Kriya Yoga Mega-Thread

[nistake]

If I were you, I'd check the local pharmacy. Usually, pharmacies sell salt water with the thingy that you can inject with.

Sometimes my nose is also clogged and it helps (for a while at least).

[ivory]

Man, I just ordered SantataGamana's book and was severely disappointed. Too much talk about chakras and devotion. I was really excited about kriya until I read this book. Now I don't think that kriya is for me.

 

For enlightenment I think I'll stick with my breath+mantra, Rupert Spira, and Nisargadatta Maharaj.

[andyjohnsonman]

I just finished his book Kriya yoga exposed I thought it was pretty good and gives a fair assessment of Kriyabans. I'm surpised as to his rating of J. C Stevens however only giving him 6/10

[andyjohnsonman]

I decided against lesson 8 - first part of Kriya Pranyama as you have to imagine a 5 pointed between the eyebrows absorbing negative energy. I just feel this is a little too far field or am I just being closed minded?

 

Is Kriya Pranyama an essential part of Kriya? Should I go back to do this exercise or is it ok to move on if some of the excercises you arent keen on? 

[Leo Gura]

@andyjohnsonman There is no Kirya yoga without pranayama.

Why are you guys making this so complicated?

[now is forever]

@Jordan94 in case of saltwater i‘d use a big syringe if you don’t have a neti pot or something similar - but be very careful while pushing it is better to use a neti as it will just flow on it‘s own.

a pipette i‘d use only for the oil - as you don’t flush with the oil. the cleaning is very different in both cases. the only thing similar is that you put liquid in the nose.

you can find descriptions and youtube videos on how much salt you need per lukewarm water. so you need to dissolve the saltwater in a small amount of hot water and then fill it up with colder water. or cook it in advance and let it cool down. you know your water quality better than i. think it was one teaspoon on half a liter. a little too much is better then not enough. 

 

Edited January 31, 2019 by now is forever

[Space]

9 hours ago, andyjohnsonman said:

I decided against lesson 8 - first part of Kriya Pranyama as you have to imagine a 5 pointed between the eyebrows absorbing negative energy. I just feel this is a little too far field or am I just being closed minded?

 

Is Kriya Pranyama an essential part of Kriya? Should I go back to do this exercise or is it ok to move on if some of the excercises you arent keen on? 

Where does it say absorbing negative energy? Just leave that for now. Just get the basic pranayama technique down first. Suck up the prana energy like a liquid from the base chakra to the crown, eyes closed, breath through nostrils (take multiple breaths if need be), use breath/nose strips to have a clear nasal passage (work like a charm), whilst visualising and also feeling (as best you can) the prana flowing up the spine and piercing each chakra. Hold the energy at the top for a few seconds, and then bring it down the spine. Repeat 24 times. It becomes second nature pretty quickly. 

[Girzo]

@andyjohnsonman You have to do Pranayama.  in fact, you can skip everything else but it.

16 hours ago, ivory said:

Man, I just ordered SantataGamana's book and was severely disappointed. Too much talk about chakras and devotion.

You don't buy his book for the talk, you buy it for those few short technique descriptions. Then you start to practice them and only then you judge whether it's effective or not.

Edited January 31, 2019 by Girzo

[martins name]

@ivory Santata has several books, wich one did you get? Are you sure you haven't mixed him up with JC Stevens? If not what points about chakras that he made did you think were unneccesary or wrong? I'm quite experienced with santatas kriya as it is taught in the secret power of kriya yoga, maybe i can enlighten you about some things you are sceptical about.

[kerk]

10 hours ago, andyjohnsonman said:

I just finished his book Kriya yoga exposed I thought it was pretty good and gives a fair assessment of Kriyabans. I'm surpised as to his rating of J. C Stevens however only giving him 6/10

When I read his ridiculous critique of Nityananda's wonderful Kriya-yoga Science of Life Force I practically threw Gamana across the room. I didn't find it a fair assessment, but a gratuitous attack on other authors and teachers.

[kerk]

11 hours ago, andyjohnsonman said:

I decided against lesson 8 - first part of Kriya Pranyama as you have to imagine a 5 pointed between the eyebrows absorbing negative energy. I just feel this is a little too far field or am I just being closed minded?

Imagining the Kutastha is not a basic part of Kriya Pranayama. You are referring to Bhrumadhya Kriya which Stevens explains is a variant, only for three specific occasions (page 96-97 and 99). Yogananda taught a similar technique for the same purpose.

I can see how this can be confusing, because on the same pages Stevens is talking about two different practices, basic Kriya ("First Part" or KP1) and Bhrumadhya Kriya. Again, these are not the same thing.

There is a ton of material in Stevens, much of it highly advanced and for most Kriyabans is probably more of academic interest than actually doing it. The basic practices in Stevens are the ones to do if one is new to Kriya.

Opinion: I don't think there's much value in trying to imagine Kutastha as a regular part of your meditation, nor have I ever seen that given as a basic daily practice. It is real however. Seeing it spontaneously will beat any imagining it.

Edited January 31, 2019 by kerk

[andyjohnsonman]

1 hour ago, kerk said:

Imagining the Kutastha is not a basic part of Kriya Pranayama. You are referring to Bhrumadhya Kriya which Stevens explains is a variant, only for three specific occasions (page 96-97 and 99). Yogananda taught a similar technique for the same purpose.

I can see how this can be confusing, because on the same pages Stevens is talking about two different practices, basic Kriya ("First Part" or KP1) and Bhrumadhya Kriya. Again, these are not the same thing.

There is a ton of material in Stevens, much of it highly advanced and for most Kriyabans is probably more of academic interest than actually doing it. The basic practices in Stevens are the ones to do if one is new to Kriya.

Opinion: I don't think there's much value in trying to imagine Kutastha as a regular part of your meditation, nor have I ever seen that given as a basic daily practice. It is real however. Seeing it spontaneously will beat any imagining it.

Ah yes Thankyou I see that now I was looking at page99 when the starting procedure is on page 97. Great i'll include this tonight.

[oysterman]

@Jordan94

I have a problem with allergies that leads to very blocked nose. I like to clean out the mucus with a neti pot before kriya (saline, roughly isotonic solution poured through one nostril and coming out the other!)

You can get ayurvedic-style ceramic neti pots, and you can get plastic ones.

Also, I find that exercising beforehand helps me get the mucus out. But it's quite impractical/tiring to vigorously exercise for a few minutes before kriya. So I use a mix of exercise and neti pots and good luck.

P.S. Not 'neti neti' pots! Neti neti meditation is also pretty good though.....

 

EDIT:

@Leo Gura Have you tried using a neti pot instead of decongestant? It's very pleasant when you get it at just the right temperature. Leads to lovely nasal openness.

It's very effective and has a nicer vibe than the 'chemicals', if you're a spaced out stage green hippy like me. Despite the fact that the natural salt is also a chemical.

Just like me, if you harness the energetic vibes of these pink Himalayan salt crystals in your nose tubes, with none of the required cultural and ayurvedic understanding of what's really going on, YOU TOO can placebo yourself into the divine consciousness!

Just search on amazon "neti pot", most things will do.

Edited January 31, 2019 by oysterman
Neti pots are wonderful. Even my stage orange doctor recommended me one.

[herghly]

how about using Rapé to open the nostrils for kriya?

 

https://psychedelictimes.com/sacred-tobacco/

[Jordan94]

@now is forever Ok thanks, I followed @nistake adviced and just checked at some drugstore and actually found something that seems to be that, it says it's an "isotonic filtered sea water solution, 100% natural", bingo ?

Although it's a spray, and I tried it a few times and I barely see any difference, I don't know if I use it properly though, I spray it standing so it mostly just falls down, althought it seems like it's supposed to be like that, they say to spray for a few seconds and let the excess run out, then blow nose

 

@oysterman Ok thanks, seems quite different than what I have know since my solution just get sprays in one nostril and some part falls out and some part remain in the nostril i guess

I actually had the same thought about the 'neti ... neti neti ?' pots 

[now is forever]

@Jordan94 well if you don’t listen to the said, of course it won’t work it’s like putting your toes into the sea when the advice was: go swimming.

Edited February 1, 2019 by now is forever

[oysterman]

@Jordan94 Neti is cool cos you pour water through your nose for about 30-60 seconds continuously - gets all the muck out if you do have lots of mucus / allergens in your nose.

@herghly seems interesting, let us know how it goes! My only concern would be not knowing its energetic effect on you and your spine-awareness. What if it messes something up slightly? I don't think kriya was designed with such plant usage in mind.

ALSO guys, does anyone try to do kriya 3 times a day? I've been TRYING for 7 months, but it's such a tough regime for me. I love it when I do manage 3 times a day, it feels absolutely amazing. But it's so much effort, three times a day, to try and totally fuck up my reality for at least 30 mins. Especially if I wake up late, or am otherwise pressed for time.

Any tips on maintaining a solid practise? I guess this comes down to good old-fashioned habit building and stuff.

Edited February 1, 2019 by oysterman

[archi]

11 hours ago, herghly said:

how about using Rapé to open the nostrils for kriya?

 

https://psychedelictimes.com/sacred-tobacco/

I do not recommend it, if anything then jala neti.

The reasons are that you would need 30mins to settle down and also once you do khechari you do not what to feel remnants of rape in your nasal cavity.

[Moondog]

Hi guys,

I've been doing Kriya for 5 months now. I do the techniques described in the book that is in Leo's book list. 

At the end of my practice i always do the concentration on Bhrumadhya, but yesterday I had a very strange mystical(?) experience while doing it. While i was concentrating, i tilted my head forward just a little and that somehow made me get a really good angle towards Bhrumadhya. Then my state of counsciousness shifted. It felt similar to what i feel when i do the wake induced lucid dreaming technique. Then my heart started pounding faster and this strange feeling in my chest emerged that got stronger and stronger every second. After about 30s the feeling in the chest went away, but i was still all dizzy and shaking for a while. It was really intense. 

I was just wondering if you guys ever had an experience similar to mine and could explain it in greater detail. Also, is it the case for you guys that the sudden mystic experiences happen to you in the concentration period of the practice?

 

[Leo Gura]

@Moondog Don't look for explanations of such things. Just keep doing your practice and enjoy it.

There's nothing to explain. "Stuff" will arise and pass away. Various mystical states will happen many times in various ways. Spiritual phenomena will come and go. Be careful not to project too much meaning into it. Take it at face value as phenomena.