Action with awareness is both the vehicle and the destination in Babaji’s Kriya Yoga. Through it “we become aware of That which is aware;” the one constant underlying all of our experiences.
18 postures of Babaji’s Kriya Hatha Yoga
The aim of the 18 postures of Babaji’s Kriya Hatha Yoga, in rhythm with the breath is to provide a means to balance the inner rhythms in the subtle and physical body. The word “Hatha” is derived from two root words, “ha” the sun and “tha” the moon.
These correspond to the positively charged, masculine (pingala nadi) and the negatively charged feminine (ida nadi) parts of our nature. We are a combination of these solar (positive) and lunar (negative) energies.
Balancing these two poles of our being is the integration of our being, integration of the Shiva (consciousness) and the Shakti (power). Hatha Yoga balances the prana running through these two channels and integrates these two major aspects of our personality, the heating, solar, firery, assertive, rational, masculine aspect, and the cooling, lunar, receptive, intuitive, watery, feminine aspect. In addition,
Awareness
Awareness occurs when part of our consciousness stands back and witnesses the rest of our consciousness involved in doing, feeling or thinking. This rarely occurs in the ordinary course of life, because usually we allow our consciousness to be absorbed by objects of attention, such as what we are seeing, hearing, and thinking or doing or we allow our consciousness to be dispersed in many different directions. When was the last time you “watched” yourself read a book, or watched yourself look at sunset or watched yourself get angry. When was the last time you watched yourself sleep? When the last time you watched yourself do a hatha yoga posture? Rarely do we go inward to watch ourselves do anything.
Asana, Chakras, Mudra, Bandams
Kriya Babaji has chosen 18 postures for Kriya Hatha Yoga, with variations, which cover all the parts of the body effectively and efficiently and are complementary to the objectives of the other phases of his yoga. Kriya Hatha Yoga includes the practice of asana, mudra and bandams. Asana in Kriya Yoga refers to a posture which produces relaxation. A mudra is a gesture, movement or position, which affects the flow of pranic energy in the body. A bandam is a psycho-muscular energy lock which redirects the flow of pranic energy in the human body and awakens the chakras (the psycho-physical energy centers located in the subtle body along the physical location of the spine).
Asanas, bandams and mudras were developed by the Siddhas and practiced to strengthen the psycho-physical centers and the energy pathways or channels (nadis), to eliminate energy blockages, to permit the gradual increase and smooth movement of pranic energy. Kriya Hatha Yoga provides a safe method of gradually developing awareness and awakening dormant faculties. The purpose of the techniques or kriyas is ultimately the awakening of the potential kundalini shakti.
Kriya Hatha Yoga in Boise
