Pratyahara - 3 Knots of Lahiri Mahasaya and Sense Reversal

The Oral Tradition of Lahiri Mahasaya describes 3 knots:
1. Tongue Knot
2. Heart (Anahata Chakra) Knot
3. Coccyx (Manipura Chakra) Knot
Swami Dhirananda described these, and added one preliminary sensation:
1. Tingling or crawling sensation
2. Magnetic pull at the spiritual eye
3. Om heard and felt all over the body
4. Light revolvingly increasing in the spiritual eye
Books based on Lahiri Mahasaya's Diaries:
Purana Purusha: bit.ly/2L63luB
Who is this Shama Churn?: bit.ly/2QBxQOn
Books on the Polyvagal Theory:
The Polyvagal Theory: amzn.to/2DkmdF7
Pocket Guide to Polyvagal Theory: amzn.to/2SJhAZS
Polyvagal Theory in Therapy: amzn.to/2qqvnYj
Important Kundalini Books:
Kundalini Rising: amzn.to/2MMR1CE
The Kundalini Guide: amzn.to/2NvISnt
Kundalini Vidya: amzn.to/2DUOOB5
Stories of Spiritual Transformation: amzn.to/2R9w2sF
Books I love:
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The Manual: amzn.to/2Dn0xbk
Vijnana Bhairava: amzn.to/2oKylps
Outliers: The Story of Success: amzn.to/2M21m9t
Autobiography of a Yogi: amzn.to/2MpbMoN
The Awakened Mind: amzn.to/2BB2mRU
Awakening the Mind: amzn.to/2wkfqFx
The High-Performance Mind: amzn.to/2PeCJZF
High Performance Mind CD: amzn.to/2BYEMND
Hacking the Universe: amzn.to/2wfIjmg
The Autobiography of Gopi Krishna: amzn.to/2MMFe7o
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain: amzn.to/2BB3IMu
Drawing on the Right Side Workbook: amzn.to/2Msyuwb
The Illustrated Happiness Trap: amzn.to/2BBXETZ
The Voice of the Soul: amzn.to/2wjjK82
Stranger In a Strange Land: amzn.to/2OV2HAE
Thank you for the awesome music!
Artist: Dixxy
Song: Where's the Progress
/ dixxy-2

[@franklarson5604]

I thank-you so much for your contribution. My spiritual growth in yoga meditation has all been through reading books and the internet. I live in northern Canada and will probably never meet a guru to initiate me. I find you are able to speak directly to me , I have followed kriya yoga as best I can figure it out on my own. I heard from Ryan Kruzak that if I asked and worked hard I would be initiated from afar. I listened to Roy eugene Davis, Sadhguru, and now I found you, I don't know how long you have been on you-tube, cant be very long with only 5k subscribers because I think your the best, not just highly educated in your practice but able to relay the info. Your following will explode once you are discovered. I will follow you and all your teachings. Love from me

[@ForrestKnutson]

Frank! I'm so glad you've come! Would you like to reach out to me at [e-mail]

[@rocky821]

stay away from sadhguru stick with paramahansa yogananda

[@cdurch1]

Brilliant, even from 5 years ago, you clearly lay out the simple, profound path. Thank you!! ❤

[@bobseehafer5414]

I can see this is the linage I want to follow. Thank you for another mind blowing video.

[@ForrestKnutson]

Thank you Bob!

[@MayaMatrixMuktiManifestor]

Forrest, I introduced myself to your channel this week and very pleasantly surprised. Reason - you explain the stuff with a science like detail backed by solid reasoning and of course, all formed on the basis of solid research some of which you so painstakingly provide in your notes to each video. Most of all I love the technical slant to your commentary. I started on a path to Kriya 6 months ago and wasn't getting the motivation to pursue it in earnest as I realized proper Kriya constitutes a combination of precise techniques to be studied or otherwise known to then practice. Improper adherence would result in futility or indeterminate delay. So I slacked, surfed and searched for easily consumable content. Forrest, I'm excited as I think your video series (and supporting links to books & notes) are the perfect aid for today's hurried souls like me. This is huge guidance and at a level of thoroughness and fluency with which I'm sure you could easily take up professorship at a place like Maharishi University for instance. In any case, Forrest, you are doing a huge service to humanity. (followership/viewership will pick up.)

[@ForrestKnutson]

Kaushik, thank you so much!! You have perfectly described my intentions! The Greek mystics described meditation as a vast and open sea, and they were so right! Kriya, too, is just that as well. So, I try and point out as many markers as I can, make sense of the process, and introduce my heros of the journey. Thank you so much for your kind and thorough comment! I'm excited to share more with you!

[@proychowdhury3578]

Yogiraj Shyamacharan Lahiri Mahasaya was the real raj(king) of Yoga. Crores and crores of pranam to such a divine man.

[@ForrestKnutson]

Yes he is!!!

[@sadhanagopal7550]

Thank you Forest ,for all these wonderful explanations , I feel blessed for coming across your videos.You will be blessed always.

[@skoi12345678]

Thank you Forrest! May the divine be with you and you with the divine!

[@ForrestKnutson]

Thank you!

[@drneetapai]

You are humble and your buddhi( vigyanmaya) is at the peak.Godbless , may u experience the Anandmaya and give your documentation of it for us❤️

[@ForrestKnutson]

Thank you Neeta! I just did a video called Bliss Guaranteed where I mention the Anandmaya Kosha. You might like that one. God bless!

[@BABAsDEN]

Swami nityananda giri talked about these knots in his book. Kriya yoga, the science of life force. It's a very fascinating book full of information.

[@winner_tan6]

Thank you, I’ve been searching for this for a while

[@kathyryan7611]

Thank you 🙏

[@ForrestKnutson]

Thank you for watching Kathy! 🙏

[@melchiorao9759]

Lahiri Mahasaya's four knots also represent the four steps of dharma or religion. They are to be crossed or 'loosened/undone' through kechari mudra, omkar and thokar kriyas. Muladhar knot is crossed by fourth kriya. Whats interesting is that it follows an order coined by Satyeswarananda as 'pre-reverse'. Most traditional systems of kundalini yoga deal with awakening the kundalini first, but in Lahiri Mahasaya's kriya the path is made open from above first, allowing the positive, masculine divine force to descend and meet the rising kundalini in the heart. Norman Paulsen, a disciple of Yogananda's, also describes this phenomenon and the 'birth of the Christ child', or Christ Consciousness in the heart centre, before going all the way to the thousand petalled lotus. If kundalini (anima) is awakened at the base first, and rises without uniting with the downward moving masculine divine force (animus), She is like a bride who turns up at the wedding and the groom isnt there, meaning She can become angry and 'hiss', leading to all sorts of kundalini problems.

[@ForrestKnutson]

Very well said.

[@earthtones9111]

Another great video. 👍 Tingling floaty feelings. Lots of tingling in my head. I do feel like my heart is huge and is ripped out of my body like Shri Hanuman 😀 I saw the spiral last week, like a vortex in front of me spinning with specks of white light (static) coming from the centre of the vortex .I felt like I was being vacuumed into it. I stop the meditation, I didn't know what was happening. I am planning to do a painting of it 😀 Thank you for sharing, helps a lot with my meditation. 🙏🌿

[@ForrestKnutson]

Fantastic! That's it! That's the primary feeling of absorption.

[@fuzzylogics139]

Blue light.. Long ago I took the train to my old hometown and sat beside a man from India. He told me he was in the Netherlands for the Peace-conference. He began telling me I was with a partner that was not right for me. I was at the time with someone who indeed was not right for me. He told me I should come to India and gave me his card. When he was at his stop I stood up to greet him and extended my hand. He took it and looked at my face. Not my eyes but more in the direction like he was looking at something. He kept holding my hand and with his other hand lightly (did not hurt) slapped my cheek. Another man a few seats in front saw this happen and began to chuckle as I looked at him like this 😳 The man who had sat next to me turned and left the train. Within a few minutes as I sat back in my seat like “what just happened?” We went into a tunnel and I began to see a blue ball of light near my knee/ left of my vision and slightly downward.. it stayed there for a while before I could no longer see it. There’s no conclusion I can come to but I do still know the man’s name and sometimes wonder about what he saw and what he did. It’s interesting to hear about this blue light. Last night as me and my daughter were talking in the kitchen I saw bright blue light behind her shoulder/ neckline. Didn’t say this to her as she was engulfed in talking and this is pretty rare now a days.. Her energy was extremely high in anticipation of her boyfriend coming back from a long vacation.. So high it was almost uncomfortable for me to feel as my energy was, I guess just not set at the same amplitude haha.. 💁‍♀️ I don’t know.. Just things coming up 👏🙂

[@arobersonable]

Wonderful education you're giving me. I will be joining pantheon soon.

[@ForrestKnutson]

Fantastic, Amy! I'm so happy with what I've written there. It's really helping my group.

[@arobersonable]

@@ForrestKnutson how does one become part of your group?

[@ForrestKnutson]

@@arobersonable I have this group: www.patreon.com/forrestknutson and I have 2 trainings: www.meditativemellows.com/ thank you for your interest!

[@weinerdog137]

I have experienced these sensations you describe. Usually laying in bed. The most common is a heavy pressure between my eyes. I get that one, just walking around in my daily goings on. Thank you for the explanations.

[@ForrestKnutson]

Excellent Jason!

[@durgaashtekar1112]

really profound knowledge. thank you so much. I have never practiced any kriya yoga. but I have been practicing sun gazing and meditation and still many of these experiences described by you are similar.

[@ForrestKnutson]

That's perfect, Durga!

[@richardmahoney5816]

All though this video has intellectual, scientific and knowledge of the teachers. I found this video Very Alarming!!!! If you are following the process suggestions, suggested in this video, ask you yourself these questions. Do you experience headaches? Do you experience A tightness and restriction in the chest? The process suggests a descending practice. This process is forcing the natural progression with over heating the upper centers and opening the door to experience extreme samskaras and kryias!!!! The practice is actually in an ascending progression. The filling of the lower center is like filling and overflowing, when the lower center is over filled it will Naturally overflow Upwards, Naturally opening the upper centers, with a more eased and natural progression through the kryias and Samskaras. People pleas be Careful!!! This is why people need the guidance of a practiced authentic teacher. Good luck!!!!

[@ForrestKnutson]

The upward progression is true, and is mentioned very often on this channel. The downward progression mentioned by Lahiri Mahasaya is not an energetic buildup. Or a negative compacting of energy as you have described. It is a very possible experiential perception that the yogi will perceive automatically. It's not something that you do it's something that happens to many meditators, who reach out to me from many different systems. So what you mentioned is not correct for what I am describing. It is very possible to experience negative material arising while in deep meditation especially with a Kundalini type practice or an overly energetic practice. One of the glorious safeguards that Lahiri Mahasaya gave to his students was OM Japa in each of the chakras. This will guard against what you have described.

[@williamthomas4635]

I hope you're still responding to these older videos. I'm grateful that your videos are here as they seem to have advanced of my meditation nicely. A phenomena which occurs in almost every meditation and some days multiple times. I call it a swirling yin yang. Always counterclockwise. Sometimes the shape is not a true yin-yang but it is a swirling darkness against the backdrop of my inner static. Could this be what you were referring to as the opening of the lowest chakra?, and if so what does it indicate. I'm at day 55 of my meditation practice so things are still fresh and new in my universe.

[@anandkesar5042]

Finally you made it ,sleeping exercises in the que

[@ForrestKnutson]

Yes I did. Glad you could see it. Yes, sleeping exercises are in the que. :D

[@sujatabanerjee7049]

Great video. Yes--with spiritual eyes or Divya chaksu, these llluminated knots can even be clearly visible (by the grace of God incarnation like Ramakrishna paramahansa.)

[@ForrestKnutson]

Thank you, Sujata.

[@Tylerbag]

Loving these videos thanks for sharing!

[@ForrestKnutson]

Thank you Tyler!

[@myoplex1]

Cana crook in the spine from scoliosis prevent one from experiencing these things?

[@thomasklugh4345]

Forrest, can you please help me with an issue? Everything you're presenting to us here is so wonderful, and all of us want to learn it. But, every time I read anything wonderful, the book I read it in, or the Internet site where I see it, also says that unless we receive instruction and/or initiation from a Guru, then anything we learn from books or the Internet is pretty much useless. Hearing this is so frustrating, Forrest, that it makes me want to just give up. What am I supposed to do?

[@vimaladominic]

Namaste sir its so amazing. On Tuesday meditation i felt almost everything you explained. But my hear felt as if something moving inside like circling...felt kind of heavy on my spinal cord. Felt so happy and joyful feeling. But my head falls behind automatically when i meditate.

[@ForrestKnutson]

That's really wonderful The circling could well be the 3rd Knot that I talk about. ... Do you mean you lose your concentration? If so, that's okay, and totally normal. You're doing fantastic.

[@enrico43869]

THANK S...is wonderful...TOKAR...

[@ForrestKnutson]

Glad you are seeing this. 😊

[@thomasklugh4345]

Is the sephenoid sinus that you're mentioning here the same as the sphenoid sinus I see in other drawings? Thank you.

[@kenith-holistictherapist2527]

❤️🙏🏼🌟

[@joncen2658]

You were spinning like, when you spin and suddenly stop and then close the eyes? Is that similar to that experience

[@ForrestKnutson]

Yes, but not necessarily in a way that makes you feel dizzy. This is one of 6 possible sensations.

[@ShaileshYadav-fm4un]

Dear sir, Thanks for your teaching. I have one "question" What is difference between SHAMBHAVI MUDRA and SHAMBHAVI MAHAMUDRA? In detail please reply

[@ForrestKnutson]

Thank you for watching! I wish you deep benefit form practicing the things I mention. I get this question often, so I ought to make a video about it. Shambhavi Mudra is the traditional name for taking the 2 eyes and looking up towards the 1 spiritual eye at the junction of the eyebrows. The deeper meaning of this is when it happens automatically. When a great magnet forms in the brain and pulls the eyes up into the skull. I have a video about this on my channel. Shambhavi Mahamudra is a name that the Isha Foundation invented for the set of exercises that they prescribe. Those exercises are: Ardha Siddhasana Patanga Asana Shishupala Asana Cat Stretch from Ramakrishna Mission Alternate Nostril Breathing AUM chanting Kapalabhati Pranayama Mahabandha Shambhavi Mudra with head back

[@ShaileshYadav-fm4un]

Dear sir Can you please tell the total procedure with every detail . I'm practicing SHAMBHAVI MUDRA for many days. Now I want to learn SHAMBHAVI MAHAMUDRA. I search it for every where but I didn't find it.there is no isha training center near my house.im very very much intrested in learning SHAMBHAVI MAHAMUDRA. It's my very very humble request sir can u please make a video on it with full procedure?Please please please sir

[@ForrestKnutson]

@@ShaileshYadav-fm4un Thank you for your kind request. However, I'm not part of the Isha Foundation. It's not my path, and it is not my lineage. The Isha Foundation was formed in 1992, while my dear lineage stretches back to 1828 and is based on the Bhagavad-Gita. What I do teach is Heart Rate Variability Breathing. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aIDXaoSIfdiMr9U&t This breathing is the gateway into deeper meditation. I hope you'll give it a try.

[@ajitkumarbera3054]

Wonderful! Thank you very much sir.

[@anandkesar5042]

Good explanation tell us does doing bandha's help in opening any of them

[@ForrestKnutson]

The bandahs can be very helpful. However, once the kundalini has become awakened, a preoccupation with the lower centers can lead to complications. In this light the higher bandha, the Neck Lock, will always be the most important. This is not a common yogic view, as many yogic lineages hold the lowest bandha in the highest esteem. Bandhas are exercises, which can help eventually in internalization. The 3 Knots are a process that happens when we've reached that depth of internalization. The Bandhas can help us in that process, but they are not directly related. Lahiri Mahasaya prescribed the original Sahaja Kriya Yoga in order to unravel the 3 knots.

[@vanessaruiz7104]

Thank you for this! What is the small red light next to a small white light?

[@ForrestKnutson]

There's a lot of different lights that are possible, red is a common experience. As the spiritual life clarifies you will begin to see more of the gold blue and maybe a little white star or little white. In the very center. The most important part of the entire thing is the cave or the blue Darkness.

[@ForrestKnutson]

Many yogis have said that it's the chakras we are seeing and those are either red or yellow or blue.

[@vanessaruiz7104]

@@ForrestKnutson Thanks. These 2 lights (red and white) were tiny and next to each other. It felt like I saw them at a distance as I was going up my spine.

[@mohanbhargava483]

Dear Forrest, Thank you for the explanation. In my study, I read that there were 4 knots that LM suggested, 4th one being at the Manipura which the Nabhi Kriya helps open. Your thoughts?

[@ForrestKnutson]

You're welcome! I've read from several sources about three, and I saw one source that mentioned 4 in connection with Lahiri Baba. When the Kundalini Shakti rises, it can meet obstacles along the path, and these are also known as knots, or caps. This, however, is very different from the experience of the downward progression of unraveling that takes place, that Lahiri Baba noted. I believe this is where the confusion lies. Navi Kriya is an amazing and simple practice, that should precede Kriya Proper. The way it was taught to me, it softens the Samana, allowing the Prana to more easily ascend, and seems to assist Kriya Proper by as much as 25%. Great question! Thank you!

[@neomatrix9601]

@@ForrestKnutson I had the same question. Makes sense around softening the Samana. In my studies, I read that practitioners who omit the Navi Kriya may find themselves unable to calm the energy around the navel making it somewhat harder for the Prana to ascend. Thank you!

[@ForrestKnutson]

That is perfect. Navi is very simple, yet it really does assist Kriya greatly. Somewhere between 25-50% easier after Navi. You can even do it in cycles. Short Navi practice, long Kriya practice, short Navi practice, another long Kriya practice.

[@vyshakhvsop]

The magnet pulling on my forehead is there all time..i bring attention to back side to the medula then i get some relief, whenever im bring the attention on medula by strengthening back some kinda small cracking happening inside my brain...is that normal?

[@ForrestKnutson]

Wonderful!!! I'm so glad that's working for relief. You're feeling the energy shift, and that's the "cracking"

[@vyshakhvsop]

@@ForrestKnutson thanks for the reply...I thought something weird happening to me only!

[@mariaanast7209]

I feel all that when i do meditation!And my eyelids moves and is for the magnetic ,i didn t think that before!

[@mariaanast7209]

What to do when i feel that????

[@ForrestKnutson]

That is wonderful that you are feeling these things! That makes you a great candidate for the Clinical Mindfulness, to deepen and establish those feelings. In my experience, and in the many I've spoken to, and in the writings of my lineage, the magnetic pull should help to establish calm and freeze, rather than fluttering and movement. This is not to say that you aren't experiencing the magnetic pull, but that the muscles around the eyes are still being trained into poise. This is very normal, and I recommend massaging all the muscles around the face. I hope this is helpful to you, and congratulations on feeling these things!

[@mariaanast7209]

Thanks for answer me so quickly🙏

[@ForrestKnutson]

@@mariaanast7209 You are welcome! 🙏🙏

[@NomitNegi]

Hey i was doing kechari mudra and it straight fit into it . The area of my third eye become heavily charged and i feel extremely darkness and no thoughts but i get scared of death or something like this and i stop it what should i do should i still do it please answer

[@ForrestKnutson]

You should do a lot of OM Japa in each of the 6 chakras, especially the 3rd chakra before you do Khechari again. This should reduce the feeling of fear, or eliminate it.

[@SaiF290]

Hi Forrest, I have a very important question I'd like to ask you. I find it very easy to place my awareness on my third eye area and the area behind the head (medulla?). I can place it quite easily even when I'm not meditating, whereas it's very difficult for me to place my awareness on my heart center, even while meditating. When I place my awareness on the back of my head, I can feel the kundalini at the base on my spine become energized or something; it's a very strange, but explicit sensation there, and it's always the same, but with varying intensities. Would you advise I keep focusing my awareness on the back of my head continuously as this may be able to awaken my kundalini by creating the magnetic effect? Or would the energy go to my crown and overstimulate my system? I would really appreciate any help on this matter. Thank you and amazing vid. :)

[@ForrestKnutson]

That's wonderful. The medulla is a very great place to concentrate, which I think you know I've said many times. This is very different from concentrating on the top of the head. If you're worried about kundalini (which is wise) then I recommend reading as much as you can about it (I recommend books below my videos) before it happens. So that you are prepared, and have a framework of ideas to help you get through it. That might sound pedantic, but I wish someone would have told me that. Another great place to concentrate is the heart, of course, and can help balance out those upper energies. If you're having trouble locating it, think of something you love (anything) until you feel a charge in your heart. Then chant a mental OM into that space.

[@SaiF290]

​@@ForrestKnutson Yes, I never concentrate on my crown. I'm afraid it will overload me if kundalini gets activated. Thanks again for your help. I will read more about kundalini. I have already found great books (you should check out Satyananda Saraswati's Kundalini Tantra book if you haven't already; it's really amazing imo and you can find a free txt of it online). I will also try out the heart technique you recommended.

[@ForrestKnutson]

Wonderful Saif!

[@kantamasters]

@@SaiF290 Is that book "The Jewel in the Lotus"? I have heard good things...

[@SaiF290]

@@kantamasters Sorry for the late reply Kanta, didn't see this until now, but hmm I've never heard of "The Jewel in the Lotus". Another amazing book imo is A Systematic Course In The Ancient Tantric Techniques Of Yoga And Kriya by Satyananda Saraswati. Really comprehensive on yoga and how it affects the individual's consciousness. I hope it can help you as much as it did me!

[@ashwins.selvarajan1714]

Forrestji, Thank you very much for this simplifying these deep concepts so as to be accessible to beginners (relatively!). The path is long, but at least we know the signposts. Some question (i) isn't Kechari a weak technique compared to Tokhar, why is it higher in the hierarchy of importance than the 3rd and fourth kriyas (ii) Why is the touching of the sphenoid sinus during Kechari, not have the same effect for everyone. For instance, I have never felt amrita (even after a decade of practice), what should one do to accelerate the effects of kechari.

[@ForrestKnutson]

Thank you Ashwinji, you've waited patiently for this one! Great questions! 1. It's more important because it's part of what makes all the Kriyas more powerful and effective. And it's the only one that you can practice almost continuously throughout the day. 2. I have some theories on this that I'd like to share in a video where I have more room to explain. I hope to do that soon for you.

[@ashwins.selvarajan1714]

Thank you so much your reply, Forrestji. It is a pointer that I should practice Kechari through the day. I look forward to the video you mentioned.

[@ForrestKnutson]

@@ashwins.selvarajan1714 Fantastic! The Kriya that affects us all day is the true Kriya.

[@ashwins.selvarajan1714]

@S A It is very rare to find a Kriya expert and even rarer an expert who can so beautifully expound the subtle nuances of this technique in a scientific and systematic manner as Forrest. I really wish I had known what I have learnt here when I began.

[@ForrestKnutson]

@@ashwins.selvarajan1714 Ashwinji, I hope to make this channel more and more useful and worthy of your kind comment. Lahiri Baba did teach differently to different people, however, when several key students got together after his passing and compared notes, they found the basic premise and techniques to be the same. This has been written about by the yoganikitan line. I read S. Nityananda's book. He's a very nice teacher.

[@helohelohelo6356]

The knot at the base of the spine is the kundalini ?

[@ForrestKnutson]

It often begins the experience that's often referred to as "kundalini" but not necessarily so. It could happen even earlier than that.

[@ericfontaine1997]

thanks again for another helpful video....B4 watching your video, i was expecting that the 3 knots would match up with the 3 tantiens of taoism...the first 2 knots (i.e. upper tantien---medulla-ajna, middle tantien---heart) match up, but i was expecting the third knot to be the belly/navel/lower tantien. Im kinda curious about this apparent mismatch. i can do the kechari/tongue relaxation to open the upper knot, i can open the lower knot with mula + uddiyana bandhas...at least i think im opening the knot and finally, im still working on the heart chakra (a work in progress)....btw, i just ordered your book on amazon today...looking forward to reading it.

[@ForrestKnutson]

Thanks Eric! Great question! The best way to see this I think she is place versus process. So you have chakra centers, and then you have a process of sense reversal. Lahiri Baba's 3 knots are that process. They are an experience that many encounter as the energy in the body begins to revert into the spine. In yoga we tend to concentrate on the upward movement of Prana, so it can be quiet revelational that this downward process of unbinding takes place. Both the early Taoist and early tantrics often skipped over the lowest of centers. If you look at a picture of the spine just the nerves, you can see that after the heart it turns into what's known as the horse's tail. So when you look at that it kind of makes sense in a way. However for Lahiri Baba's Kriya process, this would be a mistake. Lahiri Baba's Kriya has to do with the dorsal vagal nerve, while many Taoist practices have to do with the ventral vagal nerve and that's why the Tantien. The equivalent to this in Lahiri Mahasaya's system would be Navi Kriya.

[@ericfontaine1997]

excellent....what you say makes sense....when i do those lower bandhas, i can feel energy being squeezed up the spine, but i am not properly skilled to bring the energy to the crown, and i am often left with a feeling of stuck energy, usually in the throat area...however, when i do the kechari mudra, i feel releases (or as you mentioned, unbinding) from the neck/throat downward. i love this unbinding feeling. I will try to let go of my older energy raising practices and work more on the sense reversal process...btw, ive been doing the mahamudra techniques for the past few nights. Im loving it. maha means great, which is what this mudra is. Im noticing flashes of insights when i do the maha mudra. The important part of the mudra for me is to be sure to stretch my head out over the knee like u mentioned. I imagine im a turtle trying to pull my head out of its shell as far as it will go and hold it there (keeping neck straight and aligned with my spine, feeling full stretch from bottom to top of my back) until i need to exhale. I feel lots of releases with this technique. It feels like lots of energy gathers in the ajna chakra with this technique. It takes about 4 sets of the mahamudra b4 i notice the releases/relaxations unwinding.

[@ForrestKnutson]

@@ericfontaine1997 That is amazing! I'm pleased you're doing so well with it! What a fantastic testimony!

[@sedefas6481]

thank you for this video.. may i ask what is the feeling in the chest which started with heart -of amazing relief, like a heaven being released into your chest and but then this makes breathing harder....it happened in a big way now only happens if I am aligned and calm...it is a very beautiful feeling, I wish I could describe..I could not find nowhere what it means., maybe like a liquid love, very physical yet not....if not too much, how can we feel amrita?, focusing on tongue while it touches upper jaw is enough? ty so much

[@ForrestKnutson]

There's a feeling I once had of weight lifted off of my chest, and the breath went into an extremely low idle. Now it happens so often it feels normal to my body. You might be feeling some of that and your body isn't used to the sensations. ... If the tongue touches the Uvula there is a chance of feeling amrita.

[@pintosunny]

Hi. I couldn't find any book which refers to these knots in this depth. Can you suggest me some ?? btw the video and content is outstanding.

[@ForrestKnutson]

These volumes mention them in passing. Spiritual Gita (in 3 Volumes) by Shyamacharan Lahiri & Bhupendranath Sanyal amzn.to/2YBrIcG

[@pintosunny]

@@ForrestKnutson thank you

[@pintosunny]

@@ForrestKnutson Hi Forrest, These 3 knots are commonly known as Granthis (Bhrama granthi, Vishnu granthi and Rudra granthi). I have read it in several books. But none of it contains in depth description as yours. I really admire your commitment in researching and presenting precious information. You are just outstanding !!!

[@ForrestKnutson]

@@pintosunny Thank you, yes that's very true. Lahiri Baba's understanding of them was very unique in that he noted that they are experienced in a downward progression, most often. God bless!

[@JustinLMcPherson]

I have been focusing a lot on your videos regarding the spiritual eye. I have heard you talk about the light several times and I am wondering if you have any input for what I have been experiencing the last couple of months. It's light, but it looks more when sunrays beam through a break in the cloud. It moves like an aurora and shimmers. It is not a ring, and if I focus on the practices you have shared with us, I can cause a ring to manifest, but it is sort of behind these "rays from heaven".

[@ForrestKnutson]

Perfect that's it! As you stare at it dilate your eyes, or imagine that you are expanding into it.

[@JustinLMcPherson]

@@ForrestKnutson thanks for the reply as always. I will definitely keep experimenting with it. I tell you what, in a year I went from quietly sitting 5 minutes every day before work to actually experimenting with deeper meditation and other yogic spiritual practices. As incredible as it is to have been blessed with such experiences in such a short amount of time, the biggest aha moments have come from your videos. So many other dots are starting to connect and I can feel desire growing and burning. All I want to do is sit at the altar. Thanks again for such easy to follow content.

[@ForrestKnutson]

@@JustinLMcPherson fantastic Justin! I love it!

[@JustinLMcPherson]

@@ForrestKnutson I seem to be having difficulty. Either I cannot shift my perspective to see more of the eye, or I end up seeing other things again sort of like hallucinatory type effects, like I will see a ring but it doesnt feel like the eye. It feels like a swirl of "light and color" that I am hallucinating, like it feels as though it is hovering over what is really there. It's tough to explain and I feel that many years of hallucinogenic experimentation. I just have a hard time trusting what is there if that makes sense. I feel like this is what Baba Ram Dass meant when he said LSD made deeper meditation a challenge.

[@ForrestKnutson]

@@JustinLMcPherson that is it that is the eye. Many yogis think they have to see it perfectly. You don't. It is only a gateway. And the secret of that gateway which took me so long to understand is expansion. Or as I talk about it on my channel the right brain.

[@brookesimon8685]

I feel the magnetic pull of my third eye when I am around a certain male person. It has only done this around this one person though. I did not know what was happening I still really don't know. It is like an extremely strong magnet overcomes my forehead and when this person is around, it pulls me into him, like a suction cup. Since he's been gone, I don't experience it any longer. WIll I experience it again, or has it moved on to its next evolutionary place?

[@ForrestKnutson]

For quite a while I was feeling an extremely strong magnetic pole and especially when I would speak with my spiritual friends about spiritual subjects. In fact it became so intense that I had to cut a lot of meetings short with my friends because it was too much. I would imagine that your experience was something similar to this. So will it come back I'm sure it will when you're meditating. Eventually you integrate the experience and it's not so intense and it becomes much more manageable.

[@brookesimon8685]

@@ForrestKnutson Ok great to know! I can think of him, and it comes back now as well, just not as strong as when he's around. I am wondering if you received any of my emails, I sent two. Maybe there is something wrong from my side, if you haven't.

[@shanebaird543]

Another great video, thank you. Have you ever experienced any of Sadhguru's yoga and meditation? I do his Shambhavi Mahamudra and will learn his Surya Kriya in Dec.

[@ForrestKnutson]

The nice thing about him is he doesn't make you wait to start practicing. No I haven't practiced his methods personally.

[@shanebaird543]

@@ForrestKnutson his app has some great free practices. They are simple and powerful.

[@rocky821]

@@shanebaird543sadhguru teachings are below average. i was doing shambhavi mahamudra for 3 years no results it only made me feel better nothing else so i quite it and went to learn kriya yoga from srf it changed my life. i suggest you the same. shambhavi mahamudra taught in isha is not the actual shambhavi mentioned in yoga sutras. kriya yoga is the highest path of yoga as mentioned in bhagavad gita and yogasutras.

[@rocky821]

@@shanebaird543 plus he charges a lot for sub par yoga.

[@smokej2388]

Is it possible and normal to feel pain in the chest area when the Heart starts to unlock?

[@ForrestKnutson]

I didn't feel it that way, but it is possible. Energetics in the body can often be a little uncomfortable. Hearing sound and seeing light without plugging the eyes or ears (without using your fingers to close them) is a good sign that you are in that process of the Heart Knot. You might check your pulse that it isn't getting excited. We might become excited as a reaction to an internal experience, but the initial experience shouldn't be a state of excitation. Does that make sense?

[@smokej2388]

It does, thank you very much namaste 🙏🏾

[@swedish_sadhguru3854]

Is it even possible to reach enlightenment without mastering the kechari mudra? My tongue is not very flexible and it's pretty thick. Doubt I will ever manage to do that. The rest of my body is pretty flexible however. Also another question: sometimes when I meditate I see a pure white light that covers everything, what's that and why does it happen? I close my eyes but everywhere is white. I see no spiral however.

[@ForrestKnutson]

Yes, it is entirely possible without Khechari. Think of Khechari as a shortcut, and a very good one. That is perfect. So, either that white light will develop into the spiritual eye over time, or... when you experience this light, do you also have a perception of your body of any kind? Let me know.

[@swedish_sadhguru3854]

​@@ForrestKnutson That's reassuring then! No special perception, but almost no thoughts and I can't feel my breadth. What does this mean? And how can this develop into the spiritual eye? Much thanks!

[@ForrestKnutson]

@@swedish_sadhguru3854 well, either it will resolve into the spiritual eye, or if you are loosing the perception of you body, then you are beginning to enter into the Right Hipposampus. The Archetypes for this area are: no body, no breath perception, loss of time, expansion, spaciousness. This includes the states of Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi.

[@swedish_sadhguru3854]

@@ForrestKnutson Yesterday I tried Sadhgurus Kriya yoga, have you heard about it? Its different from Yogananda's kriya yoga. I only did it for 30 minutes but my head started shaking, my neck got tight, and I started laughing automatically and having tears. I never thought it would be so powerful. Does this mean I have some blocked prana energy in my body or is it something else? I also felt my heart stopping and my chest expanded outwards. Looking forward to read your comment. :)

[@ForrestKnutson]

@@swedish_sadhguru3854 that's great! Sounds like you had an energy release. We seem to pile on protective layering in the nervous system and brain. And when we release some of those coverings, we suddenly bear witness to a truer perception of the heart, and so might suddenly feel light, or joyous, or blissful, or just start laughing as you did. Good work!

[@alliswealthh]

Thank you for your video. I have one question. For how long should we keep our tounge in contact with the uvula on a regular basis for a visible benefit?

[@ForrestKnutson]

Great question. For as long as you are able. Full khechari is preferable, but it is a hard thing to develop. To benefit from touching the uvula you need to be in a deeply relaxed state. In a trance like state, or hypnagogic state.

[@alliswealthh]

I am not sure what the experience of such a state might be but I do get into a deeply relaxed state after my Shambhavi Mahamudra kriya. Is it advisable to practice this (touching the uvula) after my meditation? And if yes, then for how long?

[@ForrestKnutson]

@@alliswealthh the practice of khechari is to be able to do it the whole day if possible.

[@Vshamann336]

It feels like when you stick your tongue out of your mouth and put your lips around it and just leave it out in the air. I know that sounds funny but it's exactly what it feels like to me

[@cubanadiense]

it's as if God itself is manipulating the internet at times, cuz wow one gets the feeling that having come accross this man came at the perfect time , what a fortune!!

[@ForrestKnutson]

I'm so glad you found it! We are well met and God bless!

[@cubanadiense]

Forrest Knutson All the blessings to you 💫

[@mikefinley4367]

Yogananda altered the methods, violated multiple rules which includes forming a organization and there are no true kriya yoga teachers on America

[@rocky821]

as a indian i can confirm he didn't alter. lahiri mahasaya knew 108 kriyas. he taught different kriya for different people. so it doesn't matter. there are many kriya teachers in usa but srf has the best written materials and support system

[@deepblack67]

the Kechari taste is really weird

[@ForrestKnutson]

Yes it does! It takes some time for the body to adjust.

[@ForrestKnutson]

@@deepblack67 a little bit acidic, right?

[@vladyantonevicz7897]

Please don't use music in ur videos. It's very distracting and unnecessary.

[@ForrestKnutson]

Thank you, I did stop. I just keep it to the end now.