A Modern Kriya Yoga Master: Ryan Kurczak

[Sage_Elias]

This teacher definitely understands the nuances of spirituality.  His teachings are very practical when it comes to being a seeker in our modern world. If you resonate with Leo then chances are you might resonate with Ryan Kurczak...if Leo was a Kriya master, he would most likely sound like Ryan :)...at least thats what I think.

Here is a basic description of Ryan:

• for the past 18 years he has been practicing intently in a chair.  He doesnt overemphasize the need to sit cross legged.
• He was a married man for over a decade before his wife passed away and feels that intimate relationships can be apart of our spiritual life.
• When Ryan is not teaching Kriya yoga he is a musician, "foul mouth card player" and he enjoys hiking.
• He's also a vedic astrologer and has many videos on that
• Also, he eats meat occasionally if it is served to him and doesnt make a big deal about it.
• He gets about 9hrs of sleep per night he's quite fine with that...no need to force yourself to be like the "sleepless saint" mentioned in Yogananda's autobiography
• If he's not busy, he sometimes watches a movie on Netflix while eating his lunch.
• Ryan is not into the whole idea of joining spiritual organizations and he feels that the path of a Kriya yogi is a solo one. As a matter of fact, his wife was a kriya yogi as well and they didnt even meditate together or talk much about spirituality. He meditates on his own time while she does the same. They didnt even read the same books...she read the ones that she wanted to and he did the same.
• He was raised as a Catholic and hates going to Church to this very day ...

Here you have a person who has gone deeply into the practice of Kriya Yoga  and he doesnt try to mimic saints and sages but rather tries to find a healthy middle path in a modern way. Also,  authenticity is heavily emphasized in his teachings... the "just do what works best for you" kinda attitude.

I definitely resonate with him and you might or might not. Here is one of his youtube videos:

ps. I dont know if his techniques are "watered down" but other than that...most of his insights are truly helpful.

Edited August 19, 2018 by Sage_Elias

[Esoteric]

I like Ryan too. I have only watched a few videos with him but I agree that it's refreshing that he is not strict and doesn't seem dogmatic.

He has two very interesting videos with Roy Eugene Davis, a direct student under Yogananda. I really enjoyed them.

 

 

Funnily enough I had a dream about Ryan just this past night.

[Sage_Elias]

17 hours ago, Esoteric said:

I have only watched a few videos with him but I agree that it's refreshing that he is not strict and doesn't seem dogmatic.

I totally agree @Esoteric

[Rinne]

@Sage_Elias Thanks for sharing!

[Aimblack]

get his book kriya yoga vichara, it's amazing. The gist is to do basic kriya practice to still your mind completely and from that point doing self-inquiry.

[Sage_Elias]

@Aimblack Are Ryan's techniques legit?

I'm asking Because I know that Ryan learnt them from a direct disciple of Yogananda and he didnt get his techniques from the SRF...which was the organization responsible for teaching the techniques to the public at large.

I can now see why Yogananda would have made the techniques for the general public to be very basic and 'watered down'. In the 1940s yoga was still a taboo subject and subjects like chakras and kundalini energy would scare people off. Yogananda must have realized this and just kept things very simple when teaching the general public. But he may have given the more powerful techniques to his direct disciples...one of whom taught Ryan Kurczak.

 

[Aimblack]

5 hours ago, Sage_Elias said:

@Aimblack Are Ryan's techniques legit?

I'm asking Because I know that Ryan learnt them from a direct disciple of Yogananda and he didnt get his techniques from the SRF...which was the organization responsible for teaching the techniques to the public at large.

I can now see why Yogananda would have made the techniques for the general public to be very basic and 'watered down'. In the 1940s yoga was still a taboo subject and subjects like chakras and kundalini energy would scare people off. Yogananda must have realized this and just kept things very simple when teaching the general public. But he may have given the more powerful techniques to his direct disciples...one of whom taught Ryan Kurczak.

 

 I am not really qualified to answer that but the basic routine is pretty standard, every technique he uses is in every other kriya book. The innovation here is that kriya is used as the foundation for self-inquiry.