Yoga is a centuries old practice that originates in India. There are many types of yoga to suit every age group and medical condition at the same time exercising your body and mind. Yoga works mostly with the mind in order to achieve control of your senses and body and result in overall well being.
What Is Kriya Yoga?
Kriya yoga is a form of profound meditation that uses esoteric principles to achieve a sense of peace and acceptance. Kriya yoga is achieved by a combination of other three yoga practices, which are Karma yoga, which focuses on recognizing the soul from both outside and inside of the mind; Bhati yoga, teaches you tolerance, love and acceptance of everything that surrounds you and Jnana yoga, teaches the power and freedom of mind and what can be achieved by it.
In order to practice Kriya yoga you need to prepare both your body and mind, which is a lengthy procedure and cannot be achieved in one session. In fact yoga followers find that it takes great concentration and control in order to be able to practice Kriya yoga successfully and that it can only be achieved through determination and practice, which is a lesson in itself.
Where You Can Learn Kriya Yoga
The best place to learn Kriya yoga would be in a yoga center where you need to ensure that you have a qualified instructor also known as guru and also the benefit of exercising in a group, which is a great influence when practicing a meditation exercise such as Kriya yoga. There are DVDs and books available as well if you choose to learn it at home but you will need to pay extra attention to all the directions and details, as you will be your teacher even if you have an instructor on the DVD.
Helpful Tip
Always dress comfortably when practicing any type of yoga, as you will need to stretch and perform some unusual positions at times, which tight clothes will restrict and make it very uncomfortable for you.
No shoes are required when practicing yoga but if you must wear something then socks or trainers will do just fine. A mat should be all the other accessories required to practice most types of yoga as well as Kriya yoga so, start by taking a class today and get relief from daily stress by learning to control your mind and thus, your senses and body as well.
The practice of yoga goes far beyond the muscle toning exercises associated with it in the Western mind. Perhaps 5,000 years old, yoga has been practiced as a discipline to bring the individual soul in union with the universal soul through breathing and meditation. Passed down from master to student, the discipline of yoga has branched off in many directions as inspiration has taken hold of one master after another.
There are four basic schools of yoga: Karma, Jnana, Bhakti and Raja. In each school there are many branches suitable only for those who are able to give their lives over to the study and practice of it in the style of monks. The goal of this type of yoga is to achieve self-realization and complete the cycle of reincarnation so that death will bring the soul to an eternal union with whatever spiritual afterlife the practitioner believes in. Kriya Yoga is a mixture of several schools of yoga intended to bring self-realization to those who cannot give up the material world to study the discipline.
Union
Whatever school of yoga one practices, the word itself means "union." The goal of all yoga is to bring union, whether of soul and spirit, consciousness and unconsciousness or body and mind. Kriya Yoga was derived from three of the main schools of yoga: Karma, Jnana and Bhakti. Karma Yoga follows the path of the soul's actions. It strives for ability to perform one's duty without the promise of reward.
In Karma Yoga, the performance of duty is the reward. Jnana Yoga strives for union with the non-temporal. Its practitioners learn to differentiate between the eternal and temporal, detach from the temporal, follow the six virtues and ultimately find liberation from the temporal. Bhakti Yoga is all about the pure love and service of the Supreme Being. The practitioner is expected to devote every aspect of his life to devotion, prayer and active service.
Kriya Yoga is a simplified union of these three pillars of yoga. Breathing techniques, sincere desire and constant awareness of the indwelling soul are the goals of Kriya Yoga. No austerities or hardships are required. The follower of Kriya Yoga is expected to develop the awareness that all action is taken by the spirit within and not the temporal body. The masters of Kriya Yoga believe that self-realization can be achieved in one lifetime by sincerely following Kriya Yoga.
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