Shiva Shakti Kriya, The core practice in Kundalini Kriya Yoga

I got initiated into Kriya Yog by Yog~Martand Yogiraj Siddhanath Himself on September 22, 2019. He is the realized kriya master and the direct disciple of Mahavatar Babaji. He gave us Pranpat where He breathes through our breath and makes it much more longer and deeper than we can ever do by ourselves, Shaktipat when He initiates us to do the Kriya and Shivapat when He bestows forms of samadhi upon us for our quicker spiritual upliftment. 

Satgurunath reveals that the immortal Mahavatar Babaji is the Shiv Gorakshnath Babaji, who is regarded as the manifestation of Shiva Himself. He is the great founder of the Nath tradition. He has been bestowing yogic practices on humanity since ages for the spiritual evolution of the mankind. He is one of the manifestations of the divine master (Satguru) forms of Shiva just like Adinath, Adiyogi and Dakshinamurthi. 

Kriya Yoga is the combination of Raj Yoga and Hatth Yoga practices. It leads to the perfect balance of the Ida (left energy pathway) and Pingala (right energy pathway). Only with the attainment of this balance, the central channel in the spine which is called Sushumna can be activated with the dormant force of the existence we call "Kundalini."

So much in me has been shifted since then and still wonderful things are happening in my awareness which are hard to express in words. So I decided to write about the Yog practices that I do everyday for my spiritual growth. I basically practice 4 practices, Omkar Kriya, Shiv Shakti Kriya, Mahamudra and Paravastha.

• Omkar Kriya: The first kriya I practice is Omkar Kriya. It's about going back to the source through the primordial sound of the universe. The meditation gets so intense sometimes that everything stops for a few moments and just the sound remains in the awareness, just the sound of the Omkar. In the following video, my Satguru, Yogiraj Siddhanath talks briefly about the Omkar Kriya, I recommend you all to watch:

• Khechri mudra: A mudra is a seal held to create a circuit of energy to develop and strengthen certain nadis (energy pathways), so that energy may freely flow as desired to obtain the desired results. Mudras can be made with hands like Dhyan mudra, with gaze like Shambhavi mudra, with tongue like Khechari mudra, by closing the seven openings in head like Shanmukhi mudra and in many more ways. Khechri mudra, as per my little understanding, develops and strengthens Sushumna nadi, the main central channel through which the Kundalini energy flows upwards to the Sahatrar to meet its divine lord, Shiva. Khechri mudra energizes the third eye with Kundalini energy. I start to feel the bliss after holding the Khechri mudra for quite some time. 

• Shiv Shakti Kriya: This is the main and the most important practice in Kundalini Kriya Yoga. It is the Kundalini energy in motion. It is rightly described as the Pran~Apan Yagna, which the Yogi performs within his subtle spine utilizing the movements of his breath. 

Bhagwan Krishna says, "Offering the inhaling breath into the exhaling breath and offering the exhaling breath into the inhaling breath, the yogi neutralizes both breaths; thus he releases prana from the heart and brings life force under his control." —The Bhagavad Gita IV:29. 

As Yogiraj describes, there are two currents flowing within the spine, one is Pran which is upward moving which evolves and expands the spirit and the other is Apan which is downward flowing which is detoxifying and cleansing in nature. So this Kriya utilizes both the currents for the evolution of the soul. While practicing the Kriya, the upward moving Pran fanned with the breath evolves the consciousness while the downward moving Apan flowing with the breath burns away the negativity and past evil karma. Thus, Kriya Yoga works as a double edged sword to free the spirit from the web of karma and expands it to the dimensions untouched before. 

The second sutra of Vigyan Bhairav Tantra says, "As breath turns from down to up, and again as breath curves up to down – through both these turns, realize." I relate this sutra to Shiv Shakti Kriya.

When we practice this sacred kriya, we invoke our divine masters to work in our spine to help us grow spiritually. The Adinath, Shiva Himself moves the Pran up towards the Third eye, who is the force responsible for the evolution of the soul. And the Udayinath, Parvati Herself manifests in the spine and burns the negativity and past evil karma while flowing the Apan down towards the Mooladhara. This is the glory of Mahavatar Babaji's Kriya Yoga, who is one with Shiva and Shakti and who is bestowing His compassion on us yogis by giving us the highest set of practices for our salvation. 

On physical level, Kriya Yoga lengthens the breath, supplying more oxygen to the brain which rejuvenates the brain cells and makes the mind more calm and relaxed and moving it towards meditative states. 

   As Parmahansa Yogananda describes, "Kriya Yoga is a simple, psycho-physiological method by which the human blood is decarbonized and recharged with oxygen. The atoms of this extra oxygen are transmuted into life current to rejuvenate the brain and spinal centers. By stopping the accumulation of venous blood, the yogi is able to lessen or prevent the decay of tissues; the advanced yogi transmutes his cells into pure energy."

Swami Sri Yukteshwar Giri Maharaj says, “Kriya Yoga is an instrument through which human evolution can be quickened. The ancient yogis discovered that the secret of cosmic consciousness is intimately linked with breath mastery. This is India’s unique and deathless contribution to the world’s treasury of knowledge. The life force, which is ordinarily absorbed in maintaining the heart-pump, must be freed for higher activities by a method of calming and stilling the ceaseless demands of the breath.”

Thus, Kriya Yoga manifests the Prana during its upward evolving motion and reduces the unnecessary consumption of Prana, directing it all towards the spiritual evolution of the individual. 

During the Kriya, Kundalini is fanned with the upward movement of the breath, while the 6 chakras in the central channel through which the Kundalini energy moves are cleansed during the downward breath movement. So, it clears the way and moves the energy up both at the same time while we practice the Kriya. This cleansing of the chakras in the spine further leads to Bhoota Shuddhi, because each chakra is associated with one element of the existence. Mooladhara is associated with earth, Swadhishthan with water, Manipura with fire, Anahata with air and Vishuddhi and Adnya/Ajna chakras are associated with Akasha. Thus, Kriya yoga leads to purification of the mind from the elemental level to the subtle levels. 

By the constant practice of Shiv Shakti Kriya, the consciousness is withdrawn from the muscles and the senses and it is settled in the spine, so as the person keeps practicing, her mind is less likely to be pulled towards the sensory pleasures and is more likely to move further towards the meditative state (samadhi).

 The Yogavatar Sri Lahiri Mahasaya said,"Cease being a prisoner of the body; using the secret key of Kriya, learn to escape into Spirit." 

• Mahamudra: Mahamudra is the Hatth Yoga practice which is done to revitalize each cell of the body with life force current. It recharges Ida, Pingala and Sushumna (Left, Right and Central energy pathways in the energy body) with the life force current. It clears and heals the stuck emotional energy in the mind and body. It activates the glands in the body which further ensures sound physical and mental health of the Yogi which would further manifest as a blissful state in Yogi's experience.

• Paravastha: Paravastha is the final practice that I do to complete my set of daily Kriya practices. It is a way of just sitting calmly and experiencing the burst of energies in the spine and the whole body which further expands the awareness towards the conscious stillness we call meditation.