The videos below provide insights into many misunderstood subjects and esoteric teachings in meditation, Kriya Yoga, Daoist Internal Alchemy, yoga, and related practices. For additional videos, see the Teachings and Teachings 2021 pages. If you have any questions, please contact info@modernkriya.com.
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Kriya Yoga and Self-Realization
Self-realization is normally thought of as the final goal of yoga or union with one’s divine nature. Many believe that perpetual bliss in samadhi means one has reached the final state. However, this is not correct. Self-realization is a process of inner transformation, not a final goal. To be successful in this self-realization process, one needs to take all steps along the way at successively deeper levels of transformation. At Modern Kriya we provide practices in Kriya Yoga and Daoist Internal Alchemy to empower students’ self-realization.
Tall Tales in Kriya Yoga
Tall tales of a fantastical nature are part of the culture of many Kriya Yoga schools. While these stories may have had an element of truth in their original form, they have often been so embellished that they contain more myth than reality. If taken in the proper perspective, these stories can be fun to hear and inspiring. However, when they become a distraction from making honest spiritual effort, they are an impediment to one’s progress. At Modern Kriya, provide practical techniques and no-nonsense explanations of Kriya Yoga and Daoist Internal Alchemy to support students’ spiritual development.
Is Kriya Yoga a Religion?
Although Lahiri Baba (Lahiri Mahasaya) taught Kriya Yoga as a form of spiritual emancipation, it is often practiced as a religion today. This codification of Kriya Yoga and related cultural knowledge and beliefs can be an impediment to one’s development and lead to spiritual rigidity and ignorance. That’s why at Modern Kriya, we emphasize the fundamentals of how and why Kriya Yoga works to help support students’ spiritual advancement.
Kriya Yoga, Karma Yoga, Still Prana, and Alchemy
Lahiri Baba (Lahiri Mahasaya) considered Kriya Yoga as a form of Karma Yoga in that it unites one with the divine through immersion in still prana and helps to dissolve karmic patterns. Daoist Internal Alchemy has a similar goal of disintegrating patterns of reactivity and resistance to the free flow of life energy. For Modern Kriya students understanding the parallels in these practices provides crucial insight into how these methods work and how to best apply their efforts to get results.
Kriya Yoga and the Secret of Darshan
Darshan, the view of a saint or developed spiritual being, is often considered an important part of one’s spiritual development in Kriya Yoga and other yogic paths. But how darshan works isn’t well understood. Knowing the principles of darshan will help you to establish your resonance with higher energies and empower your spiritual efforts.
Enlightenment in Kriya Yoga
Enlightenment in Kriya Yoga is often understood as a quest for successively higher states of awareness, with samadhi (superconsciousness) being the most coveted state. However, this approach disregards the many intermediary steps on the path of enlightenment which emerge only through a process of internal transformation. At Modern Kriya, we provide students with practices from Kriya Yoga and Daoist Internal Alchemy that help them develop their skills for internal transformation and support their spiritual development.
Quintessential Meditation Combo: Heart Rate Variability and the Inner Smile
The quintessential meditation combo is Heart Rate Variability Resonance Breathing and the Inner Smile. This combo leverages the body’s parasympathetic nervous system to bring the heart rate and breath into balance, and leads to internalization and integration. This is the foundation of practices we teach at Modern Kriya.
The Five Elements and the Chakras in Kriya Yoga
The Five Elements and chakras are often talked about in Kriya Yoga as a means for moving away from embodied experience to disembodied states of awareness. However, this linear progression doesn’t help resolve internal conflict, which is necessary for true spiritual development. At Modern Kriya, we are informed by a Daoist Internal Alchemy approach and we leverage practices that help create harmony within through the Five Phases (or elements) of the one life force (prana or chi).
Kriya Yoga and the War of Kurukshetra
Many Kriya yogi’s use the War of Kurukshetra from the Bhagavad Gita as a reference point for their spiritual practices. However, a common misinterpretation of the adversarial relationship between the ego and the soul perpetuates an internal conflict for the student. This makes it very difficult for the student to make sustainable progress since they are often pitted against themselves through denying and repressing aspects of their personality. At Modern Kriya, we support students to develop a strong energetic center that is a safe space for transformation, integration, and whole body enlightenment.
Is Poor Posture Affecting Your Kriya Yoga Practice?
Some Kriya Yoga schools recommend a sitting meditation position that can have adverse effects on your meditation practice. This is particularly the case when the spine is contorted from its natural curvature. Neutral spinal alignment is the underlying principle in the ideal meditation posture, which is what we teach Modern Kriya students.
How Yogananda Changed Kriya Yoga
Yogananda made a number of modifications to Kriya Yoga when he began teaching it in America in 1920. This was likely to help American students learn the strange new practice, but unfortunately, it ended up making his version of Kriya much less effective than the original. As a result, many students of Self-Realization Fellowship/Yogoda Satsanga Society have trouble getting into a deep meditative state. Fortunately, at Modern Kriya, we teach the original version of Kriya Yoga as taught by Lahiri Mahasaya to his pre-eminent disciple Panchanan Bhattacharya.
Enhance Your Kriya Yoga with Daoist Qigong
A really great way to enhance your Kriya Yoga practice is by preceding it with Daoist Qigong. This will help to loosen up the thoracic diaphragm and prepare you for Kriya pranayama. Daoist Qigong also teaches you belly breathing (diaphragmatic breathing), which is essential for Kriya practice and helping you to get into deeper states of meditation (dharana, dhyana, and samadhi).
How to Improve Your Kriya Yoga Practice Instantly
Many students in Kriya Yoga get bogged down by the technicalities of their practice and develop particular habits that can affect their prospects of getting into higher meditative states. This is especially the case if they learn to overuse their willpower in Kriya. Fortunately, at Modern Kriya, we leverage practices from Daoist Internal Alchemy that can remedy this problem.
The Guru in Kriya Yoga
In Kriya Yoga, the guru is often given considerable importance, their status elevated to that of the divine. While some reverence can be helpful, blind faith in the teacher is not advisable. What is more important is attunement with the teacher and the willingness apply practices to get results and build skills. This is the approach we take at Modern Kriya.
Kriya Yoga and Perpetual Bliss
There is an assumption in many Kriya Yoga schools that the goal of practice is to get into bliss (ananda) that is perpetual. This bliss chasing can lead to an unbalanced state where the student is always looking for the next bliss high and becomes dissociated from other aspects of life. This is a mistake. At Modern Kriya, we teach students to develop balance, whether they are deeply in bliss in meditation or activity, or are dealing with difficult circumstances.
Aum Technique of Meditation is Not Kriya Yoga
Contrary to claims by Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF), the Aum Technique of Meditation is not part of Kriya Yoga. It was not taught by Lahiri Baba and it is entirely lacking the essential elements that make Kriya Yoga super effective for internalization (pratyahara). The Kriya Yoga prescribed by Lahiri Baba is taught to Modern Kriya students.
Is Kriya Yoga the Most Advanced Spiritual Practice?
Kriya Yoga is often considered to be one of the most effective spiritual practices for its power to internalize and lead to transcendental states of consciousness. However Kriya Yoga alone is insufficient for complete enlightenment. That’s why at Modern Kriya, we teach both Kriya Yoga and Daoist Internal Alchemy with the goal of whole body enlightenment.
Are You Doing Kriya Yoga Correctly?
There are several important techniques that are needed in order for Kriya Yoga to be done correctly. If you’re not already doing them, you’ll want to add these tips to your practice.
Overcoming the Ego
In many spiritual paths the idea of overcoming the ego, sin, or delusion is a subject of considerable concern. The idea is that without killing the ego, overcoming sin, or transcending delusion, one is not able to process on the spiritual path. All of these are misconceptions of unresolved internal patterns, which are not bad in themselves, but merely in an unresolved state. At Modern Kriya, we teach practices that empower students to develop the skills to resolve these internal patterns.
Is Your Kriya Yoga Pure?
The purity of Kriya Yoga teachings is often the subject of debate in the Kriya Yoga community. While it’s understandable that people want to learn authentic Kriya Yoga practices, the desire for purity often has less to do with ensuring effective techniques are being taught to students than it does with discrediting competing schools. This is very far removed from Lahiri Mahasaya’s original mandate to support his students. At Modern Kriya, we emphasize skills development through Kriya Yoga and Daoist Internal Alchemy practices with the goal of empowering students’ spiritual development.
How to Defend Against a Psychic Attack
All human interactions include a subtle energetic component, often called the aura. In situations of conflict, it’s common for the aura of at least one person to act aggressively towards the aura of the other, also known as a psychic attack. There are a number of practical ways that you can deal with a psychic attack, minimize it’s impact on you, and decide your next steps. Modern Kriya students learn a full spectrum of practices to harmonize their energy and the interactions with others.
Secret of Spiritual Manifestation
Effective spiritual manifestation goes beyond just simple affirmation or visualization. It involves a process of having a clear intention with sufficient energy, making external effort, and removing internal barriers. These skills are taught to Modern Kriya students.
How to Open and Close Your Aura
The ability to consciously open or close one’s aura is an important skill to have. When working internally, an open or expanded aura will help one with spiritual transformation. When interacting with others, the ability to choose whether to open or close the aura can be very useful for adapting to the environment. At Modern Kriya, we teach the more effective means for regulating and consciously controlling the aura.
Importance of Daoist Internal Alchemy
Daoist Internal Alchemy is a unique and comprehensive approach to spirituality that goes far beyond most other spiritual practices. It grounds one’s spiritual experience in the body and systematically moves through the different elements of one’s energetic anatomy to catalyze internal transformation at all levels.
Should Spiritual Instruction Be Free?
Some believe that spiritual instruction should be offered free of charge. This is particularly the case in this streaming video age where there is so much content available online. While some free introductory information can be helpful, deeper levels of spiritual instruction requires establishing a relationship between the teacher and the student to help support the student through their process. This is the case at Modern Kriya where we provide individualized support for students.
Is the Microcosmic Orbit Dangerous?
Some claim that the Microcosmic Orbit is a dangerous practice, but nothing could be farther from the truth. It is a restorative and balancing practice that helps to increase health, longevity, and spiritual development.
Is Spiritual Initiation Necessary?
Some claim that spiritual initiation from the teacher or guru is absolutely necessary on the spiritual path. However, this perspective sets up a dependent and often limiting relationship between the teacher and student. At Modern Kriya, we provide effective practices and guidance to help students empower themselves through their own efforts, leading to true and lasting internal transformation.
Importance of Embodied Spiritual Practice
Many spiritual traditions take a disembodied approach to spirituality because they assume that spiritual development occurs outside the realm of the everyday. This assumption is incorrect. In fact, spirituality is about the integration and inner transformation of the mundane, the unresolved, and the sacred.
The Shortcut to Enlightenment
Many spiritual traditions provide only fragmentary approaches to enlightenment that lack a true integrative process. At Modern Kriya, we are informed by a Daoist Internal Alchemy approach that leverages effective practices for inner transformation and whole body enlightenment.
The Problem with Nirvana
Although the attainment of nirvana is considered to be the pinnacle of accomplishment in Buddhism, it is a disembodied approach to spirituality that is ultimately disempowering. At Modern Kriya, we teach a whole body approach to enlightenment that gives you pragmatic tools for inner transformation that you can use in the here and now.
The Problem with the Guru
While the spiritual teacher can assist the student in their path of development by sharing insights and practices, over-reliance on the guru can adversely affect the student. Students who are unwilling to experiment with applying principles and practices to their unique circumstances with the expectation that the guru will intercede with the divine on their behalf will have limited results. At Modern Kriya, we provide practices from Kriya Yoga and Daoist Internal Alchemy that help students build and apply skills for their spiritual development.
The Problem with Non-Dualism
Non-dualistic philosophies/spiritual practices fall short when trying to make the leap between everyday human consciousness and the divine. The assumption inherent in these approaches is that by transcending the mind, they are able to transcend creation and escape from suffering. However, their methodology is faulty, since transcendence of the mind does not necessarily resolve inner imbalances. At Modern Kriya, we are informed by a Daoist Internal Alchemy approach, which specializes in balancing inner disharmonies and empowering you with effective practices for whole body enlightenment.
The Dark Side of Spirituality
The dark side of spirituality is the attempt to vanquish the polar opposite of whatever is considered good or holy. This simplistic misunderstanding of spirituality fails to recognize that the current situation is the result of patterns arising from the interplay of polarities and that these can be reset. At Modern Kriya, we are informed by a Daoist Internal Alchemy approach which specializes in the harmonization of yin and yang patterns to support one’s internal transformation.
Micromanaging Your Meditation
Many practitioners in meditation paths such as Kriya Yoga are very concerned about their spiritual routine to the point where they end up trying to micromanage the meditation process. While spiritual routines can be helpful in building skills, it isn’t the routine that generates results in meditation, it is the application of internal skills plus spontaneous inner unfoldment. At Modern Kriya, we teach practices of Kriya Yoga and Daoist Internal Alchemy aimed at developing your skills for inner transformation and whole body enlightenment.
How to Overcome Your Negative Karma
Many spiritual paths see karma as a fatalistic law that requires divine intercession to overcome one’s suffering. This is a misunderstanding of internal processes of reactivity to daily life. While it is true that many forces help to shape our reactive patterns, we still have the power to transform these patterns and ultimately our life and karma. At Modern Kriya, we teach practices of Daoist Internal Alchemy designed specifically for this purpose.
Suffering as Spiritual Motivation
Whereas some do their best to avoid and distance themselves from suffering, it can be an effective motivator for spiritual development. By applying principles from Daoist Internal Alchemy, suffering can be transformed into spiritual fuel that propels one’s spiritual development. For more info, please visit https://modernkriya.com.
Shamanistic Approach to Meditation
The shamanistic approach to meditation that we teach a Modern Kriya focuses on developing skills for communicating with the Life Force and can be adapted to your particular circumstances. It allows you to customize your spiritual practice and supports your unique process of inner transformation.
Is Kriya Yoga Making You Spiritually Rigid?
While people who practice Kriya Yoga are often very disciplined, there may be a tendency for them to be spiritually rigid. This is usually the result of a dogmatic approach of certain Kriya Yoga schools and also the pressure that practitioners put on themselves about their expected trajectory of development. These attitudes are unhelpful and unnecessary. At Modern Kriya, we have a flexible, holistic approach to spiritual development that supports the unique needs of students.
How to Fix Your Kriya Yoga
Many people have trouble with Kriya Yoga and getting into a deep meditative state. There are a couple of principles that if applied to your Kriya practice will have you going deep in meditation in five minutes or less.
Kundalini Awakening: Blessing or Curse?
Much has been made about kundalini awakening regarding whether it is essential for spiritual development or is a scourge to the meditation practitioner. At Modern Kriya, we take the perspective that the term kundalini is a misnomer for the much misunderstood flow of the life force (chi or prana). We teach a robust set of practices from Kriya Yoga and Daoist Internal Alchemy that balances the flow of life force and brings harmonious spiritual development.
Belly Breathing in Meditation
Many people hold tension in their abdomen that impacts their ability to breathe in a fulsome way. Intentional breathing is an effective strategy in meditation for internalization, but if the diaphragm is tense, a proper is not taken. At Modern Kriya, we teach you how to engage your abdomen in belly breathing, which has profound effects for your meditation practice.
How to Improve Your Meditation Instantly
There’s one thing that you can do to improve your meditation simply and easily: the Inner Smile. The Inner Smile is so simple and so profound a practice that if applied to your meditation will have transformative effects. It is the missing ingredient from most mediation practices and brings an inner harmony that supports your development.
The Fallacy of Final Enlightenment
Despite the fact that many spiritual paths espouse the idea of final emancipation or enlightenment, this final state is a spiritual fantasy. What is not a fantasy, however, is the process of inner transformation. At Modern Kriya we see enlightenment as a process rather than a final state and teach practices aimed at whole body enlightenment. This allows students to adapt practices specifically for their unique circumstances and to get the most traction to create positive changes in their lives and those around them.
The Problem with Buddhism
The problem with head centered approaches to spirituality such as Buddhism is that they ignore key aspects of one’s experience that are essential for inner transformation. At Modern Kriya, we combine Kriya Yoga and Daoist Internal Alchemy into a powerful practice designed for whole body enlightenment.
Meditation Isn't About Stopping Your Thoughts
Contrary to popular belief, meditation isn’t about stopping your thoughts. Effective meditation practices utilize some form of pranayama (intentional breathing) that stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, resulting in an internalized state (pratyahara). At Modern Kriya, we teach Kriya Yoga and other practices to help you go into meditation quickly and effectively.
What to Do About Falling Asleep in Meditation
Falling asleep in meditation is a challenge experienced by many. With these four tips you can help ensure that you are alert and your meditation is productive.
The Secret of Meditation
Effective meditation brings together two essential ingredients: internalization and inner transformation. By internalization, we become aware of our inner landscape. By having practices to assist processing unresolved issues, we engage in internal transformation. At Modern Kriya, we leverage a combination of Kriya Yoga and Daoist Internal Alchemy for whole body enlightenment.
The Danger of Spiritual Dissociation
Dissociation and self-repression will slow down your spiritual development. Many spiritual traditions rely on dissociation and repression in the form of meditation and character building as a means for dealing with a disharmonious inner energetic landscape. At Modern Kriya we take the approach that self-love is at the center of internal transformation and teach practices that bring about internal harmony and balance.
The Secret of Vipassana Meditation
Adherents of vipassana meditation claim that it is impartial inner observation that lead to insight and transcendence. However, the true secret of vipassana is actually active, engaged participation; it is only through self acceptance that transformation is possible. At Modern Kriya, we are informed by a Daoist Internal Alchemy approach, and leverage practices such as the Inner Smile to begin this inner transformation.
What's Missing in Your Meditation
An often overlooked, but essential, aspect of meditation practice is resolving one’s internal issues (e.g., emotional issues or ‘character flaws’). Whereas some spiritual traditions either totally ignore this practice or attempt to deal with it through moral commandments, at Modern Kriya we take a different approach. Informed by Daoist Internal Alchemy, we practice a chi-based approach to spirituality, of which a key component is emotional alchemy. Our practices help us deal with internal issues head on and gives us the energetic support for internal transformation.
Three Signs that Your Meditation is Working
How do you know that your meditation is working and that the techniques you are doing are having the desired effect? There are three signs common to all effective meditation practices that indicate your meditation is going in the right direction. These include the freeze response (pratyahara), inner sensations (interoception), and the Tranquil Breath.
The Spiritual Bypass and the Myth of Self-Mastery
The delusion of self-mastery is often rooted in a spiritual bypass where one attempts to use yogic or other methods of meditation to go beyond the ego or false self and to rise above the material realm. What this really does is dissociates one from one’s immediate environment and gives one the false sense that one is moving towards enlightenment and it often has no impact on the internal issues that need to be transformed if enlightenment is to take place. At Modern Kriya, we leverage the internalizing power of Kriya Yoga plus the transformative power of Daoist Internal Alchemy to empower your rapid personal and spiritual development.
How to Deal with Distractions in Meditation
Distractions in meditation are common. This can happen for a variety of reasons, the most common of which is the inability to internalize. The solution for this is a meditation technique that brings one inside, such as Kriya Yoga. However, once inside, one will inevitably experience greater “distractions” which most spiritual traditions try to ignore and rise above or attempt to overcome. However, this approach doesn’t work since these supposed distractions are really unresolved components of the self that need to be integrated if lasting inner transformation is to take place. At Modern Kriya, we teach practices that bring about a balanced inner transformation to Whole Body Enlightenment.