Exploding modern myths and diving into the world of Tantra, energetics and the subtle body

As teachers of kriya yoga, Tantrik philosophy and kundalini practices, at the Light Collective we understand that there is a lot of confusion and misinformation around these terms. This is due in part by the popularisation of certain styles of yoga, a lack of accurate information and also the lost manuals of the Tantrik tradition. In this journal post we hope to demystify and do our best to clarify some aspects of the tradition, with the information we have at hand now.

**Kundalini Yoga & Yogi Bhajan**

While we don’t teach through the “Kundalini Yoga” school as taught by Yogi Bhajan, we wanted to begin with Kundalini Yoga, only because the term has become so prolific that it is often confused with the term Kundalini, which is an ancient Tantrik term.

In the late 1960s a yoga teacher who named himself Yogi Bhajan, created a style of yoga and called it “Kundalini Yoga”. But like many other well known styles of yoga, this is more of a brand name than a description of what kundalini itself is.

This style of yoga works predominantly through the Indian Sikh tradition, using Gurmukhi mantras (rather than sanskrit), mantra, movement, breath and meditation. He described this combination as kriya yoga.

In order to gain a full grasp on the real story behind the man called Yogi Bhajan and the multi million dollar industry that is Kundalini Yoga, I recommend you read the article: From Maharaj to Mahan Tantric: The Construction of Yogi Bhajan’s Kundalini Yoga by Philip Deslippe.

If you want a more recent view on the school and what has gone on over the last 50 years, try typing into google “kundalini yoga scandal” or “Yogi Bhajan abuse.” Hopefully you will keep the victims in mind when deciding whether to look for a Kundalini Yoga Class near you.

We use the term ‘Himalayan Kundalini Kriya’ when we are describing the kriya we teach, as although it does not come from the Yogi Bhajan School of Yoga, many people recognise the term kundalini as the style of practice of Kriya that we teach.

Kriya Yoga & kundalini - what is it then?

**Kriya Yoga - definition**

Let’s start with the definition of Kriya Yoga.
Kriya is a *gerundive-* which means thats it’s a noun that is also something to be done. (Technical semantics.)
The root of the word is “Kri” which means: to act.
Ya: references the feminine.
So the roots of this word suggests it is an act, something feminine to be done, a Shakti practice, a practice of power, creativity or vibration.

ANCIENT TANTRA KRIYA PRACTICES

Christopher Tompkins, Tantrik scholar at Berkley, has researched the ancient Tantrik manuals in a way that few have done before. (Research his work to find out more.) His deep dive into recently uncovered tantrik texts and manuals describe the original practice of kriya known as Ucchara.

Ucchara is a practice of breath, mantra, posture and meditation. We go into more detail as to what this means and how the ancient manuals described the practice in Level 2 of the Method. The practice of Ucchara is new to modern yogis, as the Ancient Tantrik manuals that detail this method of kriya yoga are only now being translated to the wider English speaking public.

“Kriya is the creative power that births the soul into the body. It’s a synonym for the term kundalini which means ‘spiralling shape.’ It refers to the light of consciousness as it is reborn in the body as a descending power tapped into through the ancient practice of ‘ucchara’.”
Christopher Tompkins, sanskrit scholar.

Paramahansa Yogananda kriya yoga

A 20th Century teacher who taught a version of kriya yoga that was very close to the descriptions given in the Tantrik manuals was Paramahansa Yogananda, who wrote “Autobiography of a Yogi.” He mentions kriya continuously in his book and went on to teach this variation of kriya yoga in the US in the early 1900s. His teachings are still available and online today through the Self Realisation Scholarship.

KRIYA YOGA & THE BHAGAVAD GITA’s definition

While the Bhagavad Gita, an ancient Vedic (pre-Tantrik) scripture doesn’t use the term kriya yoga explicity, Krishna speaks continuously of the “yoga of action.”

“Arjuna, the one who begins to rein in the senses through the mind and who, without clinging, begins the yoga of action through the active senses, is unique.”
- The Bhagavad Gita translation by Laurie L. Patton.

Krishna describes the yoga of action throughout his sermon to Arjuna as being all action that is consecrated, free from karma and clinging. It is sacred action as it comes from a still, inner centre. It is also said by one of my teachers that hidden within the text is in fact an ancient prescription of breath that describes a practice of kriya yoga.

Kriya in Modern yoga

Kriya in modern yoga practice generally refers to practices that are active and involve combining breath, mantra, postures/ movements and specific meditations or focuses of awareness.

These usually have a very specific intention. This is often related to the specific mantra utilised in the practices. In modern kriya yoga there are many kriyas, they can all look very different, some are up regulating, others calming.

OTHER DEFINITIONS OF YOGA

Kriyas can also refer to cleansing rituals found and explored in much detail in the Hatha yoga lineage.

Neo Tantric practitioners use the term ‘kriyas’ to describe uncontrollable movements that arise in the body when energy is making it’s way through blockages and energetic channels of the body.

Hatha Yogis and their wild and wonderful practices of posture and levitation included many cleansing practices, sometimes refered to as kriyas.

**Kriya in Yoga**

It can be hard to find practices that combine modern posture flows and some of the more energetic techniques found in kriya yoga. This is something that we love to do at The Light Collective, creating a soulful practice that combines flow, kriya, pranayama and meditation.

You can find try our classes free via our Online Yoga Studio, or head to Youtube.

We also teach yoga for teachers in our courses like the TLC Method, where you are initiated into over 100 techniques and give you the methodology for teaching a combined practice for your students.

KUNDALINI

A brief history of kundalini shakti

Be warned, this is not the history or philosophy taught in nearly any yoga school across the world. If you are heart chakra deep in the world of modern day kundalini, trigger warnings ahead.

**KUNDALINI - a 5th Century Tantrik discovery**

So we have determined that kundalini is *not* in fact a style of yoga. Tick.
The term kundalini first showed up in the early Tantrik scriptures via the Kalottara Tantra c. 6th century AD. These were the first yogis to really explore energy in the body as a means for transcendence. Before them were the Vedic yogis, who never explored the energy body as deeply and kept their practices of transcendance centred on mind control through mostly meditation practices.
The Tantrikas however, realised that through specific practices, there was an experience of energy that moved through the body to allow for transcendence.

This energy was called kundalinisakti, or kundalini shakti - the coiled power of Shiva.

Kundalini means coiled or spiralling shape and is derived from the name of a style of earring being worn at the time called a ‘kundala.’

The coiled shape of Kundalini refers to ≤(in these ancient Tantrik manuals) is the springing force that arises through ucchara practice and the specific breath retention, combined with their related mantras, that the practice entails.

Take a moment to breathe in deeply. Now hold. Hold a little longer. Hold a little longer. When you let the breath go it almost springs out of you. This is the kind of action that kundalini creates, a force that springs forth internally through highly specific breath retentions.

The ancient manuals (5th-12th century) and texts described techniques for calling kundalini energy down into the body, to then allow it to rise again through the body, in order to support transcendence. These texts were codified, and were translated by masters for initiates only, as the kundalini energy was very powerful.

Different Tantrik manuals described focusing on the movement of kundalini in different directions (both up and down) and depending on the lineage the specific practices would focus on different chakras as focal points for the location, arising and movement of kundalini. Some spoke about the third eye, others the heart centre, there were different practices taught by different Tantrik lineages. This is all outlined, in sanskrit, in the Tantrik Texts.

This is a very different view of how Kundalini is viewed and commonly taught. Pick up any book on Kundalini and you will hear about Kundalini being located at the root chakra- Muladhara, and once unleashed travels up through the body, always rising and usually, like a snake. To understand why it’s described like this, it’s a good idea to have a little look at where these other ideas came from.

the modern history of kundalini

A late Hatha text called the Shat Chakra Nirupana was written in the 17th Century. This text drew upon some information from earlier Tantrik manuals, in order to describe kundalini shakti, as well as the chakras. Why was it not a full and complete explanation of the Tantrik source texts? There are a couple of reasons.

Firstly, the Hatha yogis had different views on energy to the Tantrika’s and it is even said that some of the Tantrik practices and manuals were actively suppressed and subverted in the Hatha tradition.
Secondly many of the Tantrik manuals and texts had become lost in the 500 or so years since the Mogul invasions of India in the 12th and 13th century. The texts that survived weren’t readily available as they were housed secretly in the nooks and attics of Tantrik households in the Kashmir, or catalogued incorrectly in libraries.

So this Hatha text wasn’t necessarily an accurate depiction of the Tantrik traditions view on Kundalini or the energy body.

**The Serpent Power - an excellent mistranslation**

This Hatha text *was then translated* in the 20th Century by the English translator Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodruff) into a book he called “the Serpent Power”.
Without other texts to reference there were some discrepancies in his translation, as much of the language was coded and many texts reference *other* texts which he didn’t utilise. So some **key ideas** he published *weren’t even correct.*
This wasn’t known to the author or the publishers at the time. And for better or worse the book itself was a bit of a hit in in esoteric circles at the time- due to the fact that no one outside of India had ever been exposed to this system of the energy body, so it was all a rather exciting discovery.

This mistranslated Hatha text by Arthur Avalon, then becomes the reference book for other Western authors. These texts then fed back to India. And soon, everyone is writing about kundalini and the chakras, referencing each other, incorrectly, without ever reading the source Tantrik texts. So this book, then became the basic discourse for all modern yoga teachings and new age philosophies around kundalini and the energy body today.

So if you pick up a book on Kundalini today you will most certainly find references to snakes and serpents (think back to the term “The Serpent Power”). You will also read that kundalini is an energy that is ‘stuck’ in the base of the spine at Muladhara chakra. Waiting like a coiled serpent to be released.

I am not here to say that everything you read in books and yoga teacher training manuals is completely wrong, but rather that it doesn’t give the full picture of how the Tantrika’s explored and understood kundalini. And I am certainly not judging any of the authors or teachers who support this view, as I am also not a sanskrit scholar, and am relying heavily on my teachers who are. Also, I taught and was taught this version of kundalini for many years.

If, however, you are wanting to learn from sanskrit scholars who are working from Tantrik manuals, there are a couple of great teachers currently doing their best to spread this information as it becomes available to them: Christopher Tompkins and Christopher Hareesh Wallis.

At the Light Collective we also teach the Tantrik History of the Chakras, Kundalini and the Tantrik energy body in our course The Light Collective Method

LEARN MORE

The final word of warning!

Having A ‘Kundalini Experience’ is no joke

One thing that all modern, Hatha and ancient Tantrik schools agree upon is the almighty power of kundalini shakti!

With or without accurate manuals, many people have certainly experienced kundalini shakti or have had a Kundalini Awakening. Sometimes these are brought on by spiritual practice, some are spontaneous. Many of the attributes of an awakening of this kind are similar- a strong energy that powers the body, deep spiritual insight, feelings of disconnection from the every day world and the body as well as altered states of consciousness or perceptions of time and space.

These experiences can be extremely frightening without proper guidance and support. I have been through a couple myself (lasting between 1 and 5 days) and have guided many of my students who have experienced these awakenings through their fear and confusion into a state of acceptance and profound gratitude. It is important for anyone who is going deeper down the energetic path to have support from someone they trust.

Working with kundalini and the Ancient Tantrik practices is something that takes proper initiation, guidance and a slow and steady approach. Kundalini is powerful force and when called upon and awakened it can create massive spiritual change in your life.

Basically… don’t mess around with kundalini! Don’t try practices to awaken it on your own, without proper guides or correct techniques and supports. Be initiated into techniques properly, work with a teacher you love and trust and also take your time.

Kriya Yoga and Kundalini Shakti

Exploding modern myths and diving into the world of Tantra, energetics and the subtle body

Kundalini Yoga & Yogi Bhajan

Kriya Yoga & kundalini - what is it then?