Awakening the Digestive Fire
Nauli: Abdominal Massaging
Om Sri Gurubhyo Namah. Salutations to all the teachers.
For many of us, when we try to sit down for meditation, the life functions can be a major distraction. For example, if your nose is blocked or runny, it can be difficult to keep the attention from wavering. This distraction by the Praana is not limited to the breath. For example, if there is indigestion, bloating, gas, or even if the eyes are constantly moving around, the mind will be continuously distracted, thus preventing the Yogi from moving further inwards.
To this end, there are a number of practices in Hatha Yoga (the “Yoga of Force”) which help to cleanse the body, enabling a more successful practice of Raja Yoga (the “Royal Yoga”, or the Yoga of meditation). These practices are grouped into six categories, called the shatkarmas (literally “the six actions”).
While they are certainly useful for everyone, they are only required for those of us who are ailed by improper functioning of the Praana. If you fall into this category, don’t be hard on yourself - you are in hallowed company. Many accomplished Yogis through the ages have faced the same issues you are facing right now. The regular practice of the shatkarmas helps to ease, and perhaps remove, these distractions.
Do note, however, that not all of these practices are easily accessible or even possible to practice. For many of them, proper supervision by an experienced Hatha Yoga teacher is required. Given this, please take note of any warnings that you may come across to ensure your own health and safety if you choose to incorporate these techniques in your practice.
As a recap, the six shatkarmas are:
Nauli: Abdominal massaging
Kapaalbhaati: “Skull shining”
Traataka: Concentrated gazing
Last week, we discussed the first three - dhauti, basti, and neti. This week, we will continue on the journey by looking into nauli, or abdominal massaging.
Nauli: Abdominal Massaging
अमन्दावर्तवेगेन तुन्दं सव्यापसव्यतः।नतांसो भ्रामयेदेषा नौलिः सिधैः प्रशस्यते ॥Amandaavartavegena tundam savyaapasavyatahNataamso bhraamayedEshaa naulih siddhaih prashasyateLean forward, protrude the abdominal muscles, and quickly rotate them from left to right. This is called nauli by the accomplished ones.
- Hatha Yoga Pradipika, 2.33
The word “nauli” (pronounced naw-lee) comes from the root word nala (pronounced nuh-luh), which in this context refers to the navel string, or the rectus abdominus muscles - better known as the “six-pack” when it is visible in those with low body fat. In nauli, the nala is controlled and moved about in particular motions so as to massage the abdomen. So that you get the idea, here is a GIF of a Yogi performing nauli:
Ok - this may look pretty difficult at first, but there are a few tricks that allow anyone to get started with this technique. In this article, we’ll break it down into a few steps that should be easy enough to follow.
Warning: If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, heart disease, stomach ulcers, intestinal ulcers, or any other internal injury, including recent surgery, do no not perform nauli. Also don’t do this if you are pregnant. For others, the best results are on an empty stomach - otherwise it may result in vomiting or nausea.
For those who are able to practice it, nauli has a number of benefits. It has an energizing effect on the body and mind, and generates a feeling of happiness and mental clarity. Some of the other benefits are described in the verse below:
मन्दाग्निसन्दीपनपाचनादिसन्धापिकानन्दकरी सदैव।अशेषदोशामयशोषणी च हथक्रिया मौलिरियं च नौलिः॥MandAagniSandeepanaPaachanAadiSandhaapikAanandakaree sadaEvaAsheshaDoshaAmayashoshanee cha hathaKriyaa mauliriyam cha naulihNauli is great amongst the methods of Hatha Yoga. It awakens the digestive fire, removes indigestion, [quickens] slow digestion, [solves] the imbalance of the doshas, and generates a feeling of happiness.
- Hatha Yoga Pradipika, 2.34
P: Sounds amazing - but how do I actually practice?
Preliminary: Bandhas, or Locks
In order to practice nauli, we must first know how to practice the bandhas.
In Hatha Yoga, there are three bandhas, or “locks” which are said to hold the praana in particular locations in the body. We will not go too far into this topic today, but will cover the locks that are relevant to nauli.
Keep these in mind though, they may come in handy later on.
Traditionally, these techniques are only taught in direct sessions with the teacher to ensure the safety of the student. Please make sure to follow any warnings that you see along the way, in order to avoid negative consequences on the body and the mind.
The three bandhas are:
Jaalandhar Bandha: The throat lock
Uddiyana Bandha: The abdominal lock
Moolabandha: The root lock (we will not discuss this here)
When they are practised together, it is known as the mahaabandha, or “the great lock.”
Jaalandhar Bandha
This is the simplest of all the bandhas to perform, and can be viewed as a safety measure to the other bandhas.
As a general rule of thumb, always do this bandha first, and release it last once you have released all the other bandhas.
To practice this, keep your spine erect, and follow these steps:
Elongate your neck as much as possible.
Elevate your breastbone as high as you can.
Push the tongue up on the palate of the mouth.
Lower your head to touch the chest.
This posture, with your head down, is known as jaalandhar bandha.
Incidentally, it seems that the Greeks who visited India at the time of Alexander the Great witnessed Yogis in this position, and used the word “omphaloskepsis” or “navel contemplation” to describe it. It is likely that the expression “navel-gazing” comes from this term.
Uddiyana Bandha
Note: Before practising this, make sure that you are on an empty stomach. Otherwise, it may result in feelings of nausea or discomfort. Additionally, if you have any internal injuries, or if you are pregnant, do not try this.
Ok, now that we have the warnings out of the way, here are the steps to perform this bandha:
Make sure that your back is not resting on anything, and that your spine is erect.
Completely exhale all the air out of your lungs, pulling your stomach as close to your spine as possible. Get all the air out of there!
Activate jaalandhar bandha as per the instructions in the section above.
Do a false inhale. This should feel like your stomach is being sucked up in through the bottom of your ribcage.
This locked position is known as uddiyana bandha, and is key to the proper practice of nauli.
To get out of this position, first release the stomach, then lift the head (get out of jaalandhar bandha), and only then breathe in.
To reiterate, as a rule of thumb, release jaalandhar bandha only after everything else has been released.
How to practice Nauli
Once you are able to successfully get into the uddiyana bandha, you are ready to practice nauli. There are three types of nauli, and these are combined into five stages of practice. The three types of nauli are:
Vaama Nauli: Left-side isolation
Dakshina Nauli: Right-side isolation
Madhyama Nauli: Center isolation
Stage 1: Isolating each side
We will begin by isolating each side, by itself. This will allow you to get a feel for the muscles so that you can go deeper into the practice.
Following is the technique (don’t worry, it reads more complicated than it is!):
Stand straight, with the head, neck, and torso in alignment, and the feet about shoulder-width apart.
Bend your knees slightly, and rest your hands on your thighs, just above the knees, with your thumbs on the inside of the thighs and fingers on the outside.
Breathe in all the way, expanding your belly as you do so.
Breathe out through the mouth, expelling all the air from your lungs and contracting the belly. Try to get your stomach as close to your spine as possible.
With your breath held outside, perform jaalandhar bandha.
Perform uddiyana bandha.
Lift the right hand slightly, holding your weight on your left hand, without leaning to the left. Notice how the nala (navel string) moves to the right.
Hold this as long as you can.
Now release uddiyana bandha.
Then release jaalandhar bandha by raising your head.
Stand up straight and inhale slowly through the nose.
This is called vaama nauli (literally “left-nauli”
Now practice the same technique on the opposite side. The steps are all exactly the same except in step 7, lift the left hand, placing your weight on the right hand. This will move the nala to the left, and is called dakshina nauli (since it isolates the muscles on the right side).
If you feel out of breath, make sure to take a break between each round.
Stage 2: Madhyama Nauli
At this point you have a good handle on how to isolate the left and right sides. Now, the nala is kept in the center (aka madhyama).
Following is the technique - notice that it is largely the same steps as above, with some small modifications:
Stand straight, with the head, neck, and torso in alignment, and the feet about shoulder-width apart.
Bend your knees slightly, and rest your hands on your thighs, just above the knees, with your thumbs on the inside of the thighs and fingers on the outside.
Breathe in all the way, expanding your belly as you do so.
Breathe out through the mouth, expelling all the air from your lungs and contracting the belly. Try to get your stomach as close to your spine as possible.
With your breath held outside, perform jaalandhar bandha.
Perform uddiyana bandha.
Lift the right hand slightly, holding your weight on your left hand, without leaning to the left. The nala should be on the right.
Start to slowly shift the weight from the left hand towards the right hand. Notice how the nala starts to move in the opposite direction of the weight.
As the nala is moving across your abdomen, as soon as it reaches the center, hold the position!
Now release uddiyana bandha.
Then release jaalandhar bandha by raising your head.
Stand up straight and inhale slowly through the nose.
Stage 3: Without lifting the hands
At this point, you should be able to practice vaama, dakshina, and madhyama nauli fairly comfortably as described above. Now, the goal is to learn how to control the movement of the nala without lifting the hands from the thighs.
You can try this gradually. Rather than completely lifting your hand from your thigh as in step 7 above, just lift the weight off your hand, but keep the hand in contact with the thigh. Over time, with practice, you will be able to control the movement of the nala without shifting your weight at all.
Stage 4: Churning
Standing in the same position as in the stages above, follow the steps below. Notice, they are very similar to the steps in stages 1 and 2, with small modifications:
Stand straight, with the head, neck, and torso in alignment, and the feet about shoulder-width apart.
Bend your knees slightly, and rest your hands on your thighs, just above the knees, with your thumbs on the inside of the thighs and fingers on the outside.
Breathe in all the way, expanding your belly as you do so.
Breathe out through the mouth, expelling all the air from your lungs and contracting the belly. Try to get your stomach as close to your spine as possible.
With your breath held outside, perform jaalandhar bandha.
Perform uddiyana bandha.
Lift the right hand slightly, holding your weight on your left hand, without leaning to the left. The nala should be on the right.
Start to slowly shift the weight from the left hand towards the right hand. Notice how the nala starts to move in the opposite direction of the weight.
Once the nala has completely reached the left side, move it back to the right side. This is one rotation.
Practice three rotations.
Now release uddiyana bandha.
Then release jaalandhar bandha by raising your head.
Stand up straight and inhale slowly through the nose.
With practice, you can increase the number of rotations from three to ten, twenty, or more. Make sure to keep track so you know how you are progressing.
If you feel light-headed, take a break - there is no rush, nor any need, to perfect this technique.
Stage 5: Straightening the back
Once stage 4 starts to feel easy, the goal is to perform nauli with your back completely straight. This is not an easy feat, and needs to be approached gradually.
You will notice that the straighter the back is, the harder it is to move the nala from one side to the other. To train yourself, you can start by performing nauli with your hands near your knees, and gradually moving them closer to your upper thigh.
When you are able to perform it with your hands on your upper thighs, try doing it with your back straight, following the same steps until you are able to move the nala comfortably.
Stage 6: In your Aasana
Once you are able to practice nauli with a straight back, you are ready for the final stage. Here, you perform nauli while seated in your Aasana - preferably siddhaasana or padmaasana - with your hips above your knees as discussed previously.
At first, this is extremely difficult to do, but with practice in the standing position, especially with a straight back, it becomes significantly easier.
Until next time:
Practice nauli in the morning just before or after your shower, but before eating food. Make sure to follow the warnings before trying this.
Take notes to track and measure your progress through the stages discussed today.
As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions. You can directly respond to this email, leave a comment below, or post anonymously at r/EmptyYourCup.
Next time: Kapaalbhaati: Shining skull