Since time immemorial, people have struggled to live with a higher purpose. Once the materialistic achievements fail to give us enduring inner peace but the need for self-realization grows even stronger, it’s when the journey of spiritual awakening truly begins.

And, this journey often takes the form of Kriya Yoga practice.

Lost in the dark ages, Kriya Yoga is an ancient sadhana, or discipline, focused on purposeful and higher living and the practice of superconscious meditation.

It was revived in the 19th century by Mahavatar Babaji through his disciple, Lahiri Mahasaya. It was later Paramahansa Yogananda who brought the philosophy and practice of Kriya Yoga to spiritual seekers in the West in 1920.

The higher purpose of Kriya Yoga is to help all who wish to create an open path toward their soul and transform themselves not only in body and mind but also in spirit.

It’s an ancient technique that can help those who practice it remember their true self by letting go of narcissistic and egotistical identification with the mind and body.

As Paramahansa Yogananda put it, Kriya Yoga is a beautiful way of opening one’s consciousness to the blessings of God. It’s a way to achieve greater mental clarity and focus, strengthen your intuition and expand your consciousness.

Understanding the Kriya Yoga Practice

Kriya Yoga is an integrated system that brings together pranayama breathing, asana (physical posture,) meditation, and mantra to elevate one’s consciousness and inner energy.

These techniques are meant to help one gain more control over one’s life and find stillness in a world that can’t seem to stop moving.

Interestingly enough, as one gains more control over one’s life, one becomes more able to accept events and enjoy life as it unfolds. Kriya Yoga is, thus, an effective spiritual path that can help one focus your inner energy and connect with the divine through Self-realization.

Of course, achieving inner stillness and true freedom will require patience and devotion to be able to withdraw their consciousness from the distractions of the body and the surrounding environment.

The technique of pranayama in the Kriya Yoga practice can help one direct one’s energy inward, helping to tame the chaos and distractions of the mind and body and achieve true bliss.

To prepare the body and mind for Kriya Yoga meditation, Paramahansa Yogananda promotes a series of breathing exercises that will help one eliminate stress and tension and enable one to enter a true state of awareness.

The next step is to withdraw from the putter distractions and focus one’s attention on realizing the divine consciousness that lies within.

Once you’ve been able to achieve the greatest level of concentration, you will be able to find the divine qualities that one’s True Self holds.

You might like reading: Yoga Quotes and Sayings.

The Benefits of Kriya Yoga Practice

According to the ancient Rishis, the spine and the brain are seen as the tree of life. This subtle system of centers of energy and channels enliven every organ and nerve in the body.

Through Kriya Yoga, one learns how to move the inner energy flow up and down one’s spine and accelerate one’s full realization of the divine qualities that one’s True Self naturally holds.

Kriya Yoga practice will also enable one to control the regular activities of the heart, brain, and lungs to slow down and achieve inner peace and stillness. Thus, the mind and body are liberated from the regular distractions, emotions, and thoughts, giving the sense of being one with the divine.

Kriya Yoga is the highest method of connecting with God and realizing that all souls are fundamentally divine.

Although mastering the practices and techniques of Kriya Yoga requires devotion, one can enjoy the subtle transformations and benefits of the Kriya Yoga path right away. Of course, some blessings will take more time to become apparent than others while others will unfold progressively.

• Kriya Yoga practice brings greater clarity and the realization to look within for guidance. With this, comes greater calmness and inner peace as you no longer need exterior motifs and help to find your higher purpose.
• Kriya Yoga practice enhances intuition, allowing one to address daily problems more efficiently. As one gains more control over one’s life, the frustrations that come with daily problems dissipate too.
• Kriya Yoga focuses on the life force in the body, allowing for better and higher harmony by removing harmful stress and distractions.
• Kriya Yoga practice strengthens one’s power of healing, leading to a more robust immune system, higher energy levels, a more resilient nervous system, and a more peaceful presence.
• Perhaps one of the most important and powerful benefits of Kriya Yoga practice is helping get one’s consciousness in synchronization with the Divine, thus allowing them to maintain inner peace and true freedom regardless of what life brings.

An Integral Alignment of the Mind, Body, and Spirit

By combining the most effective elements of Yoga, Kriya Yoga enables the perfect alignment of the mind, body, and spirit and awakens our inner divine consciousness.

This way, we can open our minds to new dimensions of existence and realize our true nature as spiritual beings.

As mentioned above, we all long to live more meaningful lives and give our existence a higher purpose that transcends materialistic goals. Kriya Yoga opens that spiritual path for us.

About the Author
Jane Gilman-Stewart is a freelance writer specializing in health and wellness. She has been a practitioner of Kriya Yoga for almost a decade now, and she aims to promote mindfulness and spiritually conscious living through writing. For more information about her spiritual wellness advocacy, you may visit EllenGraceObrian.com.