Kriya Yoga is the famous mystical system of yoga described by Paramhansa Yogananda in his classic and beloved book 'Autobiography of a Yogi' and, similarly to with kundalini yoga, it is claimed that kriya yoga advances the practitioner faster on their path of spiritual evolution than is the case with other systems of yoga. If you wish to learn the exact system set out by Yogananda to his Western students in the mid C20th, then you will need to register for the lengthy course offered by the Self Realization Fellowship and kept a closely guarded secret by that organisation (although there are resources which have been made available online by past students, which can be found with a little research).
There are many other schools which also claim to teach kriya yoga. The techniques all differ and many are not the same as those that Paramhansa Yogananda taught when he came to the West. However, the steps and initiations that Yogananda taught had been adapted anyway for a Western audience who at the time (in the 1920s) had no concept of yoga and whose anatomies and physical condition lacked the flexibility and training of Easterners. So the initiations and techniques that Yogananda himself taught were different from what Lahiri Mahasaya, his guru's guru and the first teacher to instruct kriya yoga to the public in Northern India, had recorded originally in his diaries and personal journals. This means that basically, the whole idea of what is true kriya yoga is up for debate and no doubt will be argued differently by various individuals depending on their affiliations and personal experience. This gets me to the main point, that being that there is most likely no perfect system that suits everyone and that each person must go by their own experience as to what resonates with their soul and spiritual path. Furthermore some of the techniques cross over with other traditions of yoga, such as kundalini yoga, Tibetan traditions and Hatha yoga. It can be assumed that many of these techniques have been known about by the yogis of yore from all different traditions, no doubt obtained from universal knowledge. With this in mind, claiming ownership of a yoga technique might seem preposterous!
If you wish to delve deeper into the full set of original teachings of Kriya Yoga as instructed by Lahiri Mahasaya then there is a great book you can get called 'Kriya Secrets Revealed' by J. C. Stevens. It contains all the initiations taught by Lahiri Mahasaya as well as appendices detailing the systems of other kriya yoga schools. The techniques are very physical and you cannot get ahead of yourself as you have to be able to master certain techniques physically before you can move on to the next level. Lahiri Mahasaya claimed that the first kriya initiation in itself is enough to liberate the seeker when practised regularly with devotion to the Divine.What I present below is a useful introduction to some of the kriya yoga techniques.
These are exercises that I practise often and I find them sufficient in themselves to take me very deeply into altered states of meditation. It is a series of 'kriya yoga' breathing techniques taught to me by a lady, Aliyananda, who had studied with a guru in the Himalayas. I've adapted the fourth breath to match the original kriya yoga pranayam technique as taught by Lahiri Mahasaya and Paramhansa Yogananda as I find this breath very balancing and pacifying to the mind. This basic series of breaths takes around 20 minutes. It does not require any rigorous activity or advanced physical ability. It is therefore feasible for most people and the profound effect these simple breaths can have, calming the mind and body, makes them perfect for preceding an extended period of sitting meditation. Ideally I recommend to practise some physical yoga or other form of body/energy work or exercise before meditating or earlier in the day - our minds have a greater chance of settling when the body has been tended to and is relaxed.
Kriya Yoga Breathing Techniques to Prepare the Mind for Meditation :
With all the breathing techniques below, sit in a comfortable position that allows your spine to remain relatively straight. Close the eyes when you can and focus your inner awareness on the third eye point. We use our fingers for counting 12 breaths each time, by moving the thumb along each three sections of our four fingers. You might want to have your eyes open to practise this bit first! Pranayam means control of prana, or the life force energy, which may be achieved through breathing techniques. It has come to be known as the breathing techniques themselves but this is not what the word originally meant. So when we use pranayama we are looking to control the currents of energy within our body, balancing out the prana, incoming life-giving and cleansing energy with the current of apana, the eliminative outgoing energy. We are also balancing out the two hemispheres of the brain and the two sides of the body - very important as this has an immediate calming effect on our minds! I've written about this before, but to recap, with regular breathing the incoming life force energy gets wasted and lost by the demands for energy needed at certain places in our body, due to daily bodily functions such as digestion and elimination and the action of the heart pumping blood. These actions cause blockages, or 'knots' ('granthis') in our energy, which along with unresolved emotional/psychological factors that get stored in our chakras, have the adverse effect of the life-giving prana flowing outwards and not getting utilised for its main purpose to fill our bodies with light and connect us to spirit.
With pranayama practice, as well as the bandhas (yogic locks) and other yogic exercises, we can start to reverse this trend and get the energy flowing through these knots and up our bodies to our crown chakras and beyond, connecting us with our soul energy and opening us to an experience of the Divine; our true Self, home and true identity - a place where we can be recharged, get fresh insight and inspiration and have our daily concerns melt away in the experience of the Amrit or the deathless state, blissful nectar of the Divine. Once we start working on our energy body in this way, we have to be aware too, that we will have to face and grow through old suppressed emotions and issues as we are literally shining the light of prana on all parts of ourselves, including the less desirable aspects of self which we might have previously kept hidden in the shadows. This can feel like a step backwards at times, but it is in fact positive growth in the direction of becoming fully integrated spirit beings. The important thing is to develop self compassion and awareness during the process and seek out therapists and supportive people when needed.
Basic Pranayam Breath
In your comfortable seated position, inhale deeply and slowly, filling the lower abdomen as much as you can with air. Hold the in-breath and mentally say a mantra, such as 'Wahe Guru' (the mantra of ecstasy which is calling in the experience of the pure self in the here and now) or just a simple 'Om'. Then exhale slowly pulling the stomach and lower abdomen right in like a bellow. Repeat this breath a total of 12 times. Try and make the inhale and exhale of equal duration so that it becomes rhythmic and flowing. This breath helps cleanse the lower chakras. It is good in all the different breathing techniques mentioned here (except obviously for Sitali Pranayam where it is physically an impossibility!) if you can hold the tongue up and back as far possible against the roof of the mouth, in what is known as partial kechari mudra. This tongue position activates many reflex points on the roof of the mouth which help still the activity of certain parts of the brain. Many advanced yogis have learnt to stretch their tongues so that they can practise full kechari mudra, where the tongue is inserted up the nasal canal bringing on heightened states of bliss, but we are not expecting you to do that here!
Sitali Pranayam or Snake Breath
Either with a curled and protruding tongue or with puckered lips, suck the air in and out forcefully in short breaths of even duration. Imagine the air coming in and out your throat chakra and clearing it each time you breathe. Keep the eyes closed and focussed on the brow chakra. Repeat this breath 12 times. This breath is good for cleansing the heart, throat and thymus.
Alternate Nostril Breathing (Also known as Anuloma Viloma or Nadi Shodhana)
Still in your comfortable sitting position, use either the little and ring fingers (keep the middle and index fingers curled into your palm if using this hand position) or simply use the index finger to close off the left nostril and inhale slowly and peacefully through the right nostril. Then close the right nostril with the thumb and exhale in the same way through the left nostril, keep the thumb closing the right nostril and inhale through the left nostril, Finally close the left nostril with the finger(s) you used before and exhale out through the left nostril. This cycle is considered as one breath. Repeat this cycle for a total of 12 times, using your finger counting system to keep track. You can look at your fingers if you need to! Try and keep each inhale and exhale of similar duration and flowing rhythmically. Imagine this breathing pattern clearing your head and balancing both sides of your body (each nostril relates to a side of the body and hemisphere of the brain). This breath helps clear the head chakras.
Basic Kriya Yoga Breath
Using an 'ujayi' sound produced through very slightly restricting the throat, a bit like heavy breathing when someone is sleeping (Yogananda used to say a 'Shaaaaw' sound – but experiment with what feels natural for you) inhale slowly and deeply whilst imagining a cool energy ascending through a central energetic column (the shushumna) in the spine, passing and clearing the way through each chakra until it reaches the third eye (brow chakra) in head. Pausing briefly, holding the in-breath and mentally chant Om at the third eye (if you want you can visualise putting an 'Om' symbol in the third eye). Then exhale deeply with a similar throaty sound (Yogananda used to say like a 'Sheee' sound) and imagine a warm energy descending back down the back of the sushumna and spinal column. Repeat this breath for a total of 12 times. The sound in the breathing helps to more effectively clear the chakras and raise the energy.
Final Breath: Mul Bandh Breath
This is one breath only. Simply fill your lower abdomen as much as you can with air as you inhale. Then hold and pull in the lower abdomen and pull up all the muscles of the lower pelvic floor and sex organs. Literally putting as much pressure as you can on the air you've inhaled. Hold this for as long as is comfortable. Imagine energy coming up the inside of the shushumna again right up to the brow chakra with your eyes closed, chin lowered slightly (in Jalandhar Bandh) and attention focused on the brow area. Then when you wish to hold it no longer gently exhale and allow yourself to go into silent meditation. It can be a good idea at this point to use a mantra mentally (not out loud) that you feel drawn to, to still the mind and focus your attention on higher thoughts. Examples of a mantra might be: 'Wahe Guru', 'Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo', 'Om Namah Shivaya', 'So Ham', 'Om Mani Padme Hum' or even something that is personal and meaningful to you such as the word 'Love' or 'Peace'. One of my teachers used to use the Lord's Prayer - because it was quite long, it occupied her mind and quietened her thoughts. It is recommended to repeat the mantra 12 times or more, but some times this might not be necessary if you have already got to a deep peaceful state.
It's a good idea to finish your meditation practice by giving thanks and sending out prayers for peace and healing for yourself, loved ones and the world. And close with some energy visualisation to protect your being, such as casting a sphere of white light around yourself. (I will write further on energy protection practices in another post very soon.)
Additionally, before sleep or after the above set of breathing exercises, Yoni Mudra can be a good brief exercise to practise with the aim of merging individual consciousness with Source consciousness via the 'Star of Brahman' - the star or point of light which emerges in the third eye. To practise this, no more than three times in one go, you prepare to close off all the sensory organs in the head by doing the following: Place the thumbs of each hand over the tragus of each ear, the index finger of each hand over the outer corner of each eye socket (with eye lid closed), the middle fingers over the sides of the nostrils and the ring and little fingers over the corners of the mouth (ring finger above and little finger below) on each side. Taking one deep inhale as before with the kriya pranayama, imagining the cool energy coming up the spine, inhale to about 95% full and then press down with all the fingers except the middle fingers to close off the sense organs (eyes should be closed). Then take in a little more air via the nostrils and press down with the middle fingers to close the nostrils as well. As you hold the breath focus the inner attention at the third eye point between the brows and briefly scrunch up the temples as if furrowing the brows or frowning to send extra energy to this area. Imagine the energy of the held breath (and the sound/symbol of OM 'pinging' at the third eye point). When it is no longer comfortable to hold the breath, gently release it and imagine the warm energy descending the back of the spine as in the Kriya pranayama. With practice you should start to see lights emerging in this brow point (known as the Ajna kutastha). Ultimately a star or point of light will emerge in a blue circle, surrounded by a halo of golden light. When this happens you want to imagine the light of your consciousness piercing the star (the Star of Brahman), allowing you access to Divine states, other worlds and dimensions. The longer you can hold your breath comfortably, the more possible this becomes. Therefore practising long deep breathing and pranayama in general helps this exercise. It is advised to do this exercise once before sleep, even if just on its own, in order to have more profoundly spiritual sleep experiences.
