Kriya Yoga Technique

What is Kriya Yoga?

There are a few definitions associated with Kriya yoga. In some cases, it's considered the direction of life force, or prana, through the spine in order to calm and balance the body and the mind. In most cases, it is also meant to allow the reaching of a higher consciousness, a meshing with a loving, divine being.

One idea behind Kriya is that each of us is a miniature version of the entire cosmos, complete with a little piece of a divine being. To awaken that divine being, we must be a strong source of light for others. Becoming that light happens through being truthful, reliable, strong, knowing how to act in various types of situations, and showing humility and love to all other things. In some Kriya practices, rather than awakening the being within you, you invite it into your physical body from the outside.

In many cases, a teacher and a follower work together to help the student reach the higher consciousness. You may see Kriya yoga techniques mentioned as shrouded in mystery. Some of the exercises may be. However, even if you are setting out alone, you can learn enough to benefit from the ways of Kriya.

The Kriya Yoga Technique

Three things to focus on, according to Yoga World are:

• Self-discipline
• Introspection
• Devotion

These mesh with other principles within Kriya yoga, which stem from awakening the loving and divine being (or inviting the divine into the physical body) through meditation.

Self-Discipline

Cleanse your stress by doing what you decide to do. You can only spare yourself from self-inflicted stress by sticking to your word. You will relieve yourself from any guilt or misgivings that stem from taking advantage of others or not being as reliable as you should be.

You don't have to go overboard when it comes to doing as you say you will. If circumstances change, they change. You can learn to adapt to blips in plans without stress. Be as reliable to yourself and to others as possible, but be flexible. If things change, alert the affected parties as soon as you can.

Yoga World has a detailed passage to repeat to yourself daily as you look in the mirror and into your own eyes. You may find that you wish to repeat it to yourself throughout the day.

Introspection

To master your mind and your body, you have to understand yourself thoroughly. Use your self-discipline to really investigate your thoughts and feelings. Set aside a point in the day to designate as your introspection time. Decompress. Feel the difference in the clarity and efficiency in your daily life.

Sit comfortably and focus on your breathing. You may want to use a mantra, such as Om, either aloud or in your mind in order to focus on the higher being you'd like to invite into your body to show you how to live. As you meditate and focus on breathing, imagine that divine being around you; imagine that you're breathing that being into your body.

KriyaYoga.com suggests the following mantras:

Dear God, please love me free.

Om. (This is used as another name for God.)

God I am. (This is phrased this way in order to make you open to becoming one with God.)

Visit Kriya Yoga's Diksha for Kriya Yoga page for stretches to go along with the mantra.

Before, after, or instead of the above mantras, you could follow the suggestion from Yoga World: Breathe deeply and revisit the last full day you've experienced. Think of all the minuscule details you can—how your socks felt when you put them on, how your breakfast tasted, what you chose to wear. Pretend you're writing a novel and you need to describe all of the details to your reader, yourself.

As you continue to work on this tactic day to day, strive to relive your whole day in the course of your introspection period. Remember everything from what you ate to the conversations you had.

Eventually, you will be able to step back and analyze the way you've behaved. You can then incorporate those behaviors more frequently into your daily life and be prepared to avoid those behaviors that make you unhappy with yourself. From there, you will become the person you wish to be.

Devotion

Devotion within the Kriya yoga techniques involves giving yourself through love and throwing away the pride that may keep you from completely doing so. This practice allows you to stop focusing on yourself and to focus on others. By turning our attention outward, you will learn more about your world and even yourself. Yoga World sums it up as "devotion to the spirit in every form." You allow the loving, divine being to show you how to live and interact with others constantly here.

The technique associated with devotion is almost the exact opposite of the introspection one. Forget yesterday. Forget yourself. Spend your day looking for the consciousness within other people and learn to appreciate the good in everyone. If you're lonely, shy, or afraid of others, this simple technique will have you feeling anything but those things.

Getting Started

If you're ready to embark on a spiritual journey that will take you to self-realization, follow the Kriya yoga techniques. There are also guided meditations available from Kriya teachers. Check Kriya.org for more information on finding them.