Kriya yoga -> visualization vs appearance

[electroBeam]

In kriya yoga practices, do gurus expect you to be able to actually feel and be aware of prana? Or is it assumed to just be a mental tool for doing the practice.

I cannot feel any energy go up and down my spine during practice, only can visualise some made up idea going up and down the spine. Is this correct, or are you actually expected to feel energy go up and down the spine?

[Sahil Pandit]

@electroBeam You can feel the energy going up and down the spine. It is definitely more than just a visualization.

One technique that may help you is cobra pose. How healthy is your spine in general currently? Also, where do you usually place your attention when looking inwards? 

[Leo Gura]

@electroBeam That is because your general level of awareness is still so low.

It's sort of like you've walked into a dark room full of objects and complain, "Am I expected to see anything in here? Are you actually telling me there are real objects in this room?" To which the reply is, "Yes! Once you turn up the dial on the light dimmer switch."

At the start of Kriya your awareness of your body and spine is so poor that you cannot even feel you have a spine. "Spine" is just an idea for you. You only believe you have a "spine" because some human told you so. After some months of Kriya, you will discover, "Holy shit! I have a spine! I can feel my spine for the first time in my life!"

I find that even more important that visualizing (in Kriya) is feeling into things. Feel into your spine. Feel into your chakras. You're just extremely numb to feeling. That's the problem. You cannot feel anything subtle. In the same way that a heroin addict cannot feel subtle emotions of joy and love and beauty because he's zonked out of his mind on heroin.

[electroBeam]

1 hour ago, Leo Gura said:

@electroBeam That is because your general level of awareness is still so low.

It's sort of like you've walked into a dark room full of objects and complain, "Am I expected to see anything in here? Are you actually telling me there are real objects in this room?" To which the reply is, "Yes! Once you turn up the dial on the light dimmer switch."

At the start of Kriya your awareness of your body and spine is so poor that you cannot even feel you have a spine. "Spine" is just an idea for you.

another way to feel your spine is to lift incorrectly at the gym for years