering it.

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.