Sat Kriya

Sat Kriya is one of most important yoga exercise, if not the most important of all. Some people claim that if one can learn only one yoga posture in his life, then it has to be this one because it contains almost all of the benefits that Kundalini Yoga can bring. One can gain from this exercise in multiple ways. Firstly, it is helpful to rejuvenate the mind while strengthening the body. More importantly, it also helps to awaken the so-called Kundalini energy, which is said to be a life force that is usually hidden dormant at the end of the spine.

Below are a few Youtube videos which teach you how to do it. These are simply videos which the author of this article happens to find on the Internet. The makers or presenters of these videos have no affiliations with the author.

GuruPrem Khalsa

Simrit Kaur

Carolyn Cowan

Anne Novak

In case if you cannot view the videos, here are the steps.

1.  Sit on your heels in the Rock Pose. If you do not know what it is, it is like the Japanese’s sitting: kneeling on the floor and folding one's legs underneath one's thighs.

2. Stretch your arms, perfectly straight, above your head.

3. Interlace your fingers and extend your index fingers, pointing upward, like pointing a gun to Heaven above. For more advanced students, they may try extending all the fingers and placing the palms flat against each other.

4. Close the eyes and roll them up to the Brow Point.

5. Powerfully chant “Sat” while squeezing the navel back towards the spine.

6. Chant “Nam” as you relax the belly. Do not worry about breathing. It will come naturally.

7. Repeat the above. For beginners, it is suggested to do five sets of the exercise. Each set is three minutes, with two minutes of rest between the sets.

If you are interested in Kundalini Yoga, one recommended resource is Kundalini and the Chakras by Genevieve Lewis Paulson (1994).

REFERENCE: Paulson, G. L. (1994). Kundalini and the Chakras: A practical manual - evolution in this lifetime. Melbourne, AR: Llewellyn Publications.