This article is a research work aimed at historical analysis and contemporary interpretation of Nada Yoga practices. I do not claim 100% historical accuracy and would be grateful if anyone could point to original sources where Nada Yoga is presented as a school, system, or structured path.

1. Introduction

In the contemporary yoga community, Nada Yoga is almost universally presented as an “ancient Indian system,” simultaneously a philosophy, a form of medicine, and a full-fledged path of yoga. It is often linked to the Vedas, Upanishads, or some continuous esoteric tradition. However, a review of the source corpus reveals a methodological issue: neither in ancient nor in medieval texts is Nada Yoga presented as an independent system, school, or structured path.

The purpose of this article is not to discredit sound-based practices but to conduct a source-critical and methodological analysis of the term nāda, to show how and where it is used in classical texts, and to trace how, in the 20th century, the idea of Nada Yoga as a separate “ancient path” emerged.

2. Source Base and the Term nāda

The term nāda occurs across a wide range of Indian sources, yet its meaning is contextual and does not indicate a separate system of practice.

In early Upanishads, sound is primarily considered in a cosmological and symbolic sense (e.g., Om as pranava), without any description of a concrete “yoga of sound” methodology. Later texts, such as the Nāda-bindu Upaniṣad, describe subtle internal sounds and states of concentration, but even there, a systematic structure of a Nada Yoga path is absent.

It is important to emphasize: the mere presence of the term nāda or descriptions of internal sounds is not equivalent to the existence of a formalized practical system.

Periodization

Ancient Period (up to the 1st millennium CE)
Vedic texts and Upanishads consider sound (in particular Om and the term nāda) primarily in a cosmological, symbolic, and philosophical context. There are no descriptions of a structured practice or a separate path of Nāda Yoga. Sound is used as a means of concentration and a symbol of Brahman, not as a methodological system.

Medieval Period (11th–17th centuries)
The early stages of Hatha Yoga, developing from the 11th to 14th centuries, laid the groundwork for meditative techniques. The main texts mentioning nāda-yoga-samādhi, such as the Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā (15th–16th centuries) and Gheraṇḍa Saṁhitā (17th century), describe individual practices involving internal sound, for example, through Khecari Mudra. These techniques are part of Hatha Yoga meditation, not an independent school. Here, sound functions as an object of concentration, not as an end in itself.

20th Century
With Swami Sivananda (1887–1963), Nāda Yoga was formalized as a distinct path. Sivananda synthesized various sound-based techniques into a pedagogical system, popularizing them as an independent method of spiritual practice. This created the modern perception of Nāda Yoga as an “ancient system,” although historically, no such system ever existed.

3. Medieval Hatha Yoga: nāda as a Technique

In medieval Hatha Yoga texts (particularly the Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā and Gheraṇḍa Saṁhitā), nāda is mentioned in the context of individual techniques of concentration and states of meditation.

For example, in the Gheraṇḍa Saṁhitā, the expression nāda-yoga-samādhi appears. It is crucial to note that achieving this state is described through Khechari Mudra, a specific technique in which the tongue is turned upward toward the soft palate. This is a physical practice, part of traditional Hatha Yoga, where sound and internal sensations serve as objects of concentration, not as an independent “system.” The sounds that arise during practice are by-products of the technique and serve as indicators of the depth of concentration, not as goals in themselves.

A similar picture is found in the Śiva Saṁhitā (14th–15th centuries), one of the key texts of Haṭha Yoga. In this treatise, nāda is mentioned as an object of meditative concentration that arises in the process of working with prāṇa and the mind. However, the Śiva Saṁhitā does not describe Nāda Yoga as a separate system, school, or path: sound is used instrumentally, as a means of stabilizing attention within the methodological framework of Haṭha Yoga.

Thus, in classical sources, Nada Yoga is a component of meditative techniques, not an autonomous school.

4. Absence of Nada Yoga as a System, School, or Path

The key negative conclusion of this research is as follows:

• No pre-classical or medieval text describes Nada Yoga as a separate yoga alongside Raja, Bhakti, or Hatha Yoga;
• There are no signs of a school: no lineage, corpus of techniques, or independent philosophy;
• nāda is used instrumentally — as an object of concentration, not as the foundation of a system.

Therefore, speaking of an “ancient Nada Yoga system” in a strict historical sense is incorrect.

5. Practices Commonly Called Nada Yoga Today

Modern Nada Yoga is a set of techniques borrowed from various contexts:

• Bhramari Pranayama — humming exhalation affecting the autonomic nervous system;
• Chanting A–U–M (Pranava) — synchronizing breath, voice, and attention;
• Mindful listening to external sounds — developing stable concentration;
• Observation of internal sounds — focusing attention on subtle sensory phenomena.

These methods are effective for attention training and somatic regulation, but their combination under the label “Nada Yoga” is a modern construct.

6. 20th Century: Swami Sivananda and the Formation of Nada Yoga as a “Path”

A key figure in popularizing Nada Yoga as a standalone path was Swami Sivananda (1887–1963). In his books and lectures, he systematized various sound practices and presented them as a separate yoga path.

It is important to note:

• Sivananda did not rely on a continuous textual tradition of Nada Yoga;
• He applied a synthetic, modern approach characteristic of 20th-century yoga;
• Nada Yoga in Sivananda’s work is a pedagogical and philosophical reconstruction, not a revival of an ancient school.

From this moment, the idea of “ancient Nada Yoga” entered popular consciousness.

7. Modern Interpretation: From Theology to Cognitive Practice

Outside religious contexts, working with sound can be understood as a cognitive technology:

• Hearing is the dominant and fastest sensory channel;
• Sound creates a stable focus of attention;
• Internal sounds act as markers of meditation depth.

Musical and meditative practices demonstrate that the effectiveness of these methods does not depend on mythological framing.

8. Conclusion: Honest Nāda Yoga

It is important to distinguish the modern “Nāda Yoga” as a brand from Nāda-Anusandhana (sound investigation) as an authentic psychotechnical method of the Nāths and Siddhas. While the former represents a pedagogical reconstruction of the 20th century, the latter describes a system of psychotechnical methods for achieving Laya (ego dissolution), documented in medieval canonical texts. Denying Nāda Yoga as a historically independent “school” does not diminish its significance: in the tradition, sound is not merely an object for relaxation, but a subtle instrument allowing the yogin to track stages of consciousness transformation.

In summary:

• Historically: Nāda Yoga did not exist as an independent system in classical sources.
• Technically: It is a set of attention-management methods using sound, integrated within Hatha Yoga.
• Culturally: The modern conception of a “Nāda Yoga path” was formed in the 20th century.

The practical value of Nāda Yoga lies not in its “ancientness,” but in its ability to provide a reproducible experience of reducing mental noise, enhancing concentration, and exploring consciousness here and now.

References

• Gheraṇḍa Saṁhitā
  Translated into English by Rai Bahadur Srisa Chandra Vasu.
  Sri Satguru Publications, India; distributed by Indian Books Centre, Shakti Nagar. 1895.
• Guy L. Beck – Sonic Theology: Hinduism and Sacred Sound
  Motilal Banarsidass, 1995. ISBN 9788120812611, p. 250.
• Swami Sivananda Saraswati – Tantra Yoga, Nada Yoga, Kriya Yoga
  Yoga-Vedanta Forest University, 1st edition, 1955.
• Paul, Russill – The Yoga of Sound
  New World Library, 2006. The Practice of Nada Yoga: Meditation on the Inner Sacred Sound.
• Baird Hersey – Meditation on the Inner Sacred Sound
  Description of concentration on the inner sacred sound (nāda), including Hatha and Bhakti Yoga approaches.
• Lotusblüthen, monthly journal, 1898
  Sections on Hatha Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and Nada Yoga as self-control through attention and consciousness.
• Yogi Svatmarama – Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Translated by Pancham Sinh, 1914.

Andrei Gulaikin, February 7, 2026

(Read also: Nada Yoga)