Kriya Yoga Mega-Thread

[Leo Gura]

@moon777light You will get better and quicker at feeling it with practice.

When you first start, your practices will feel rusty. That's okay. Just keep doing the best you can. Don't let perfectionism interfere with your practice. Give yourself time and leeway. Trust that things will sort themselves out after a few weeks of practice.

[sleeperstakes]

Is Isha Kriya a proper form of kryia yoga? I've been practicing that and I feel great but it doesn't feel like "yoga". Just a form of meditation.

[moon777light]

@Leo Gura thank you my impatience gets the best of me in many situations

[tyy]

I’ve read through all these pages at different times but can’t recall if some of the issues I experience are brought up or not.

Every morning when I wake up there is a reluctance feeing in me to proceed with my practice (I have taken the route of acknowledging that and pushing through regardless), is this common in here? Is it safe to practice these techniques when I arrive to do so in that mindset? 

Have you gotten use to the seating position Leo demonstrated in is blog (I think)? I still feel pain in one leg after a few months and wonder if I should be seated on a chair. It becomes a distraction by the end during the concentration portion.

Is om pronounced sort of like “ong”? I think I have seen others posting a YouTube channel where it is suggested that that’s how it should be said but I am unsure. Thanks for the help everybody!

[John Iverson]

What should i do? While i am doing kriya pranayama i cannot be mindful and remember what number i am at...

[Mart]

@John Iverson i use a bracelet with 25 beads and one little iron thing in the middle. I just grab it at the second one for a full round, or 12 beads from the iron part for half a round. You can also count the joints of your fingers on one hand, you have 12 of them if you’re lucky. Just put your finger on them or hold them to count. And being mindful while doing the breaths is a matter of practice, just do the exercise the best you can, laser focus. 

[Mart]

@tyy i have this too. Someone posted that you should just do a year no matter what, then you decide if it’s worth it. I thought this was a good idea and i set the goal for myself. Apparentely, if you practice hard enough, you should not want to give up the practice after a year because it works so well. 

[Esoteric]

So I ordered KYE by Gamana to complement Leo's original book recommendation. Is Gamana's other book on Kriya recommended aswell or will these two books be sufficient? 

[MrBabar]

Kriyamen Kriyawomen, hi!

I checked most of the thread and I believe these questions haven't been asked:

1. Is it best to do concentration or being meditation at the end of the routine? (Both is better of course but I want to keep it short).

2. For how long do you do being meditation?

3. After my routine I don't feel like I'm in a full on parvastha state, my mind is just more quit and relax. Therefore, it is maybe better to do concentration and do being meditation only when I feel I am in a strong parvastha state ?

Thank you for you help! 

 

 

 

 

 

[BuddhaTree]

3 hours ago, Esoteric said:

So I ordered KYE by Gamana to complement Leo's original book recommendation. Is Gamana's other book on Kriya recommended aswell or will these two books be sufficient? 

Get both books, highly highly recommended! Prepare yourself to be shocked, both books are a gigantic jump from KSR

Edited August 6, 2018 by BuddhaTree
edit

[BuddhaTree]

2 hours ago, MrBabar said:

Kriyamen Kriyawomen, hi!

I checked most of the thread and I believe these questions haven't been asked:

1. Is it best to do concentration or being meditation at the end of the routine? (Both is better of course but I want to keep it short).

2. For how long do you do being meditation?

3. After my routine I don't feel like I'm in a full on parvastha state, my mind is just more quit and relax. Therefore, it is maybe better to do concentration and do being meditation only when I feel I am in a strong parvastha state ?

Thank you for you help! 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome! 

1. At the very end, I prefer to do being meditation. Though I understand that by Concentration you mean focusing on a chakra/energetic center like bhruma/third-eye, people should remember that the whole practice of Kriya is a concentration practice! I used to do concentration at the end, and I saw some improvement, but nowhere close to doing being meditation at the end, which is what I do now. "Concentration only" at the end makes me restless after 20 minutes.

2. I do it for 10-30 minutes, depending on the day (twice a day).

3. I think that means you need to improve your kriya practice (kriya pranayama etc). Make it more deep, slower breath, and the parvastha at the end will be stronger.

[luismatos]

I have never done Kriya Yoga and bought Gamana's book. I tried two of the kriyas recommended and they were too powerful. I can't see myself doing 36x or 72x of some of the kriyas there. After 1 or 2 half-assed pranayamas, I felt too energetic and a bit ungrounded. 

I'm definetly going to buy the big book and start my practice from there.

[Esoteric]

1 hour ago, BuddhaTree said:

Get both books, highly highly recommended! Prepare yourself to be shocked, both books are a gigantic jump from KSR

Ok thanks. I guess I'll pick up the other one as well.

[Paan]

After 4 months of kriya i feel totally exhausted during the days, completly drained. Also sometimes i feel dizzy and nauseous. 

any else feeling the same way?

[Leo Gura]

On 8/3/2018 at 9:10 PM, see_on_see said:

While doing pranayamas sometimes I'm feeling a weird burning sensation in the throat, especially while exhaling. 

Anyone experiencing this? What could it be?

That's something particular to you.

On 8/4/2018 at 6:51 AM, tyy said:

Every morning when I wake up there is a reluctance feeing in me to proceed with my practice (I have taken the route of acknowledging that and pushing through regardless), is this common in here? Is it safe to practice these techniques when I arrive to do so in that mindset? 

Maybe try slotting Kriya into some other part of your daily routine. Like in the evening.

Quote

Have you gotten use to the seating position Leo demonstrated in is blog (I think)? I still feel pain in one leg after a few months and wonder if I should be seated on a chair. It becomes a distraction by the end during the concentration portion.

For long sits I have several different cushions on hand and a Zen-style Seiza meditation bench, and swap between them in between various Kriya exercises.

I find it too uncomfortable to sit for 1 hour cross-legged. It tends to cut off circulation in one of my legs, which distracts me from my yoga. The Seiza bench also creates much better spine alignment. But it still starts to get uncomfortable after about 1 hour. Still, far more comfortable than sitting cross-legged.

It's important to find a sitting position which you can be in for 1 hour+. Because your sets will get that long. So try various ways until you find something which you're comfortable with.

I am still experimenting with the best sitting postures for a 1h 20 min set. It's quite challenging to sit that long and then still be able to concentration in the last 10 minutes (where concentration is most important).

4 hours ago, Paan said:

After 4 months of kriya i feel totally exhausted during the days, completly drained. Also sometimes i feel dizzy and nauseous. 

any else feeling the same way?

That's something particular to you. That's not normal.

[tyy]

Thank you @Mart & @Leo Gura for the replies. I will look into a bench to assist with my distraction and I will remind myself that I am committed to this for a year, or better yet all the years. As with every other practice/habit things seem to work themselves out whether I am conscious of it happening during or recognize it after the fact! 

[Space]

11 hours ago, Paan said:

After 4 months of kriya i feel totally exhausted during the days, completly drained. Also sometimes i feel dizzy and nauseous. 

any else feeling the same way?

How do you know it's related to your Kriya practise? Could be caused by a number of different things. If you do think it is the Kriya, maybe try pausing the practise for a while and see if your symptoms improve? Or try reaching out to a professional Kriya Yoga teacher.

[pfletcha]

does anyone here struggle with the out-breath of diaphragmatic breathing? even as i've begun the aspirated "shee" sound upon blowing out, it still feels like an extended struggle to get all the air out of my lungs/belly.  i can't breathe out for even half as long as when i breathe in, and i'm soon quickly out of breath. i can't even make it back to the 1st chakra when practicing 1st kriya pranayama

Edited August 7, 2018 by pfletcha

[Leo Gura]

@pfletcha That can be tricky especially for beginners. If you need to, take some quick inhales in between your outbreath, so you can make it all way down to the 1st chakra.

With time you will build your lung capacity, improve your exhale, and improve your visualization so that will become less and less necessary.

[Sadhak_David]

On 8/6/2018 at 4:27 PM, Paan said:

After 4 months of kriya i feel totally exhausted during the days, completly drained. Also sometimes i feel dizzy and nauseous. 

any else feeling the same way?

Paan, I registered in particular for this comment my friend. I have had very similar pattern in the beginning if not exactly same.  I am inspired to answer many of your questions today.

Before i say anything, i want you to clearly know that i am doing my best guesstimate ( and that is because i feel i can help you sharing my own experience )
 

>> Why do some people freak out or get scared by doing yoga wrong?

Fear of death and decay - Fear of pain and harm. It comes from knowledge of 'consequences' of going wrong. and yet, there are 'Yogis' like Raavan and the like, who say "Whatever happens arises out of my own past, if it has to happen anyway, so be it" .

To be more precise .. From my own fellow brothers, sisters and friends - Some of the major issues with kriya pranayams and especially bandha's going wrong are : Agony, Hyperactivity, Uncontrollable libido, Mental sickness, sometimes borderline madness and a very few cases of full madness. 

And one of the reasons i came for you, is also one symptom you have mentioned above. the drainage of vitality, lack of lustre over time, and tiredness. especially your mentioning of dizzy and nauseous tells me your out-breath is very short, fickle, and your life-force intake is (not air) is "shallow" , and your tummy is perhaps not expanding in a healthy manner. Don't be surprised if I was too accurate, that would be because I have faced this. These are time when one needs a guide .. an accomplished sage hopefully.

 

>> After 4 months of kriya i feel totally exhausted during the days, completly drained. Also sometimes i feel dizzy and nauseous. 

This I touched on this topic above. Its my best guess and conviction, but I am not 100% sure. only a accomplished master can scan and be sure.

If the symptoms i mentioned match closely, then Let me elaborate on this a bit more. this at the root has its cause as obstruction in the important pathways. this also hinders one from seeing any light at all in the kutasTha.

once again this obstruction is further because of "unconscious" deep-seated patterns in ones psyche. often cellular and deep seated sub-concious conditions. For me it was fear of mortality, inherent fear of pain in any of its forms due to having terrible painful memories in the past. I have to come to terms with it. I can only be thankful for my teacher to be kind and helping me on this. I even had to stop doing kriya for over 3 months.

 

>> Done KP 2 for some months. Should I progress my practice to kp1=12 reps kp2=12 reps kp3=12 reps

In one ofthe previous ones, you even asked number of times and here the rounds. Both - you have to be careful. until 'sakthi/force' invites you, especially given your conditions, my opinion for what its worth is you should limit this.

 

I hope these responses helps, however possible to find further pathways.

I wish you very best & om.

 

Edited August 8, 2018 by Sadhak_David