What IS kriya yoga?
Kriya yoga is known as “householder” yoga, meaning anyone can do it.
You don’t need to be an athlete, neither do you need the temperament of a monk.
All are welcome in kriya yoga. All you must know how to do, is breathe.
SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE INFO…
“Kriya yoga is an ancient meditation technique that involves breathing, chanting and hand gestures to achieve enlightenment.”
That’s what AI says, but the actuality of it is quite different:
Kriya yoga definitely involves meditation.
It definitely involves breathing and breath control (pranayama).
The origins of this style of yoga are definitely very old – dating back to around 3,000BC. Because kriya yoga was taught in an oral tradition, it’s a style of yoga that has only recently gained global awareness.
Kundalini yoga is kriya yoga, but kriya yoga is much more than kundalini yoga.
Kundalini yoga is not the same as kundalini energy. Kriya or kundalini yoga can raise kundalini energy in the body for some, but not all practitioners. Kundalini awakening is a whole different ballgame, with spiritual and esoteric implications that are extremely personal to every individual. Please see my blog post about kundalini yoga and kundalini energy for more info about this complex subject.
Kriya and kundalini yoga as I teach it, is not a cult! All of my classes are trauma-informed, and everything is an invitation, not a command. I do not venerate any one specific teacher or guru, and I don’t follow any specific, prescriptive lifestyle.
Although I have experience with traditional kundalini yoga classes (for over 20 years), my interest in kundalini yoga has to do with my own spiritual experiences. I condemn any form of manipulation or control, especially cults. As a teacher, I am not here to kick anyone’s ass, because there are other classes for that where mutual consent is well-established. I am here to encourage you to challenge yourself in new ways, and to discover your best self – both on and off the mat.
In traditional kundalini yoga (aka what’s been taught in the west for the last 40 years), the focus is on doing postures and breathwork for long periods of time. To me this is coercive and unnecessary – and excruciating. Also, for beginners in particular, this can cause upheaval in our energetic systems, instead of healing. In this way I diverge from the modern teachings and strive to bring kriya yoga back to its ancient, decolonized roots.
The goal isn’t necessarily enlightenment, because is there even such a thing? In yogic texts such as the Sutras and Bhagavad Gita, kriya is loosely defined as a set of practices, or actions that lead to the evolution of the self. For some, this can mean “enlightenment” or “self-realization.” For others, it could simply mean relief from their daily anxieties, or it could energize them, or it could lead a greater somatic awareness of bodily and mental bliss. Always remember, your yoga practice is about you and nobody else!
In my classes, kriya yoga consists of four distinct parts:
Movement (asanas/poses)
Mantra (chanting)
Mudra (hand gestures)
Meditation (which will be guided, with music or both).
This is the combination that I was taught in yoga school, and the combination that I have found, from years of experience, works best for me and for others.
Kriya yoga is known as “householder” yoga, meaning anyone can do it. You don’t need to be an athlete, neither do you need to have the temperament of a monk. All are welcome in kriya yoga. All you need to know how to do, is breathe.
Spine health
Focus on gentle spinal movement helps improve overall mobility – our spine is the barometer of our overall health. Promotes graceful aging.
Focus on meditation helps us still the mind, put our thoughts and emotions in perspective, and enables us to function better in life, off the yoga mat.
BENEFITS OF
KRIYA YOGA
Calmness, inner peace, love, and a sense of joy.
A state of bliss and union. Feeling of oneness with everyone and everything.
Shed layers of the ego and reduce our suffering.
Relief from anxieties, even clinical anxiety disorders.
Relief from depression.
Overcoming addiction
Helps immensely with addictions of all types, especially for those in early recovery.
Endocrine and glandular systems are stimulated by working meridians and lines of energy in the body (similar to acupuncture).
Major organs are stimulated and their functions improved.
The focus on breath control helps improve lung function and overall stamina.
Accessible Yoga for Seniors
I specialize in flexible, accessible yoga classes for age 50+. Even if you have bad joints or can’t get up and down off the floor, there’s no reason you can’t do yoga and enjoy all the benefits it has to offer!
About spirituality, appropriation, and yoga.
While my classes can be devotional, if that’s what you’re into, kriya yoga is non-denominational, not religious in any way, and there is no worship of any God(s) or adherence to dogma. Do people get more in touch with their spiritual selves while practicing this yoga, yes, no doubt. But I like to think of it as getting in touch your “true self,” which is why it’s called the “yoga of awareness.”
That being said, we also need to remember where yoga originally came from: northern India, and pay respects where respects are due. Otherwise, it’s just appropriation. Nobody ever explained anything to me in my early years of taking yoga classes, and I don’t think that’s a good way to teach anything, let alone yoga. Making people chant a bunch of stuff that means nothing to them, in a language they don’t understand, is not really teaching. So while there will be elements of class that will seem foreign, that’s because they are!
My style of teaching is explanatory, so I will discuss the origins, meaning and benefits of anything “exotic” that we may do in class (especially chanting mantra and mudra hand gestures).
