At the Bihar School of Yoga, founded by Swami Satyananda Saraswati, yoga is presented as an integrated discipline rather than a mere set of physical exercises. Foundational to this approach are classical hatha yoga asanas, including structured series such as Pawanmuktasana and Surya Namaskara, which are practiced with careful awareness of body and breath. These postures are complemented by pranayama, where techniques like Nadi Shodhana, Ujjayi, Bhastrika, and Kapalbhati are used to regulate prana and balance the nervous system. The emphasis is consistently on precision, inner awareness, and using the body–breath relationship as a doorway to subtler states of consciousness.

Alongside these, the school gives great importance to shatkarmas or cleansing practices, which are seen as preparing both body and mind for deeper work. Methods such as Neti for nasal cleansing, Dhauti for internal purification, Basti as a yogic enema, Kapalbhati as a frontal brain cleansing practice, and Trataka as steady gazing are taught in a systematic and graded manner. These techniques are not treated as curiosities, but as part of a coherent methodology for purification and refinement of the practitioner’s entire system. Bandhas and mudras are also incorporated, functioning as energetic locks and gestures that help conserve and redirect pranic forces.

Meditative and introspective practices form another central pillar. The school is especially known for Yoga Nidra, a structured form of guided relaxation that leads to deep psychic rest and heightened inner awareness, often supported by the use of sankalpa, or resolve. Other meditation methods include Ajapa Japa, in which mantra awareness is coordinated with the natural flow of the breath, Antar Mouna, a stepwise exploration of inner silence and thought processes, and Chidakasha Dharana and Trataka, which cultivate sustained awareness of the inner and outer fields of perception. Mantra yoga and kirtan, including systematic japa and group chanting, further refine and harmonize the mind, linking inner practice with devotional feeling.

Equally significant is the way the Bihar School of Yoga extends practice into daily life through karma yoga and a consciously cultivated lifestyle. Selfless service is treated as a primary sadhana, transforming ordinary work into a means of purifying ego and emotions when performed with non-attachment and awareness. Study of yogic and spiritual texts, satsang, and swadhyaya support a reflective orientation, encouraging practitioners to integrate ethical disciplines, simplicity, and devotion into ordinary routines. In this way, the school’s teachings weave together asana, pranayama, shatkarma, meditation, mantra, devotion, and service into a single, lived path of yoga.