Basic Kriya Yoga Meditations

Kriya meditation is commonly associated with Tantric toga. Tantra is usually considered to be "partnership yoga", involving as it does various exercises intended to heighten intimacy and connection between partners and enhance lovemaking. Tantric yogis acknowledge that sexual energy is the root energy of our species. The different techniques are intended to refine this energy to open the heart and expand the mind. There are many approaches to accomplishing this, but Kriya typically makes use of breathing techniques and accompanying visualization.

The most basic kriya meditation involves awakening the chakras. There are energy centers not located in the physical body per se but rather in one's etheric or spiritual (energy essence) self. However, identifying them with various areas of the body can be helpful when people are doing the meditations. Most forms of yoga recognize eight chakras. The first is called the root, and lies at the base of the spine. The next is the sexual center slightly aove the area of the genitals. From there one moves to the power center (where one's energies are grounded) at the base of the sternum. The fourth chakra resides at the area of the heart; then one moves to the communication center where the throat meets the chest, the "third eye" in the middle of the forehead, the bald patch at the back of the head, and finally the crown chakra that hovers above the head much like a halo.

Doing this meditation requires the manipulation of the PC (pubicocygeal) muscle which lies between the anus and genitals. There is one simple method to isoalte this muscle: next time you urinate, stop the flow and feel the muscle that's doing the holding. This is the PC muscle. In Kriya yoga, the PC muscle is contracted with an in-breath and then relaxed with an exhalation. This stimulates the root sexual energy and moves it upwards through the chakras.

Begin the meditation at the root chakra. Tighten the PC muscle as you draw a deep inhalation and imagine energy being drawn into this center. Repeat this a couple of times until the area feels "awakened", energized. Continue on, then, with the same process for each of the chakras. Once you have reached the crown, begin descending back to the root. This is an important step. Energy should be distributed evenly throughout the etheric body. Too much of it left in the higher centers can leave one feeling ungrounded and a little "spacey". Although the chakras are technically identified with the backside, in this meditation we move upwards while visualizing the centers in the front of the body and then downwards visualizing them at the back.

A more sophisticated Kriya meditation technique involves moving the energy in a current. Instead of breathing into each chakra one at a time, we begin at the root and draw the energy up and then back down, feeling it hit each of the energy centers along the way. Contract the PC muscle, and with your slow inhalation feel the energy move up to the third eye and then across to the back of your head. Then release your hold on the muscle and exhale, feeling the energy move back down from the head to the root chakra - again, remaining aware of it passing through each energy center along the way.

There are many variations of this technique designed for different effects - for example, to stimulate one energy above all others (like concentrating energy in the heart center to stimulate compassionate feelings and openess). However, it's advisable for beginners to seek the help of a teacher before trying more sophisticated variations. The goal is to provide balanced stimulation and awakening all throughout the body, and undue attention on one given area can create disharmony.