Washing Off The Memories Of The Body

Sadhguru explains how the body stores memories and shares practical ways to clear lingering impressions from the past.

The Body’s Memory: Understanding Runanubandha

The body carries its own memory, and research is beginning to explore this idea. Put simply: if your father, as a child, loved playing with round objects, pebbles, marbles, or anything circular, he may have formed a strong attachment to them.

Later, you might feel drawn to similar objects without knowing why. Studies suggest these patterns can repeat across generations, partly because we inherit genetic material.

“Runanubandha” refers to this kind of physical memory stored in the body. It can form through blood relationships or sexual relationships. The body remembers intimacy of many kinds, not only with another person but also through contact with physical substances.

Practical Cleansing Methods for Physical Memory:

Klesha Nashana Kriya: The Ritual Fire Wash

Certain festivals in India, such as Pongal and Bhogi, focus on letting go of mental and emotional burdens, as well as runanubandha, the karmic ties we carry.

We’re offering Klesha Nashana Kriya, a cleansing practice you can think of as a “fire wash," something you can use when an ordinary shower doesn’t feel like enough.

This kriya helps release the physical impressions and memories you’ve absorbed over time, not only through relationships but also simply by being around people, situations, and different environments.

Water Wash: Cleansing a Sensitive System

There’s a fire wash, and of course, a water wash every day. During a period of my life when I practiced a lot of sadhana, I took five to seven showers a day because my body became extremely sensitive.

For instance, I could sit on a particular cushion and immediately notice how it affected me, so I’d want to rinse it off, at least by letting water run over my body.

I didn’t decide to take five or seven showers a day; I simply showered whenever I felt the need. Most yogis bathe at least twice a day. Often, that means dipping into a river, immersing oneself in flowing water to feel clean again.

The Air Wash: Standing in the Breeze

During seasonal shifts, when the sun moves from the Southern Hemisphere to the Northern and again from north to south, strong winds sweep across the Indian subcontinent.

One simple way to use this is to stand in the wind and let it cleanse you. It can make a real difference. Try this: when there’s a strong breeze, wear something loose and stand outside for half an hour with your eyes closed.

Stay aware of the air moving over you. Turn around now and then so the wind flows across both your front and your back. You’ll feel lighter and more refreshed.

Earth Wash: The Practice of Reconnecting with Soil

In the ashram, each brahmachari washes their clothes separately. Everyone follows their own sadhana and carries a unique quality, so we avoid mixing them. To further prevent any blending, we rub the clothes with soil during every wash.

Sadhus and sannyasis traditionally use finely sifted red earth to color their clothing. The fabric starts white, but repeated washing with filtered earth gradually turns it a muted, earthy brown.

In the same way, the ashram’s buildings are coated with soil mixed with a natural binder, creating a finish that adheres like paint. Those engaged in intense sadhana should wash their clothes separately or rub a bit of soil into them each time they wash.

This helps keep their only energetic imprint connected to the earth, not to the people or objects around them. Wearing clothes dipped in red earth can also remind the body where it comes from and where it will return.

Another option is a mud bath, meant to cleanse and clear everything. Sadhguru’s new book, Inner Engineering: A Yogi’s Guide to Joy, was released on September 20.

In it, he offers a clear, practical guide to self-empowerment rooted in the principles of classical yoga. The approach is designed to build inner stability and help readers create a more joyful life.

Explore natural Ayurvedic Medicines for Memory & Brain Health and support your sharper cognition.

Bhuta Shuddhi - Elemental Transformation:

Sadhguru explores how Bhuta Shuddhi can bring about profound transformation by imprinting the right information onto each of the five elements.

Transforming the Elements Within:

Sadhguru: “Every yogic practice, no matter the form, has its roots in bhuta shuddhi. When you do an asana, surya namaskar, surya kriya, pranayama, or any kriya, you’re essentially engaging in bhuta shuddhi.

In other words, you’re working with life at its most basic level, the five elements. You can approach life as the physical body. You can work with prana, or life energy.

You can also work at the cellular level and even the atomic level. But the most fundamental approach is the elemental level. Yoga is an effort to reach that.” It is these five elements that form the human body, the planet, the solar system, and the universe.

Each element has its own distinct nature, and each can absorb and retain information. The practice of bhuta shuddhi is based on this understanding: the five elements can receive and hold information.

When you place information into something, you also shape an intention. The information you carry about a person, object, or situation naturally influences how you feel about it and what you intend to do.

Once you set an intention, you begin to move toward it. Bhuta Shuddhi is effective because it can transform a person in remarkable ways. The practice we offer at Isha today is a simple form of Bhuta Shuddhi.

Its purpose is to help you gradually guide the elements within you so they respond to your direction over time. When you can make these inner elements work the way you intend, you naturally become more capable of influencing the elements around you. 

The purpose of practicing bhuta shuddhi is to reset how the elements work within you. 
It’s about shifting the intention behind their activity. If the elements in you operate the same way they do in the earth or a tree, they won’t serve your human potential.

In the human system, these elements are meant to work in a distinct way, supporting growth & opening the door to higher possibilities.

Personalized Systems: Elemental Differences in Eastern Medicine

In every person, the elements work in a unique way. Traditional Eastern medical systems have long recognized these differences. Their treatments are tailored to the individual, not based on a one-size-fits-all prescription.

When a practitioner evaluates each person and identifies what they specifically need, treatment is far more effective. Diagnosis isn’t based solely on the disease or condition; it’s based on how each person’s body is built and how it functions.

The focus is always the individual, not just the ailment. Treatment follows the same principle. It’s tailored to how a specific body operates and stays in balance, rather than targeting symptoms alone.

In many Eastern traditions, care is personalized and aims to address the underlying imbalance. In conventional allopathic medicine, treatment often focuses on relieving symptoms, so people with the same symptoms may receive the same medication.

In Siddha and Ayurveda, even if five people report the same symptoms, each may receive a different remedy because the treatment is designed for the person’s unique system, not the condition.

Bhuta Shuddhi: Practice with Absolute Involvement

When you chant the Bhuta Shuddhi mantra and draw the elements, earth, water, air, and fire into yourself, you aim to shape how they work within you. Stay fully focused as you do this.

Bhuta Shuddhi shouldn’t feel like a routine exercise. It should be done with full involvement, like a love affair. The way these five elements come together to create something so complex and extraordinary is, in itself, a powerful love story.

Approach Bhuta Shuddhi with devotion and love. Bring all of yourself to it, your mind, emotions, energy, and body. Without that level of engagement, you may still see some physical benefits, but you won’t experience the practice in its full depth.

If you give yourself to it completely, this simple process can transform the foundation of your life. Sadhguru’s new book, Inner Engineering: A Yogi’s Guide to Joy, was released on September 20.

In it, he offers a clear, practical guide to self-empowerment rooted in the principles of classical yoga. The approach helps readers build inner stability so they can shape a more joyful life.