The Kriya Yoga Practices

By tradition there are a total of 76 kundalini kriyas of kriya yoga. We present the following 20 main practices, which are sufficient for the daily practice of any sincere sadhaka.

The practices are divided into three groups: those which induce pratyahara, those which induce dharana, and those which induce dhyana. It should be noted that these three states are actually a continuity of evolution, that is, the consciousness flows from one to the next without any apparent dividing point - so these practices should be done in an unbroken sequence. Of course, from the first day, the practice of these kriyas will not necessarily lead to such exalted states of awareness, but if they are practised properly with correct guidance, by an aspirant who is ready for them, then most likely, one day they will. It will be at that stage that the constant, unbroken progression of awareness will become essential. Remember, you should learn one kriya per week.

PRATYAHARA PRACTICES

№ 1: Vipareeta karani mudra (the attitude of inversion)

Assume vipareeta karani asana (described in chapter 9).

The chin should not touch the chest.

Kriya №1 Vipareeta Karani Mudra

Practise subtle ujjayi pranayama.Be sure that your legs are completely vertical. Close your eyes.Inhale with ujjayi and simultaneously feel a hot stream of amrit or nectar flowing through the spinal passage from manipura chakra to vishuddhi in the throat.The nectar will collect at vishuddhi. Retain the breath for a few seconds, and be aware of the nectar remaining at vishuddhi and becoming cool. Then exhale with ujjayi, sensing the nectar travelling from vishuddhi through ajna, bindu and to sahasrara. The sensation is that of the nectar being injected with the help of the breath. After exhalation, immediately return your awareness to manipura and repeat the kriya to bring more nectar down to vishuddhi, and finally to sahasrara. Practise 21 respirations or rounds.

№ 2: Chakra anusandhana (the discovery of the chakras)

Assume siddhasana/siddha yoni asana or padmasana. Close the eyes. Breathe normally. There is no connection between the breath and the consciousness in this practice. Bring your awareness to mooladhara chakra. Your consciousness will slowly ascend the frontal passage of arohan from mooladhara to the frontal point of swadhisthana at the pubic bone, manipura at the navel, anahata at the sternum, vishuddhi at the throat and across to bindu at the top, back of the head. As you travel upward, mentally repeat “mooladhara, swadhisthana, manipura, anahata, vishuddhi, bindu”, as you pass through these centers. Then let your awareness slip down the spinal awarohan passage from bindu to mooladhara, mentally repeating “ajna, vishuddhi, anahata, manipura, swadhisthana, mooladhara” as you pass through these centers. From mooladhara, immediately start ascending in the frontal passage as before, mentally reciting the chakra names as you ascend, starting with swadhisthana.

Kriya №2 Chakra anusadhana

Continue this rotation of awareness through the chakras in a constant flow of rounds. Do not make a serious, tensed effort to locate the chakras as you pass through them. Merely glance at them as you go by, as you would view the scenery from a fast moving train. If you wish, you can visualize your awareness in this kriya as a thin silver serpent travelling in an ellipse within your body. Practise 9 rounds.

№ 3: Nada sanchalana (conducting the sound consciousness)

Sit in siddhasana/siddha yoni asana or padmasana. Exhale completely. Keep your eyes open. Bend your head forward, so that it drops downward in a relaxed manner. The chin should not press tightly on the chest. Bring your awareness to mooladhara chakra. Repeat mentally, “mooladhara, mooladhara, mooladhara”. Then as you inhale, your consciousness should rise up through the frontal passage of arohan to bindu. Have a clear awareness of swadhisthana, manipura, anahata and vishuddhi, as you pass by them on your way to bindu, and mentally repeat their names.

As your awareness is travelling from vishuddhi to bindu during the last segment of your inhalation, your head will slowly rise and tilt back slightly into a position facing about 20° above the horizontal. With the breath stored inside you and the awareness at bindu, mentally repeat, “bindu, bindu, bindu.”

The power of the awareness will build up as you are repeating the word “bindu” and it will explode into the vocal chant of 0m, which will carry you down through the spinal passage of awarohan to mooladhara. The “O” sound of Оm will be explosive and sudden. The “m” sound will be long and drawn out, culminating almost in a buzz as you approach mooladhara. As your awareness descends in the spine, your eyes will gradually close in unmani mudra. As you descend through the awarohan passage with the Оm sound, you should also be aware of ajna, vishuddhi, anahata, manipura and swadhisthana chakras; no mental repetition. When you have reached mooladhara, drop your head forward and open your eyes. Mentally repeat, “mooladhara, mooladhara, mooladhara”, with the breath retained outside and start on the ascent as before, with inhalation and repetition of the chakra names as you pass through them. Practise 13 full rounds or breaths and end after the last “mooladhara, mooladhara, mooladhara.” № 4: Pawan sanchalana (conducting the breath consciousness) Sit in padmasana, siddhasana or siddha yoni asana, and keep your eyes closed. Practise khechari mudra throughout this kriya. Exhale completely and bend your head forward as in nada sanchalana. Become aware of mooladhara and repeat mentally, ‘mooladhara, mooladhara, mooladhara’. Then mentally say ‘arohan’ once and begin your ascent through the frontal passage with a subtle ujjayi inhalation. As you ascend, be aware of the chakras as you pass through them and repeat their names mentally. As your awareness moves from vishuddhi to bindu, your head should slowly rise until it leans slightly backward as in nada sanchalana. At bindu mentally repeat, “bindu, bindu, bindu”. Then say “awarohan” mentally and descend through the spinal passage with ujjayi exhalation, mentally reciting the name of each chakra as you pass through it. As you descend, your eyes will close very gradually to form unmani mudra, the attitude of drowsiness. At mooladhara they will be closed. Then open your eyes and bend your head forward. Repeat mentally “mooladhara,mooladhara, mooladhara”. Again begin your ascent with ujjayi inhalation, as before. Practise 49 rounds or complete breaths. After the last “mooladhara, mooladhara, mooladhara”, open your eyes and end the practice. No. 5: Shabda sanchalana (conducting the word consciousness) Sit in siddhasana, siddha yoni asana or padmasana. Keep your eyes open and practise khechari mudra throughout the kriya. Exhale completely, bend your head forward and become aware of mooladhara chakra for a few seconds. Inhale with ujjayi and ascend the frontal passage. As you ascend, be aware of the sound of the breath which takes the form of the mantra so. Simultaneously, be aware of each kshetram, without mental repetition. As you travel from vishuddhi to bindu, the head will move upward as in pawan sanchalana and nada sanchalana. Then, with the breath retained inside, be aware of bindu for a few seconds. Then descend the spinal passage doing unmani mudra and being simultaneously aware of the natural sound of exhalation and the mantra ham. Be aware of each chakra without repetition of its name. After reaching mooladhara, open the eyes and lower your head. Begin your ujjayi inhalation, rising through the frontal passage with the inhalation mantra of so. Continue in this manner for 59 full rounds or breaths.

No. 6: Maha mudra (the great attitude)

This kriya can either be practised in perfect siddhasana or siddha yoni asana,or in the asana known as utthan padasana. If maha mudra is to be practisedin siddhasana, then it should be done as follows: Sit in siddhasana or siddha yoni asana, with the heel of the lower foot pressing firmly in towards mooladhara chakra. Practise khechari mudra, exhale completely and bend your head forward. Keep your eyes open. Repeat mentally, “mooladhara, mooladhara, mooladhara”. Ascend through the frontal passage with ujjayi inhalation, being aware of the kshetram as you pass through them. Raise your head as you are crossing from vishuddhi to bindu. At bindu repeat mentally, “bindu, bindu, bindu”. Practise moola bandha and shambhavi mudra with the breath still retained inside. Say to yourself mentally, “shambhavi - khechari - mool”, while at the same time shifting your awareness to the center of these practices. When you say “shambhavi”, your awareness should be fixed at the eyebrow center. When you say “khechari”, your awareness should be fixed at the tongue and roof of the mouth. When you say “mool”, your awareness should be fixed at mooladhara chakra. Beginners should repeat this shifting of awareness 3 times. Advanced aspirants can rotate their awareness up to 12 times. Then, first release shambhavi mudra, then moola bandha. Bring your awareness back to bindu and travel down your spinal passage to mooladhara, with ujjayi exhalation and unmani mudra, and be aware of the chakras as you pass through them. On reaching mooladhara, bend your head forward. Then repeat “mooladhara, mooladhara, mooladhara” and ascend thefrontal passage with ujjayi inhalation, as before. Practise 12 rounds or breaths and end after the last “mooladhara, mooladhara, mooladhara”.

Alternative practice in utthan padasana

When practising maha mudra in utthan padasana, a slight change must be made in the technique. After ascending to bindu, repeat “bindu, bindu, bindu”. Lean forward and hold the big toe of your extended foot with the fingers of both hands, to form utthan padasana. The stretched knee must not bend. Now practise moola bandha and shambhavi mudra. Repeat, “shambhavi - khechari - mool” from 3 to 12 times, passing your awareness to the seats of these practices as you repeat their names. Release shambhavi, then moola bandha, then utthan padasana, and place your hands back on your knee. Bring your consciousness back to bindu, and then descend the spinal passage with the ujjayi exhalation and unmani mudra. If maha mudra is practised with utthan padasana, then practise 4 rounds with the right leg stretched forward, 4 rounds with the left leg stretched forward, and 4 rounds with both legs stretched forward. Choice of method: Both alternatives are equally good, as both apply a firm and constant pressure at rnooladhara. If you can easily sit in siddhasana, then the best method is the first one described. If you cannot sit comfortably in siddhasana, then use the alternative. It is easy to become sleepy while doing kriya yoga and this alternative has an added advantage of helping to remove sleepiness. Note: You can also mentally repeat the names of the chakras and kshetram as you ascend and descend arohan and awarohan.

No. 7: Maha bheda mudra (the great piercing attitude) This mudra can either be practised in perfect siddhasana, siddha yoni asana, or in utthan padasana, as with maha mudra. If practised in siddhasana or siddha yoni asana, the technique is as follows:

Practise khechari mudra and keep your eyes open and head down. Exhale completely. Repeat mentally, “mooladhara, mooladhara, mooladhara”. Inhale with ujjayi as you ascend the frontal passage to bindu. As you ascend from vishuddhi to bindu, raise your head. Repeat mentally, “bindu, bindu, bindu”, and then descend the spinal passage to mooladhara with ujjayi exhalation and unmani mudra. Be sure to notice the chakras as you pass through them. Then practise jalandhara bandha with the breath retained outside. Practise moola bandha, uddiyana bandha and nasikagra drishti. Repeat mentally, “nasikagra-uddiyana-mool”, while simultaneously placing your awareness at the seats of these practices in turn. Repeat this cycle of awareness 3 times if you are a beginner, or up to 12 times if you are experienced. Then release nasikagra drishti, moola bandha, uddiyana bandha and jalandhara bandha, but keep the head down. Bring your awareness back to mooladhara. Repeat the mantra “mooladhara, mooladhara, mooladhara”, mentally. Then with ujjayi inhalation, ascend the frontal passage to bindu for the next round. Practise 12 full rounds or breaths.