3 Most Powerful Yoga Pranayamas and Kriyas – Sodarshan Chakra Kriya – Part 1

Sodarshan Chakra Kriya – Part 1

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Sodarshan Chakra Kriya Video

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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.

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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:

  1. Do not practice any advanced pranayama if you are unwell.  Only do light easy pranayamas.
  2. 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.
  3. Your stomach should be empty.  Which means you need to wait at least 2-3 hours after a meal before practicing pranayama.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. The mantra itself, Wahay Guru, means ecstasy beyond words and represents one’s higher consciousness.  Chanting this mantra attracts this divine energy towards one.
  4. 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.

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342 replies
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  1. Anmol Mehta
    Anmol Mehta says:

    Hi Jorge,

    Yes SCK certainly gets much easier as we practice and our capacity increases. Glad you figured out that the count was 16, that is more than plenty :-).

    Best wishes in overcoming your addiction.

    Cheers,
    Anmol

    Reply
  2. jorge
    jorge says:

    thanks for the quick answer. I was afterwards doing something funny but dangerous.
    I was mistakenly counting 32 wha hey gurus in my practice, twice the requirement, which made me feel really stressed after the second round.
    I noticed that i really had to do 16, which at my current level are not as hard to do. I know I’m proud of doing 7 min, of SCK, but just wanted to point out that once a yogi gets practice, he/she does SCK as something of second nature. It just keeps becoming a little hard for me sometimes because I’m trying to combat an addiction. Once I give in to the addiction crave, what was a 15 round of SCK, now becomes a 9 round. The addiction definitely plays a strong role in strengthening that ego voice that makes you more dependent on the environment.

    Reply
  3. Jorge
    Jorge says:

    after reading closely I did notice that you mention chanting 16 wha-hey-guroos, and therefore, supporting the notion of 48 pumps. It is just not written in the perfected section. Thanks for the info and sorry if I caused any uneeded confusion.

    Reply
  4. Jorge
    Jorge says:

    Anmol,

    It is great to see that this forum has been increasing in viewers, that means there is much more interaction to enhance readers’ understandings. However, one post had attracted my attention. About doing 32 pumps, this is maybe the first source that I have come across that states that one should do 32 pumps. In the book THE MIND, of yogiji and gurucharan, it is stated that during the practice of sodarshan, one should do 16 wha-hey-gurus(wha-hey-guru 3 pumps), or 16 cycles of 3 pumps each. So shouldn’t the total wha-hey-guru cycle be 48 pumps, and not 32?
    The writings are on pg 188 of the book THE MIND, 1st edition, 1998.

    Reply
  5. Anmol Mehta
    Anmol Mehta says:

    Dear CEF,

    Its ok to mix exercises with Kundalini Yoga such as jogging.

    Heat issue w/ SCK is common, but first advise is to slow down and learn how to effectively reduce heat in the system.

    Using Ayurveda to do this, is most effective. You want to reduce “Pitta” in the system. Drinking water, practicing some Sheetali Pranayama, adding cooling foods such as yogurt and aloe vera juice etc, will all help. I have not written an article specifically on this, so just search the web for anti-pitta diet or reduce pitta program.

    Here is an article on Ayurveda though that will help get you started.

    Introduction to Ayurveda.

    Kundalini Yoga combined with Ayurveda is a very good system.

    Best,
    Anmol

    Reply
  6. C.E.F.
    C.E.F. says:

    Hey anmol, ive been having problems with heat since i started SCK so now I drink extra water but (like one person said above) i sometimes feel depressed but always feel better after the episode so my question is will this pass (as this is my first week) or shoud I slow down my practice? I guess i would anser my own question if I add that ive been doin the advanced version for about 1 to 2 hours a day and also jog 3 times a week so i slowed down but is it ok to do kundalini yoga, the pranayams and jog in a weeks course of time or do you have the perfect suggestion for me? (waitin to hear your reply and godbless you for the wisdom on this page)

    Reply
  7. ra
    ra says:

    Dear Anthony,

    Wikipedia gives a very lengthy and astute explanation of this practice, in case you want to take a look.

    Be well,

    Ra

    Reply
  8. Prateek
    Prateek says:

    sat nam

    sorry for posting again but had to change the blog address.

    Anmol ,lots of thanks to you for sharing the beginner,intermediate versions of this kriya.for such a long time (over two years) i had been trying to develop a consistent practise of sodarshan kriya along with getting some experience of doing this kriya for longer times.but with the advanced version it was not happening.So now i have started with intermediate version and have been able to do 31 minutes.its a sheer joy to do it.Though there is a constant battle with mind going on as mind is always trying to give up and get up out of the posture and kriya,but none the less it is very enjoyable.I have also started a blog on sodarshan kriya (this kriay has halways been fascinating me)along with my practise,where i post my experience about its practise and other things about sodarshan kriya that i have come to conclude and know overtime.So i would be grateful if you could checkout my blog and if you find any contradicting information then please do let me know.here is my blog address.
    http://kundalinisodarshan.blogspot.com/

    Reply
  9. martin
    martin says:

    Hi Anmol,

    I followed your advice and started practicing this pranayama daily, currently I seem to be where I can easily do 16 pumps for 11 minutes, but 32 pumps for 11 minutes is a bit strenuous.

    I notice that when I sit in sukhasana – the only cross legged position I can do for longer time – my abdomen gets restricted somehow. I get get a lot less air in than when I sit on my heels or when I stand for my 90 minute long Qigong sessions.

    it feels like my abodmen cannot go much further than relatively flat, and when I sit on my heels or stand I can make my abdomen come out like I have a belly…

    what do you think is wrong with my posture? being on my heels for too long tires me and being in sukhasana too long tires my abdominal muscles, because of that restriction.

    thanks in advance

    Reply
  10. Anmol Mehta
    Anmol Mehta says:

    Hi Anthony,

    Usually one nostril, then the other dominates at a particular time (the cycle is 2.5 hours). So I would suggest shifting your time a little to see if it helps.

    Also, sleeping on your right side will open your left nostril.

    One last suggestion is to try Jal Neti to see if it will help.

    You can try the resource Alex has suggested. I would suggest the following 2 items.

    1. Become an impersonal witness to the sexual urge. Neither suppress nor indulge and see what happens. Keep an eye on your energy and creativity.

    2. You can practice Sat Kriya, described in article below to transmute sexual energy.

    Tantric Technique to Raise Sexual Energy – Sat Kriya

    Best,
    Anmol

    Reply
  11. Alex
    Alex says:

    Hey Anthony, there’s an exercise that can be done to “transmute” your sexual urges to a higher use, instead of suppressing it. It’s part of some ancient exercises called “5 Tibetan Rites”, and it is actually a special one, therefore the 6th one. If you would like to try it out, here’s the link “http://www.bioresonant.com/tibetan6.html”
    Make sure you read, as there are some very important notices and warnings.

    Reply
  12. Anthony
    Anthony says:

    anmol, sometimes i cant do sodarshan kriya in the morning because my left nostril is blocked, is there a way i can prevent this from happening, like changing my diet or changing my life habits
    also im looking for a kriya that can take care of my sexual urges
    thanks alot

    Reply

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. Committing to a Forty Day Sadhana of Sodarshan Chakra Kriya | Prana Flow NZ says:

    […] This kriya is meant to be one of the most powerful pranayama techniques in yoga. I discovered it via this excellent post at Mastery of Meditation, Yoga and Zen – 3 Most Powerful Yoga Pranayamas and Kriyas – Sodarshan Chakra Kriya – Part 1. Anmol gives expert instructions in how to perform this kriya for the beginner, intermediate or experienced practitioner. I’m starting out at the intermediate level, committing to 11 minutes a day of this breathing technique. […]

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