3 Most Powerful Yoga Pranayamas and Kriyas – Sodarshan Chakra Kriya – Part 1
Sodarshan Chakra Kriya – Part 1
Most Powerful Yoga Pranayama Free Video
Sodarshan Chakra Kriya Video
YouTube Direct Link –> Kundalini Yoga Kriya Video – Sodarshan Chakra Kriya
Pranayama, the science of breathing and breath control, is undoubtedly one of the greatest arts one can learn and practice for spiritual growth and personal development. It holds within itself the power to transform the lowest most gross to the highest most refined. This transforming power of pranayama can act upon any and all levels of your being, whether that be physical, emotional, mental or spiritual (energetic). This science has been perfected over the centuries in the East and was mostly kept secret, only handed down verbally from Guru to a deserving disciple. Now, it is much more available to those who seek it, but I still feel that the knowledge really only finds those who are deserving of it. Having said that, life has brought you here now, so take this opportunity and discover the tremendous power of the Science of Pranayama.
The 3 Pranayamas I am going to present here are typically not for beginners. Fortunately, all 3 have modifications, which you can start out with first before building up to the advanced techniques. I will also present these modifications here and I strongly suggest you start with them first before jumping ahead to the advanced techniques. In moving forward sanely, gently and systematically you will prepare the system to better handle the affects of the advanced forms. This systematic approach is not only much safer, but is also better for extracting the full benefits of the pranayamas. Part 1 of this series is about Sodarshan Chakra Kriya. Before I go into Sodarshan Chakra Kriya, I want to give some quick guidelines that should be followed for all 3 pranayamas in this series.
Basic Guidelines for practicing Pranayama:
- Do not practice any advanced pranayama if you are unwell. Only do light easy pranayamas.
- Clothing should be loose and should not restrict the movement of the abdomen. Our breathing is already very shallow, we don’t need to compound the issue further by hampering the natural movement of our diaphragm.
- Your stomach should be empty. Which means you need to wait at least 2-3 hours after a meal before practicing pranayama.
- If possible practice in the early morning. Early morning is the best time to practice your sadhana (spiritual work). For more information and help on this you can read The Secret on How to Become an Early Riser.
- You should sit in a comfortable position, preferably in some variation of cross legged (sukh asana). For more information on sukh asana or other positions you can sit in (like a chair) see Silent Mind Meditation Program: Basic Meditations – Chapter 7.
- Most importantly, DO NOT STRAIN. I cannot emphasize that enough. Take your time, you will enjoy your practice more and you will be able to establish a regular routine as you will not dread doing your daily work.
- One last thing. The pranayamas being taught here, when practiced sincerely over time, can bestow great power to the practitioner. Normally, these techniques were not transcribed and as mentioned earlier, were taught only to those held in great trust, so I ask you to respect that trust and agree to not in any way misuse the powers obtained from the practices described below.
Sodarshan Chakra Kriya:
Background: Sodarshan Chakra Kriya (set) was taught to me by my Kundalini Yoga teacher Ravi Singh who studied it under the guidance of Yogi Bhajan. It dates back a few thousand years and is reputed among all the known Yogas, including Kundalini Yoga, to be the most powerful Pranayama exercise there is. You will notice that it is called a kriya, although a kriya typically is a complete set of asanas and yogic exercises (see Introduction to Kundalini Yoga for more information on kriyas and how Kundalini Yoga works in general), it also applies in some cases to a single exercise, which is very complete in and of itself. Sodarshan Chakra Kriya is a pranayama exercise that is exactly that, very complete and also very powerful.
Benefits of Sodharshan Chakra Kriya: The superlatives describing Sodarshan Chakra Kriya are lavish to say the least. In Yoga terms it will give you Nao Niddhi (the nine precious virtues) and Artha Siddhi (the 18 occult powers). These 27 facets contain all of human life and in acquiring them you perfect all that can be perfected in a human. Given this Kriya’s reputation for bestowing Psychic and Yogic Powers, it is is often practiced by those interested in acquiring these siddhis (powers). There is no harm in this, as long the powers are used for the benefit of others and to assist you in your spiritual progress. This kriya, though, is equally valuable to those interested in the final goal of human life – to see and merge with the Divine Non-Dual nature of Reality. This is because, it is very effective in dissolving the blockages (granthis) caused by frozen emotional debris in the nadis (the channels for the movement of Kundalini Energy) and as the channels are purified greater flow of kundalini is facilitated allowing for the chakras (energy vortexes) to be activated and balanced. In turn, the activation of the chakras and this greater flow of Kundalini Shakti (energy) leads to the refinement of awareness which allows one to penetrate the veil of illusion – that Reality consists of duality.
Sodarshan Chakra Kriya also dramatically improves your physical wellbeing. In fact, as you practice it you will start to feel quite invincible over time. It expands your nervous system, respiratory system and helps your digestive system. I find that the most profound health benefit is a boost to the immune system when I practice this kriya regularly. Overall the kriya promotes peace, joy and strength.
Description of Sodarshan Chakra Kriya: Sit up straight, have your spine erect and bring head back slightly (not up) so your chin is subtly drawn in and back like a soldier at attention. This aligns your spine with the back of your head and is also called Jalandhara Bandha. Your eyes should be 1/10th open looking down at the tip of your nose. Rest your left hand on your left knee. Block your right nostril with your right thumb and have the remaining fingers pointing upwards. Now breathe in deeply through the left nostril filling your lungs to capacity. Lower your right hand now and place it on your right knee. With your breath held in (Antar Kumbhaka) begin to pump your stomach (pulling in the abdominal muscles) to the mantra “Wahay Guru”. You will pump your stomach 3 times for each iteration of Wahay Guru. Once for Wa, once for Hay and once for Guru. The mantra should be chanted mentally of course, since the breath is held in. Chant for a total of 16 Wahay Gurus, so for a total of 48 stomach pumps with the breath held in. Then raise your right hand, close off the left nostril with your right pinkie and breathe out of your right nostril. This completes 1 cycle – breathe in through left nostril, hold and pump, breathe out through right nostril. Continue to repeat this cycle for the duration of the kriya.
Duration: There is no formal time duration for Sodarshan Chakra Kriya; it is left up to the practitioner to determine what is right for them. Below I will give the recommendations when I discuss the modifications.
Beginners Sodarshan Chakra Kriya: Modify kriya as follows: Do only 1 pump for each chant of Wahay Guru. So in total with your breath held in you will do 16 pumps per cycle. Also, reduce the force of the pump to where you are comfortable. Start with 3 minutes and build up to 11 minutes. The kriya should be practiced daily.
Intermeditates Sodarshan Chakra Kriya: Modify kriya as follows: Do only 2 pumps for each chant of Wahay Guru. One for Wahay and one for Guru. So in total you will do 32 pumps with your breath held in per cycle. Pump your stomach with a moderate force. You should try to do 11 minutes, then go to 22 minutes and then to 31 minutes daily.
Advanced Sodarshan Chakra Kriya: Do the kriya as described above in the description section. You should be pumping your stomach with full force and you should do 31 minutes daily. The commitment should be to do 40 days without missing a day, 31 minutes each day. This was exactly the requirement by Ravi for his Kundalini Yoga teacher’s training course as well. If you miss a day, you go back to 1 and start over till you complete 40 days.
Perfected Sodarshan Chakra Kriya: Yes there is more, you are not done yet :-D. To do the perfect and complete kriya and thus extract the maximum benefit and reach super human caliber, the requirement is to do 62 minutes per day and build it up to 2 1/2 hours everyday. If you can discipline yourself to do that, the kriya will provide everything needed in all areas of your life.
Design of Sodarshan Chakra Kriya: This kriya bestows its many blessings by taking full advantage of many important aspects of Pranayama and Yoga numerology. Below are some of the details behind this successful design.
- Breathing in through the left nostril activates the right hemisphere of the brain. This hemisphere is responsible for your meditative, creative and artistic powers. Activating it helps unleash and grow these aspects of your nature.
- The number 16 is associated with the Ajna Chakra, also know as the Third Eye, Divine Eye or the Eye of Shiva. Chanting the mantra Wahay Guru 16 times activates Ajna Chakra, which is responsible for many psychic abilities and the power of intuition and wisdom.
- The mantra itself, Wahay Guru, means ecstasy beyond words and represents one’s higher consciousness. Chanting this mantra attracts this divine energy towards one.
- Pumping the navel helps ignite and awaken Kundalini Shakti so she can make her ascent up the primary Nadi (Shushumna) all the up to the Crown Chakra (Sahasrara Chakra) activating, rejuvenating, balancing and healing all the other Chakras and associated organs in her path.
In part 2 and 3 of this series I will describe and detail 2 more powerful Yoga Pranayamas that I hope will be of value to you in your spiritual growth and personal development.
This is an absolutely marvelous page. Thank you very much for this divine information. I had what I believe was an awakening, and fining help for it was near impossible. So ridiculous was my quest, that an atrocious website “kundalini hotline” gave a number I called, and someone told me to “drink beer and take baths to ‘get rid of it’ like it’s a disease. Doing some yoga and breathing exercises have given me immense relieve after years of pain and confusion. Thank you kindly. Namaste. :-)
Hi anmol sir,
i am a regular visitor of your wonderful site.
and i am also interested in raising my kundalini energy
lately i have been practising breath holding exercise along with meditation because i have read somewhere that it activates the nonmechanical parts of our brain and enable us to accomodate the increased energy
i have done breath-holding exercise for around 25 days and have made significant improvement.
while doing this I feel intense heat in my spinal area and vibration in my perineal area
now, i can hold my breath for long period but lately i am having throbbing headache while holding breath but after few seconds pain subsides. I am normal and energized rest of the day and don’t have any medical illness
plz suggest if i should continue or leave this breath-holding exercise.
any reader with genuine knowledge, plz provide his suggestions
sincerely yours
nabraj
Hello Anmol,
I hope you are doing well. Thank-you for this kriya. I had one question. I am doing a technique called death of breath. It involves breathing in through the nostril and holding it as long as i can and then releasing and doing this whole process for 10 minutes day and 10 minutes at night. I have to increase after some time the amount of time.
The question is that will this breath of hold interfere with the sodarshan chakra kriya?
Ahmed
HI , Thank you for putting this information and video clip about pranayama in the web site . This is very helpful for all .
Thanks a lot
girly
Hi Anmol & Friends,
My name is David and I Iive in Madrid. Kundalini Yoga is not very popular in Spain so it’s a great opportunity to use the Internet to connect to other people with similar interests.
I watched this video about SCK a few months ago and started practicing it for 40 consecutive days going gradually from 1 bump, 2 bumps until reaching the 3 bumps level during 31 minutes. That was by mid September this year. Since then I have practiced SCK occasionally but in the last days I am feeling a strong impulse to practice every day for 31 minutes or even longer.
It’s curious because it’s not a thought or a goal that I set in a rational way because I’ve read the benefits of this Kriya. It’s a very strong feeling that I NEED to do it, more intuitive than rational. I would like to share with you what this practice reveals to me and would be great to know about your own experiences too.
some schools of thought claim that practicing yoga and living a sexually active life is dangerous and can lead to mental derangement. I would like to know your take.
Cab someone explain why do I have to use my fingers exactly in this way? There got to be a reason. It is much easier to use thumb and a point finger
I am the beginner. I can’t say mantra (mentally), count and pump an the same time…on count of 8 I am totally lost and can’t even pump. I can only concentrate on one thing at the time. Any advice?
My name is Rey, I did this exercise for a little while last year. I did not get to do it for 40 plus days but I started to get confortable doing it. I would like to start again and try to stay with it much longer this time. Do you think this exercise can help me lowering my blood pressure among otherthings?
HI. am a medical student. Started to practice SKC and am on 4th day. I usually prace it at night at about 1 o clock before I sleep cos I have to study till late night. I do it for about 31 mins. Since he second day I noticed that while doing the kriya I had involuntary watering from both eyes. The tear secreted was not hot at all and was gushing out continuosly. I also noticed that I had weird dreams like am enjoying sexual intercourse with my crush, dreams of doing exams, of getting tortured, about my college bus etc. and I can remember them clearly and appears to be real, as if not a dream. Do you think these r the results of the kriya? And the tearing is it normal during the kriya?
hi
this is cleansing action of Kriya
that is going on.
just stick with it
surrender to divine
HI. am a medical student. Started to practice SKC and am on 4th day. I usually practie it at night at about 1 o clock before I sleep cos I have to study till late night. I do it for about 31 mins. Since the second day I noticed that while doing the kriya I had involuntary watering from both eyes. The tear secreted was not hot at all and was gushing out continuosly. I also noticed that I had weird dreams like am enjoying sexual intercourse with my crush, dreams of doing exams, of getting tortured, about my college bus etc. and I can remember them clearly and appears to be real, as if not a dream. Do you think these r the results of the kriya? And the tearing is it normal during the kriya?
I’ve just begun Sodarshan Chakra Kriya and look forward to seeing the positive changes it has on my life! I’ll be sure to keep you posted! Thanks for sharing this great kriya.
anmol sir ,thank u for this sodarshan kriya is this one kriya itself in halfh or is it bettre to combine kaplabhathi ,anlom vilom,and other pranyama sir please suggest and what about eating non vegeterain while doing kundalin yoga thank u sir for ur great work god bless u
Hi,
I have been doing the sodarshan kriya for nearly 18 months now, and am doing 70 minutes a day, most days.
i have recently read that doing it in the hour before sunrise, or sunset is the best time as it is the most effective. What do you think?
Does it make much difference?
Thank you for putting the information about this pranayama on here, I have benefited alot from it, mostly so far in that i don’t tend to worry about things so much.
Thanks
Simon
Hi Bharath,
Do it after your asana practice.
Best,
Anmol
Hi,
I am doing yoga asana daily. so which is the better time for me to do Sodarshan Chakra Kriya(before asana or after asana)?
Great discoveries! I cannot wait to begin. I’ll definitely keep you posted. Thank you so much. Blessings! NAMASTE!!!!