Are you wondering what is Kriya yoga and how to practice it? Explore this insightful article to find out everything you need to know about its spiritual side.
The idea behind Kriya yoga is centered around one’s journey to spiritual awakening. Kriya promotes the discovery of your true self. Rather than training with challenging poses and complicated techniques, Kriya fuels your mental health and spiritual side through four disciplines: contemplation, meditation, living with wisdom and compassion, and engaging in spiritual practices to discover your true self.
The history of Kriya yoga remained unclear until 1861, when the Great Yogi Mahavatar Babaji revived its technique and passed the wisdom to one of his disciples, Lahiri Mahasaya, during their meeting in the Himalayas. Read on to learn more about Kriya yoga and how to practice it.
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How Does Kriya Yoga Work?
The idea of Kriya yoga revolves around enlightenment through a series of timely and time-tested perspectives. When you practice Kriya yoga, you meditate and train your mind simultaneously to uncover the meaning of life and open your mind.
During the session, you train your breath and mind to steer clear of the mental obstacles that get in the way of your life. Your mind becomes clearer, calmer, and quiet, making way for the truth to be revealed.
Kriya yoga can be seen as the pill to detoxify your soul, change your views, and push you out of your comfort zone. It separates your body and mind, leading you towards the world of your mind, where the soul reigns.
The Key Techniques Of Kriya Yoga
The secret behind Kriya yoga is patience. It does not change your perspective in a day or two. Instead, it involves a weekly practice that trains your mind through each step.
Meditate
Mediation and Kriya yoga go hand in hand; after a few weeks of meditation, you’ll probably notice changes in how you think.
Revive Your Energy And Mental Concentration
Once you have mastered your meditation techniques, it’s time to learn how to generate positive energy and incorporate it into your daily life to attract your desired outcome.
Open Your Heart With Devotion
This is when you slowly move forward into the middle of your journey as your meditation deepens. When your mind is clear, and your heart is welcoming the positive energy, you start to experience life on a higher spiritual level.
No matter what your heart is searching for, meditating with Kriya yoga allows you to connect the dots and pave the way for meaningful communication between you and your goal.
The Aum Technique
The idea behind the Aum technique is to take your meditation to a new level, using the power of concentration in its highest form. What you want to harvest through the Aum technique is to discover and develop the divine qualities of your true self. Practicing Aum will expand your awareness beyond the old limits you set for yourself to reach your infinite potential.
Kriya Yoga Benefits
Opening your mind and revealing your true self are the ultimate outcomes of Kriya yoga. Other than that, you will learn how to control your breath at a deeper level, increase your lung capacity, improve sleep quality, and enhance your ability to love yourself.
To prepare yourself before stepping into the journey of Kriya yoga, practice breathwork and meditation at home, and combine the breathwork with a meditative posture such as the Lotus Pose or Thunderbolt Pose.
Check out our Prana yoga guide. You might also be interested in learning about Tantra yoga.
6 Different Types Of Kriya Yoga
Kapalabhati Kriya
Kapalabhati ignites the mind. Practicing Kapalabhati involves an intense breathing technique to detoxify your mind and promote overall physical well-being.
The breathwork is good for melting away stress.
Neti Kriya
Neti is another popular type of Kriya yoga centered around nasal cleaning techniques. For that reason, practicing Neti will help purify your nasal passage and the nostrils, release muscular tension from the facial muscles and fight anxiety.
Trataka Kriya
If the two practices above purify your brain and nasal passage, Trataka will give your eyes some attention. To practice Trataka, you need to place yourself in a dark room with a source of light in front of you, preferably a candle.
Meditate for a few minutes, breathe deeply, and avoid blinking. Keep it going until you see tears running down your cheeks.
Nauli Kriya
Nauli is an essential type of Kriya yoga that promotes cleansing of the abdomen and internal organs.
Dhauti Kriya
This type of Kriya yoga focuses on cleaning your upper intestine. Many yogis will drink salted water before this process.
Vasti Kriya
Move down to the lower abdomen; Vasti Kriya will focus on cleaning impurities that get in the way of your colon. Besides the large intestine, it will also work on your pelvic zone and bladder.
If you liked this post, you might also be interested in learning about Nidra yoga.
