Nityanada as a young saddhu, possibly with his mysterious guru.



Kriya means "activity." Yogic kriyas are literally a physical activity as well as a set of meditation techniques. The bodily movements called kriyas come perforce with the activation of the kundalini-shakti and drag the religious person into yogic states. To avoid fear and scandal in traditional Christian America (about "demon possession" etc)  Yogananda didn't talk about the spontaneous yogic movements openly. Instead he secreted clues about them in his odd "Energization Exercises" for the canny devotee to figure out once they happened. Many of his "energization exercises" are enactments of the yogic kriyas that he experienced naturally and spontaneously, and which other yogis have experienced. The whole term "Kriya yoga" as sent by Babaji and practiced by Yogananda presupposes that these yogic kriyas (movements) are inherent to, and part of, the path. It is common to see devotees around shaktipat gurus having these yogic movements, or simply bhakta-types enraptured by religious devotion in church, in an ashram, in a wood, etc.
 
My Meeting
With Julian Lee  
Nicholas Bhaktanda Quietrow Of England
 I was sitting on Julian Lee's couch in October of 2007, in complete reverence, amazed that I'd made it to a true Yogi's home in California. At the base of my spine (the lower chakra area) an energy was forming. A kind of coolness, but electrified. Then, to my amazement, my arms started to move, very slowly, very gracefully; without any thought or will on my part.

It wasn't a conscious movement of my arm. It didn't look like a normal bodily movement. It was flowing under the influence of a spiritual energy (it was the Divine Shaktipat)...


 





Swami Muktananda was gifted with numerous yogic kriyas -- source of hatha-yoga -- through his bhakti relationship with the siddha Nityananda. He wrote his book "Play of Consciousness" to reveal the phenomenon and  told many of the ancient names for the spontaneous mudras, asanas, and kriyas. Julian Lee (Anandaguru) came into the yogic kriyas, without prior knowledge about them, during a similar meditation and bhakti-yoga quest before meeting Quietrow of England. There are many theories about the reason for yogic kriyas. Anandaguru's statement is that they are simply the Divine Goddess shakti incarnating here and dancing her dance. They are also an imprimatur or sign of real kundalini activation and a sign of the pleasure of God and the definite flowering of your sadhana.