Swara Yoga ~ an experiment.

A few months ago I was on the phone with someone and they asked me how much I know about yoga, what subjects and theory are I am familiar with. I smiled and wondered where to start. I have spoken on this blog before about how the question "What kind of yoga do you do" also usually leaves me stumped. I do not know where to begin or how to approach the millions of ways to answer these questions and others similar to these.

On this particular phone conversation, I spoke about my practice being a mix of Hatha and Vinyasa - my teaching reflecting the same with a focus on a yogic lifestyle off the mat and in addition to all the asanas we practice. Then I was asked if I knew about Swara Yoga.

In the course that I did with Yoga Point in Nasik, our teacher spoke about Swara Yoga and how if practiced consciously with awareness, it can help one live a prosperous, healthy and long life. He went onto explain the core concepts of this science and asked us to read Swami Muktibodhananda's book on it. So i promptly bought this book and when I was home from the ashram, started to read it. Now here's the thing about books on yoga. You can't just read them -  all the theory is really of no use if you're not practicing it. I can watch videos and read about the perfect alignment for a headstand, but unless I feel it in my body or experience it - there is no point of going through all that content for the sake of knowing/knowledge. Yoga is an experiential science - it is after all a way of life.

I finished reading Swara yoga, which has a brilliant translation of the Shiva Swarodaya at the end. Now this is technically a Tantric text - some more traditional schools of yoga try to deny their link with the tantric aspects of yoga - but that denial does not make the bond non-existent. The relationship between tantra and yoga is a much wider subject and really out of context for this particular post, so i shall refrain from delving deeper into it.

The Shiva Swarodaya, the mother text of Swara yoga, is a dialogue between Shiva and Parvati. The Goddess asks Shiva to share this knowledge with her - the knowledge from which the Universe was created, through which it runs and from which it is dissolved. As an answer to that simple query, Shiva goes on to speak about a science that though subtle has the power to elevate one's spiritual stature in life. This knowledge situated within one's body has the power to make one omniscient, he says. He talks about the Swara in detail and how through harnessing it's delicate rhythms you can be successful in all your endeavours in life. It's quite spectacular the kind of magic working in accordance with your swara can manifest.

Now, that I have used the word Swara a LOT, it's time to explain it. Swara means the sound of one's own breath. Or the flow of pranic life force. Swara yoga deals with using your breath to achieve the union that yoga speaks about. Many people (and I'm guilty of doing this in the beginning) confuse Swara yoga with pranayama. The difference is that pranayama is the extension of the life force or prana - where you use certain techniques to extend the breath or to control it in certain ways. Whereas, Swara yoga is to analyse the breath and it's patterns and then utilise that awareness to live our lives.

Swarodaya can be broken up into two words - swara (breath flow) and udaya (rising or waking). Shiva Swarodaya is the awakening to the various kinds of breath flow as explained by Shiva. There are three kinds of swaras and each of these have an effect on the brain and the nervous system depending on the stimuli produced. As crazy or scoff-worthy as this sounds (wait until you dive deeper) this is proven by science.

Left Nostril Swara: breath flow concentrated through the left nostril
Right Nostril Swara : breath flow concentrated through the right nostril

Both Nostril Swara : breath flowing equally through left & right

Quite simple yes?

According to this philosophy, these three swaras correspond to three systems. Swami Muktibodhananda calls them the Trinity of human existence :

Mind ~ Chitta ~ sensory nerves (eyes, nose, tongue, ears, skin)
Life Force ~ Prana  ~ five organs of action (hands, speech, feet, reproductive &excretory systems)
Spirit  ~ Atma ~ overall controller

Combining the above:

Left Nostril Swara = Mental Energy
Right Nostril Swara = Pranic or Physical Energy

Both Nostril Swara = Spiritual Energy

The above swaras and their corresponding energies then spur actions or functions related to those energies (mental, physical and spiritual). For eg, if the left swara is predominant you are most likely to have a wandering mind, similarly when the right nostril is predominant, you might be physically restless. I will explain one last concept before closing this introductory post on Swara yoga. This is common knowledge to all yogi/yoginis. Or at least should be. Nadis.

Nadis are a network of channels that allow for prana to flow. If you are familiar with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), nadis are similar meridians, through which qi (pronounced chi) flows. The meaning of the word nadi in yoga is "flow", it is also helpful to think of them as "streams". This is knowledge gifted to us by the tantric text - Shiva Samhita, which states that there are 14 principle nadis and of these 3 are most important:

Ida : Left channel [feminine, cold, moon, associated with river Ganga]
Pingala : Right channel [masculine, hot, sun, associated with river Yamuna]
Shushumna : Central channel [ associated with river Saraswati]

Hopefully, you are slowly connecting the dots of the above three concepts of swara, energies and nadis.

What do we mean by left/right nostril predominant? If you focus on your inhales and exhales you'll notice that at any given point in time one nostril is doing the majority of the breathing work. I usually judge which swara is predominant by exhaling with force and noticing which nostril the breath is coming out of more forcefully. This flow changes every 60-90 minutes. And hence influences what kind of energies are dominating our systems and what nadis the prana is flowing through and hence might determine your actions and impulses. Shiva Swarodaya states, this even determines the outcomes of your action. Boom!

This is the the very basic and broad explanation of Swara yoga. There's a ton of other concepts that need to be included for this to become a whole science. I called it a science, which means it needs rational logical backing and should have been experimented with and experienced for one to notice the results. Additionally these results need to have been recorded across many such experiences to find similarities. And that has been done at many individual levels - which is the way swara yoga was practiced back in the day. You needed a guru, teacher, to impart this knowledge to you and guide you as you learnt different aspects of Swara Yoga.


As I was reading through the book, I lamented on the fact that the old guru-shishya relationships, so prevalent in ancient India, is almost lost today. There are a bunch of courses online that say "Swara Yoga Teacher Training Program" or "swara Yoga workshop". But I am very wary of stuff online when it comes to yoga. Unless a teacher or a school or even a book comes recommended from a teacher I know very well, I will not indulge in it. So off I go on this voyage myself, looking out always, for who knows inshallah I might find a guru. My findings might be small and for the lack of a better work, kiddish, but at least it's a start.

This is all of course theory. I read the whole book and it did blow my mind in bits and pieces. It was so much information and such strong claims, that I did not know whether to fully accept it or not. The only way I can test these theories is to try it for myself. And so i am. Starting I decided to map my swaras, my moods, what I am working on at different times of the day. I decided to share some of those findings and experiences on this blog and on instagram. The timeline I am using for my first study is the period of one lunar cycle from May 5 (new moon) to June 3 (full moon).

I'll write about the significance of the lunar cycle and what I am supposed to be looking out for and other jewels from the Shiva Swarodaya in the next couple of posts.

Wish me luck.

Namaste