Shat Karma Course – Supriya

August Residential Course

First Week – Supriya

Shat Karma

“These six acts should be performed: washing out the stomach (dhauti), washing out the bowels (basti), cleansing of the nose (neti), shaking the abdomen (nauli), fixing with the eyes (trataka) and breathing bellows (kapala bhati).” (Hatha Yoga Pradipika 2, 22.)I was lucky enough to be able to attend the first week of the three week retreat. This was aimed at teaching the shat karmas and cleansing the complete body. These are aimed at detoxifying and rejuvenating the whole body. There were six of us on the retreat so we were all able to have individual bedrooms and not have to sleep under canvas. The retreat started on the Friday. The following day was the first Saturday of August so we had Havan Yajna and Satsang. Indrananda Ji had sent us all off for a walk mid morning with instructions of which route to take, whilst he attended to his personal practice and making the divine luncheon. Unfortunately, unknown to us the footpath which he intended us to use was closed and we had to go a long way around through fairly rough undergrowth. We had to resort to climbing a fence and jumping across a stream to get back to the original footpath.Hence we were rather late returning and my husband, Hari Dasa and daughter, Amber, who were visiting for the Satsang had to collect the flowers and foliage for the surroundings of the fire and generally prepare for Havan Yajna, the fire ceremony and the expected visitors. As usual, Satsang was a lovely day and we had three visitors from the London Satyananda Centre who joined us for the day. One of them, Krishnadhyanam, played the harmonium very well and gave an impromptu harmonium lesson after lunch.Normally, Bernard Platt helps Indrananda Ji and takes some of the classes during the August retreat. Unfortunately, due to health problems, Bernard could not join us. Hence, at Indrananda Ji’s direction, I taught the morning asana session including some bandhas and mudras in preparation for the shat karmas. During the week, we were introduced to the six shat karmas (cleansing kriyas) or purificatory exercises; nauli, neti, trataka, kapalabhati, dhauti and basti. We were also taught about yogic food and the dietary principles necessary to achieve thorough cleansing. Of course, at the ashram we only ate sattvic food so this greatly helped in the cleansing process. In addition, we had one day where we conducted shankprakshalana, a complete cleansing of the stomach, intestines and bowels.

We had asana, pranayama and meditation sessions each day with emphasis given to practices which would aid the cleansing process. Postures and bandhas such as uddhiyana and agnisari, leading towards control of the abdominal muscles and nauli were practiced daily. Other practices such as aswini were new to some people and took a lot of repetition to isolate and start to get control of the relevant area.

Of course each day started and ended with chanting. The early morning posture session was followed by a very welcome breakfast of Indrananda Ji’s porridge (see recipe in this magazine) and fresh fruit salad. Each day also included asana, pranayama, walk/karma yoga, study, talks and discussions, etc. In addition, we were taught how to prepare and cook sattvic foods. Lunch was the main meal of the day with the evening meal consisting of soup and pudding. I was surprised but pleased to find that during the retreat, I wasn’t at all hungry despite eating less than I would at home and doing more energetic activities.

Geoffrey was also in attendance during the week, single-handedly insulating, plaster boarding, wiring and finishing off the new, 3 bedroom block which he had built. He was working from early morning until late at night but I was still astonished at how much he managed to achieve. We did try to keep him adequately supplied with food and lots of tea to keep him going.

I really enjoyed my week at the ashram and would thoroughly recommend attending the August retreat to anyone.