Kriya Yoga

The documentary, “Kriya Yoga,” which is hosted by the Russian yoga scholar Vladimir Antonov, is a short, yet insightful, guide to the form of Hindu spiritual practice known as “Kriya Yoga,” which was developed by the famous yogi, Mahavatar Babaji, and then passed on by his disciple, Lahiri Mahashaya, then by Swami Sri Yukteshwar, and then by Paramhansa Yogananda. I especially enjoyed his interesting, in-depth discussion of the chakras, the naris (energy channels, known in Chinese medicine as the meridians), and how Kriya Yoga can be used to purify them. I thought it was interesting that the energization exercises done by practitioners of Kriya Yoga look a lot like the same types of movements done by practitioners of T’ai Chi.To the reviewer who griped about it not being a video about exercise, counter to what most Westerners are often taught, all forms of yoga---and yes, there are many forms---are, first and foremost, SPIRITUAL practices. The word “Yoga” means ‘Union,’ ‘Yoking,’ or ‘Integration.’ comes from the Sanskrit word “Yuj,” meaning ‘to unite,’ ‘to yoke’ or ‘to integrate.” Yoga is about uniting one’s body, mind, and spirit with whatever one’s concept of the divine is. As Shoba Narayan put it, in her article, “Stripping the Soul Out of Yoga” (which can be read on the world religion web site, Beliefnet.com), “a yogi is a highly evolved spiritual being, not a gymnast.” Therefore, Mr. Antonov is, first and foremost, talking about yoga as a SPIRITUAL practice.To conclude, this documentary, which is only forty minutes long, would be a great starting point for anyone wanting to learn the practices of Kriya Yoga, anyone who is interested in religion and spirituality, or simply anyone who enjoys learning new things.

This dvd has no asanas and no breathing exercises and no meditation in it at all. The entire dvd is just of a weird old man talking in the woods about a strange esoteric philosophy that was boring and uninteresting. Do not buy this dvd. Don't waste your money. There is no yoga in it at all. I threw it in the garbage when i was done watching it. I recommend the Ana Brett and Ravi Singh dvds instead. They are fantastic.