Guidelines for Practitioners
Practice
- Do not try to master all the kriyas at once. Begin with
Nadishodhana Kriya first. Understand and practice it well for
one week. Then add second kriya and practice both of them for
the next week. Add one kriya per week till you learn all the
kriyas.
- Do not practice too much from day one. Begin from small and
manageable time duration and then gradually build your practice.
After reasonable practice you will be able to do the kriyas for
hours together.
- Do not hurry. Don't keep looking at your watch instead focus
on the practice. The practice time should be utilized only for
the practice and not for day dreaming or planning the day!
- If possible maintain a spiritual diary on daily basis and note down how you
practiced, whether you violated any disciplines and any other observations
about your practice.
Show your observations and notes to you teacher for any clarification or
guidance.
- Feel free to ask your questions and doubts to your teacher. It is always
better to get your doubts clarified rather than pushing them aside.
Place
- Kriyas should be performed in a place having pleasant
atmosphere.
- As far as possible select a place that is isolated.
- The place must be free from dust and insects (mosquitoes
etc.).
- The place should be free from noise.
- If possible select a cool place.
Time and duration
- Kriyas should be performed twice a day - once in the morning
and once in the evening.
- If for some reason it is not possible for you to do kriyas
twice do them in the morning.
- Practice at the same fixed time every day.
- During weekly holidays and public holidays do kriyas for
extended duration.
- There is no fixed duration for practicing kriyas. It all
depends on individuals. Just for the sake of guideline beginners
can start with 1 hr at a time, intermediate level students can
extend it to 2 hrs. An advanced level practitioner is mature
enough to decide the duration for himself.
Seat
Many Kriya Yoga practices are meditative in nature. Hence it is required to
have a pleasant and comfortable asana or seat. No need of any fancy Yoga mat. A
simple way to prepare your seat is to have a thick four fold blanket covered by
a soft four fold cotton cloth. Do not use the blanket or the soft cloth for any
other purpose. Do not share it with others.
Practice Routine
Disciplines
- Be honest at all levels - personal as well as professional.
- Self-control is the key to success. Follow celibacy as much
as possible. Uncontrolled engagement in sense pleasures leads to
feeble mind.
- Be detached from the fruits of action. Do not avoid your
daily duties.
- Have full faith on the chosen path.
- Study sacred texts such as Bhagvat Gita regularly.
Positive impressions caused by them help you to enhance your
spiritual experience.
- Do not make any excuses to avoid the practice.
Diet
- Moderate diet is a very important point for making any
progress.
- Avoid spicy and oily food altogether.
- Fill two quarters of stomach with food and one quarter with
water. One quarter should be kept free for gases.
- Include fresh fruits, vegetables and cow milk in your diet
whenever possible.
- Do not practice immediately after taking food in any form.
General
- It is recommended that you learn the above techniques under the
guidance of an experienced Guru.
- Do not expect effects of your practice to come in a very short time.
- Your sincerity and past karmas govern your progress.
- Do not compare your practice with others. Everybody in this world is
unique.
- Do not practice when you are seriously ill or disturbed.
- Always listen to your body. Do not stress or strain yourself.
- Do not share your own practice and experiences with others except
your Guru.
- During the practice do not allow your mind to wander away. Practice done with awareness gives more benefits.
- Avoid being in bad company. Try to be in the company of likeminded
people.
Bipin Joshi is an independent software consultant and trainer by profession specializing in Microsoft web development technologies. Having embraced the Yoga way of life he is also a yoga mentor, meditation teacher, and spiritual guide to his students. He is a prolific author and writes regularly about software development and yoga on his websites. He is programming, meditating, writing, and teaching for over 27 years. To read more about him go here. More details about his Kriya and Meditation online course are available here.