The main practice: energy control
Kriya Yoga is an advanced technique of pranayama, or energy control, deep in our spine.
Yoganada describes the basic pranayama technique in his Autobiography of a Yogi:
“The Kriya Yogi mentally directs his life energy to revolve, upward and downward, around the six spinal centers (medullary, cervical, dorsal, lumbar, sacral, and coccygeal plexuses)… By Kriya, the outgoing life force is not wasted and abused in the senses, but constrained to reunite with subtler spinal energies. By such reinforcement of life, the yogi’s body and brain cells are electrified with the spiritual elixir.”
This life force-control pulls our mind away from the senses, within, into the inner paradise. Yogananda puts it into theses words:
“Introspection, or ‘sitting in the silence,’ is an unscientific way of trying to force apart the mind and senses, tied together by the life force. The contemplative mind, attempting its return to divinity, is constantly dragged back toward the senses by the life currents. Kriya, controlling the mind directly through the life force, is the easiest, most effective, and most scientific avenue of approach to the Infinite.”
In other words, Kriya Yoga is the scientific and methodic path which allows us, through life-force control, to pull back our consciousness from the outer world of the senses into the inner world of divinity:
“Yoga enables the devotee to switch off or on, at will, life current from the five sense telephones of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. Attaining this power of sense-disconnection, the yogi finds it simple to unite his mind at will with divine realms or with the world of matter.”
The withdrawal of life-force also leads the Kriya Yogi toward a natural state of breathlessness.
The process of the breath
Yet Kriya Yoga has also an important physical element to it, which is often overlooked and neglected: the breath is supposed to oxygenate our blood. In his Autobiography of a Yogi, Yogananda actually begins his explanation of the mechanics of Kriya Yoga with this physiological aspect:
“Kriya Yoga is a simple, psychophysiological method by which the human blood is decarbonized and recharged with oxygen.”
What happens with that extra “recharge” of oxygen? It is transmuted into life-force and guided into the spine:
“The atoms of this extra oxygen are transmuted into life current to rejuvenate the brain and spinal centers [chakras].”
In his Kriya Yoga Lessons Yogananda teaches that this extra oxygen is an important factor for attaining the desired state of breathlessness:
“By this method, the blood becomes so oxygenated that gradually dependence upon mortal breath becomes less and less.”
He again explains this science of oxygenation by the deep Kriya-breath in his original Bhagavad Gita commentaries:
“The Kriya Yogi is able to oxygenate his blood scientifically and thus remove from it most of the carbon; he requires little breath. His is the real way of controlling the breath.”
The long deep breath
This effect of physical oxygenation is impossible with a shallow breath. The Kriya Yogi therefore should, during the first part of his technique, apply a long, deep breath. Then gradually his breath will naturally become more subtle, inward, less physical, until breathlessness is attained. This is the “precise and rational science of breathlessness” which Yogananda describes. A deep breath helps to produce breathlessness.
In fact, Yogananda in his Autobiography of a Yogi tells us that the Kriya breath should not be a short one. Its proper length is half a minute, or 30 seconds:
“One-half minute of revolution of energy around the sensitive spinal cord of man effects subtle progress in his evolution; that half-minute of Kriya equals one year of natural spiritual unfoldment.”
The correct breath
Such a nice long breath is impossible by chest breathing. Instead, our diaphragm must be used consciously, correctly, and fully. This dome-shaped muscle structure, when used properly, will automatically expand the rib cage.
Therefore in all his Kriya Yoga initiations, Swami Kriyananda emphasised to breathe with both abdomen and ribcage. This will result in a nice long Kriya-breath of 30 seconds, which is required to oxygenate our body.
Here are a few recordings of this important teaching, on the proper physical breath during Kriya:
Nayaswami Jyotish (Dharmacharya of Ananda Sangha) explains: “Swami Kriyananda was trying to get people to take a deep breath. He would sometimes place his hands on the sides of his ribcage to demonstrate how you could actively expand the whole chest and not just the abdomen/diaphragm.”
In essence: for all of us Kriya Yogis it is important to breathe deeply when we start our Kriyas, trying to practice a half-minute Kriya breath: about 13 seconds inhalation, a short pause, 13 seconds exhalation.
Why don’t you use a watch a check how you are doing with this rhythm? Are you there, at least more or less?
Such a deep long breath will take a lot of prana into your body which is then guided (by your concentration) into your spine. Starting with a shallow breath will easily result in Kriya Yoga which lacks power.
Remember that Kriya Yoga is supposed to be powerful, as Yogananda explains:
“With the guidance of a guru, such yogis have carefully prepared their bodies and brains to receive the power created by intensive practice.”
Indeed, if your practice lacks a sense of power, why don’t you try a deeper breath at the beginning of your practice? It is similar to lightening a fire, which is the directed inward.
There are other factors which kill the power of Kriya Yoga, like poor posture, lack of concentration and will, and lack of attunement with the Guru.
At any rate: let us remember that Yogananda repeatedly explains this important physical factor of Kriya Yoga: oxygenation. It simply won’t be possible with a shallow breath.