Wednesday, January 5, 2011

The Kundalini Kriyas

In the book "Kundalini Tantra", Swami Satyananda introduces the Kundalini Kriyas of Kriya Yoga as follows:

The following tantric kriyas provide what is possibly the most efficient method for systematically evolving man's consciousness that has ever been developed. They are said to have been the teachings for the transcendental sadhana which Lord Shiva gave to his disciple and wife, Parvati.

Before beginning to learn the Kriyas, it is essential that the previously discussed Beginner and Advanced courses have been completed, and the student has attained a state of good physical, mental and spiritual health. If this is not the case, then it is entirely possible these Kriyas will result in physical illness, mental imbalance and/or psychic dislocation. These Kriyas are very powerful and adequate preparation is critical for a successful practice.

The following table lists the 20 Kriyas taught by Swami Satyananda. The student should first master all 20 Kriyas at the reduced number of rounds, then if time permits, gradually start practicing at the full number of rounds.

Kriya Full Reduced
1 Vipareeta Karani Mudra 21 11
2 Chakra Anusandhana 9 9
3 Nada Sanchalana 13 5
4 Pawan Sanchalana 49 11
5 Shabda Sanchalana 59 11
6 Maha Mudra 12 6
7 Maha Bheda Mudra 12 6
8 Manduki Kriya 1-3 min 1-3 min
9 Tadan Kriya 7 7
10 Naumukhi Mudra 5 5
11 Shakti Chalini 5 5
12 Shambhavi 11 5
13 Amrit Pan 9 9
14 Chakra Bhedan 59 11
15 Sushumna Darshan - -
16 Prana Ahuti ~1 min ~1 min
17 Utthan 2-3 min 2-3 min
18 Swaroopa Darshan 2-3 min 2-3 min
19 Linga Sanchalana 2-3 min 2-3 min
20 Dhyana - -

I will briefly describe each Kriya over the course of 20 future posts, but for an immediate full description of each Kriya please refer to either of my two favorite yoga books.

Update on February 14, 2012: Links to the description and video for each Kriya have been added to the table above.

20 comments:

  1. Enjoy the art ;) More of my work can be found in my portfolio at viradical.com. Jai Shiva Shakti, Hara Hara Mahadev.

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  2. Hi George,

    Thanks for the link to your site. Your artwork is truly beautiful. I did not know who it belonged to when I posted it, but am glad you found me. Looking forward to seeing more from you!

    Thanks.
    Manoj

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  3. I shall be grateful if you could kindly consider providing me detailed procedure for carrying out "Shakti Chalini Kriya", accociated precautions / pre-requisites, pros/cons. I wish to practice it to increase my devotion and connectivity to The Omnipresent (I have started practising it since last two days on someone's advice and gidance but I still wish to confirm and, of course, know more).
    Reply may please be sent on my mail suneet_dtc@yahoo.com.

    Thanks and regards,
    Suneet Mudgal

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  4. Hi Suneet,

    The Shakti Chalini I teach is not to be practiced in isolation, but as part of the full set of 20. It is likely different than what you were taught, but the detailed instructions are here for you to compare:
    http://goldenagejourney.blogspot.com/2011/11/shakti-chalini-kriya-11.html

    Manoj

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  5. Hi Manoj!

    Thank you so much for all the lessons you posted. They are so helpful. I also love that you refer to the books frequently - I saw a note somewhere they you should "lose the book" and I disagree with that :)

    I have a quick question: I'd like to be certified in Kriya yoga and teach Kriya yoga. I live in Chicago area. Would you have any suggestions on how to proceed on that?

    Thank you again! All the best & Happy New Year!!
    Ebru

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    Replies
    1. For certification, see:
      http://www.northamericangurukul.org/

      Manoj

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  6. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  7. Please could you help me understand the term psychic dislocation?

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  8. The term "psychic dislocation" could also be called "kundalini syndrome" which I've written about here: http://goldenagejourney.blogspot.ca/2014/01/kundalini-syndrome.html

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  9. Hi
    I am minaqasemi,I need help about kundalini.
    May I have your e-mail address to explain my problem?

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  10. Sure, just click my name "manoj.the.yogi" to see my profile. Email is in the left column.

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  11. Is it possible to practice kundalini and kriya yoga while being buddhist? There's the need to worship or recite mantras to shiva or other entity? Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. Kriya yoga for the most part doesn't use mantras, and it's easy enough to do the practice without any if you prefer.

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    2. Thanks my friend

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  12. Hello Manoj,

    Thank you so much for your video series and articles. This early work by Swami Sivananda Saraswati on kundalini at https://www.dlshq.org/download/kundalini.htm#_VPID_43 is a nice complement to Kundalini Tantra and Taming the Kundalini by his disciple Swami Satyananda Saraswati at satyamyogaprasad. Both sites actually have the master's and disciple's entire libraries, a free lifetime's worth of reading.

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  13. New Study Finds That Kundalini Yoga Can Alleviate, see here https://www.strengthyogi.com/new-study-finds-that-kundalini-yoga-can-alleviate-reduce-and-help-treat-symptoms-of-generalized-anxiety-disorder/

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  14. This blog really helped me understand the concept of kundalini . If you want to check out similar content, you can visit my blog about kundalini

    ReplyDelete