The shatkarmas are yogic purification techniques, described by Svatmarama in the Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā as kriya (actions to acheive a specific result), are Netī, Dhautī, Naulī, Basti, Kapālabhātī, and Trāṭaka.
This is the first song I wrote to memorize yoga concepts. It was the 2011 Jivamukti Yoga Teacher Training at the Omega Institute in upstate NY. There were over 100 students from all over the world at the training. I wrote this song to help us memorize the shatkarmas for the written part of our final exam. It became very popular, and helped many people get this question right on the test. My friend Helida made this video of me playing it after the test was over and we had a day to relax and go out on a canoe.
There is a lot more to know about the shatkarmas than these one-word descriptions, but single words can remind us of larger concepts. They are the seeds for memory.
Dhautī is washing
Basti is cleansing
Netī is eliminating
Naulī is churning
Trāṭaka is fixing
Kapālabhātī is skull shining
Agni Sara is fire wash
