Kriya Yoga Mega-Thread

[who chit]

55 minutes ago, Stretch said:

Ujjayi Pranayama confusion...

The author's description of diaphramatic breathing is... In-breath - 'make sure to expand the chest and slightly pull the abdomen inward'; 'outbreath - 'use the diaphragm to push the air out of your lungs'. This appears to be contrary to my understanding of diaphragmatic breathing - I understood that on the in-breath one should be expanding the belly, not the chest, pushing the diaphragm downwards, then on the out-breath the diaphragm is relaxed and the abs are slightly engaged to push the last bit of breath out. Youtube videos confirm my understanding as correct.

Have I confused what he's trying to say, or is he re-defining diaphragmatic breathing as its opposite, in contradiction with yogic wisdom I've encountered in the past?

Your understanding is correct. Expand the belly to fullness first,then carry it on up high into the chest. It can be done in two motions,but in practice it is done as one fluid motion.

You are also correct on the out breath. There shouldn't be a forcing or pushing the out breath on exhale. There should be a relaxing of the diaphragm and a "letting out" of the breath naturally until the last bit to push the rest out using the abs/diaphragm. The slight constriction of the epiglottis on the out breath will naturally slow the exhalation on it's own.

[Viking]

is it ok to extend the concentration practice at the end for as long as I want, focusing on medulla and looking towards bhrumadhya? I feel like the concentration periods fly by extremely fast and I do 10 mins.

also in any meditation posture its says that i should get my foot as close as i can towards me, but then it pushes on my perineum and it's not too comfortable, am i sitting wrong?

Edited April 15, 2018 by Viking

[Aimblack]

11 minutes ago, Viking said:

is it ok to extend the concentration practice at the end for as long as I want, focusing on medulla and looking towards bhrumadhya? I feel like the concentration periods fly by extremely fast and I do 10 mins.

Yes, that is why it says 5+ min and I think that is actually where the meat of the practice is. As far as I am aware all the other things you do before concentration is to still the mind to the point that concentration becomes effortless.

Quote

also in any meditation posture its says that i should get my foot as close as i can towards me, but then it pushes on my perineum and it's not too comfortable, am i sitting wrong?

That is actually a good thing, it helps you keep attention on the root chakra.

[Viking]

during the concentration practice i cant feel the back of my head or my medulla, so i find it really hard to find what to concentrate on. sometimes i feel energy there and then i can concentrate on it and i feel deep peace, but that energy is on and off, when the energy is not there its as though the back of my head doesnt exist.

i also have some back neck strain/pain, can that affect how i can feel that area?

i also start to feel my pulse in the perineum and its distracting

[Sukhpaal]

Another thing I love about kriya yoga is it forces you to be active. When I would meditate it would be so much easier wandering off and losing focus but during Kriya, you do different techniques for different amount of time so I feel more engaged in Kriya yoga than I did with meditation. 

[Leo Gura]

Guys, careful not to treat Kriya yoga as a quick enlightenment fix. That's not at all how it works. You need to be in this for the long-haul.

Questions such as: "Do you see a light yet at your 3rd eye?" are the totally wrong attitude.

[onacloudynight]

I was wondering if anyone might have any advice on this.

If I am doing my routine at night, does that mean I should just skip short breath kriya pranayama? The book says if you practice at night to just add Yoni mudra to the end of your routine, but it doesn't say anything about short breath kriya.

 

Edited April 16, 2018 by onacloudynight

[herghly]

Navi Kriya

 

How do you tap the back when doing Navi Kriya? I can't get my hands in the position the book says

[onacloudynight]

Tip:

I noticed while in the middle of doing kriya pranayama 2, that the breath became very still and my attention naturally went toward the stillness. I would say that it's okay to end the technique early if your mind is already really calm and your breath becomes very subtle. Maybe someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I don't see the point of continuing the technique anymore if you are naturally being pulled into the stillness. 

Edited April 17, 2018 by onacloudynight

[Shu]

Just starting on my kraya practice).. and in there somthing unclear for me in the daily rutine table: what is a round? If level one is 5 min for example, then after 5m i have completed 1 round? If so then what should i do in between rounds? Rest, meditat for a couple of minutes or just start with the next one?

[DnoReally]

@Shu Normally the book states quite clearly what 1 round is. Just read through steps. Doing x rounds will take you around 5 minutes, it's more of an estimate than a rule to obey.

[Shu]

11 minutes ago, DnoReally said:

@Shu Normally the book states quite clearly what 1 round is. Just read through steps. Doing x rounds will take you around 5 minutes, it's more of an estimate than a rule to obey.

Its states clearly whats "cycle" is, but not what round is. Becouse usualy in in tables like this, from my past expirience, means 5m equals 3 times(rounds) that is aproximatly 15m in total or 20m with brakes... there fore a big diffrence between 5m excercise and 20m excercise.

[Viking]

On 15/04/2018 at 6:52 PM, who chit said:

Your understanding is correct. Expand the belly to fullness first,then carry it on up high into the chest. It can be done in two motions,but in practice it is done as one fluid motion.

You are also correct on the out breath. There shouldn't be a forcing or pushing the out breath on exhale. There should be a relaxing of the diaphragm and a "letting out" of the breath naturally until the last bit to push the rest out using the abs/diaphragm. The slight constriction of the epiglottis on the out breath will naturally slow the exhalation on it's own.

wait, i dont get it. it is said later in the book that you move energy up and down the spine instead of into the belly and out when breathing. 

it is also said that one should expand the chest when one does ujjayi. its doesnt seem possible to get the chest full of air when you move your diaphragm down. i just breathed until now from the chest. im confused about diaphramic breathing and all that.

[abundance]

I have been doing the Lesson 4 - Concentration for a few weeks now. I feel that I am not ready to move on as of yet. I must admit that focusing on the bhrumadhya has led to some resounding states of inner peace and stillness. I am use to focusing on the breath so this practice is quite new to me. It definitely involves some visualization. I find that it is best to not force it when it comes to concentration. My most peaceful sessions have been simply observing what arises, yet not focusing on the content of it, and then pointing my awareness steadily back to bhrumadhya.

I have not had any spurts of energy or weird phenomena come up yet. I am not necessarily seeking them either. 

[abundance]

Also the author mentions hearing the "OM" sound during concentration. Yesterday morning during my practice my mind was very still and I could vaguely make out a low hum in the back drop whilst hearing my heart beat. I am not sure if this is the OM sound being referred to here. It didnt occur for me this morning since my mind had many racing thoughts and I made too much of an effort to seek it out instead of letting rise on its own. Out of curiousity I was wondering if any of you have heard it or experienced it yet. Again, its not something I am purposefully seeking out but it is rather interesting to see if others have undergone some of the experiences detailed in the book.

Edited April 17, 2018 by abundance

[Viking]

25 minutes ago, abundance said:

I have been doing the Lesson 4 - Concentration for a few weeks now. I feel that I am not ready to move on as of yet. I must admit that focusing on the bhrumadhya has led to some resounding states of inner peace and stillness. I am use to focusing on the breath so this practice is quite new to me. It definitely involves some visualization. I find that it is best to not force it when it comes to concentration. My most peaceful sessions have been simply observing what arises, yet not focusing on the content of it, and then pointing my awareness steadily back to bhrumadhya.

I have not had any spurts of energy or weird phenomena come up yet. I am not necessarily seeking them either. 

wait, arent you supposed to focus on medulla? the back of the head? the author said not to focus too much on bhrumadhya i think

[Sukhpaal]

@Viking On page 53, step 5 it says first start off focusing on back of the head then imagine that you are looking forward from the back to the point between the eyebrows. While doing it, you shift your eyes a bit directly upwards but do not strain them.

[Viking]

1 hour ago, Sukhpaal said:

@Viking On page 53, step 5 it says first start off focusing on back of the head then imagine that you are looking forward from the back to the point between the eyebrows. While doing it, you shift your eyes a bit directly upwards but do not strain them.

yes, i was actually confused also before about that. but im sure he said somewhere not to focus too much on the bhrumadhya. afterall, we want to get to the ajna,  which is on the line from the medulla to bhrumadha, so its like focus on an area you have a mild idea where it is and do that for 5 or more minutes without distraction. seems something that needs a lot of practice to perfect or to understand what is meant.

[Sukhpaal]

@Viking Ohhh, I'm not too sure yet to be honest. I'm not far in the book yet, I've only been doing up to Lesson 7 so far. For me personally, whenever I focus on bhrumadhya I get super emotional and it feels tormenting for me as an ego. My body starts shaking up and stuff, I just assumed focusing on bhrumadhya was what you were suppose to do unless he says otherwise later in the book? And thats another thing I found difficult. How do you focus on the medulla? I also assume it is with a lot of practice because I can barely feel the 5 chakras right now because I'm a super noob hahaha

[Viking]

11 hours ago, Sukhpaal said:

@Viking Ohhh, I'm not too sure yet to be honest. I'm not far in the book yet, I've only been doing up to Lesson 7 so far. For me personally, whenever I focus on bhrumadhya I get super emotional and it feels tormenting for me as an ego. My body starts shaking up and stuff, I just assumed focusing on bhrumadhya was what you were suppose to do unless he says otherwise later in the book? And thats another thing I found difficult. How do you focus on the medulla? I also assume it is with a lot of practice because I can barely feel the 5 chakras right now because I'm a super noob hahaha

well im also a noob, im pretty confused, gotta read that stuff again. 

i found focusing on the medulla rather difficult but sometimes i felt energy there and i felt very peaceful.