Spinal Breathing Kriya Mistake

I've explained this to students, with great results in meditation, once free of this mistake.
/ forrestknutson
www.meditativemellows.com/
Thank you to Doug Gemmell for the amazing music!

[@trmarple]

Absolutely fascinating! I can’t wait to envision this in my evening sit! I have to admit I’ve learned more about my practice in the 6 months since I found your channel than the entire 4 years I’ve been meditating. You are solid gold sir! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge🙏🏼

[@ForrestKnutson]

Thank you Ted that's so perfect! 🤩🤩

[@krishnahare3638]

@@ForrestKnutson HOW TO CHANT OHM? LOUD WHILE BREATHING IMPOSSIBLE? IN THE MIND EYE WHILE BREATHING. CAN YOU DEMONSTRATE CHANTING OHM WHILE FOLLOWING BREATH ALONG SPINE?? SECOND, PLEASE, IF YOU WOULD GO FOR 40 DAYS FOR MEDITATION NOT MOVING FROM THE SPOT WHAT KIND TECHNICS TO PRACTICE ONE AFTER OTHER? MIXING PRANAYAM AND MEDITATION OF COURSE...

[@davon0088]

I have been reading and re-reading Kriya books and practicing. But, I find the science behind in this channel and it blows my mind!

[@ForrestKnutson]

That's wonderful!

[@SofaKing_Kong]

Thank you so much for making this channel!!

[@victorsaitta5692]

Thank you so very much for explaining the Dorsal Vaga is the Sashumna. Of course there can never be any force. Just quiet and calm presence. Thank you guruji!

[@ForrestKnutson]

Exactly right Victor! Thank you!

[@mariokulash5259]

Forrest throwing bombs that are worth than half of my library. Taking understanding of yoga to a completely new level, adapted to the times we are living in. Absolutely mind-blowing...

[@ForrestKnutson]

Thank you Mario! 🙏🤩

[@nancythomason5767]

This was wonderful. Thank you Forrest!!!

[@ForrestKnutson]

Thank you Nancy!

[@dominicalexander9249]

Superbly broken down. Thank you 😊

[@tshelby5626]

Beautiful Mr Forrest I love this 🙏

[@ForrestKnutson]

Thank you!

[@thomasklugh4345]

Thank you for this, Forrest. BTW, great music theme.

[@speakingtowind]

Wonderful well done, you answer some of my questions already while accessing this part of my spiritual practice. I am grateful.

[@nickcross8179]

Thanks Forest more snippets of your pure wisdom and beautiful explanation’s,a true information highway you release as per normal my friend

[@ForrestKnutson]

Thank you Nick! Woo hoo!

[@bettinaarrigoni502]

You continue to rock my world in light & love....thank you for sharing your energy !

[@ForrestKnutson]

Yay! I'm so glad they are helping!

[@manjunathgangadhargangadha4364]

Beautifullyful explained... 🙏

[@ForrestKnutson]

Thank you! 🙏

[@workholicmit]

Excellent. Very well explained. 👌😊🙏

[@pavneetkaur4545]

Wonderful! Thanks for sending this magic. Forever grateful! 🙏🙏

[@ForrestKnutson]

Thank you! It is magical, isn't it!

[@ForrestKnutson]

🙏🙏🙏

[@pavneetkaur4545]

@@ForrestKnutson It is, indeed! I am seeing that I have started to giggle most of the time. There is something going on which I don't know but I hope it will reveal as I progress further. xx

[@ForrestKnutson]

@@pavneetkaur4545 so perfect! 🤩🤩🤩

[@bupsdaya5139]

Once again thank you for extra tweaks of understanding the channels. You say it’s magic, I agree. But you are also magic! Thank you. 🙏

[@ForrestKnutson]

Thank you so much!

[@_Ram.352]

Wonderful. Useful clarification on kriya practice. Thanks a lot for your guidance and blessings.. Dear forrest ji.

[@ForrestKnutson]

Thank you so much!

[@TomColeman]

Have I told you, You are the Best!

[@Jestemobecny]

Thank You for that amazing knowlege. 🙏🏻Aum

[@udayvs3056]

Forrest...great ...yoga has become a product in market..nice

[@kklyve]

Thank you so much Forrest! Gosh! That is so very interesting! I heard of the Ida and the Pingala before, but didn't know about the hot and cold aspect, or which one is good for what? I read a comment on one of your videos where Hakalau is done while in deep meditation and.......so I tried it. After a rollup I did that and my head was completely spinning and spinning. It did something! Another video Gem! I like your excitement about meditation!.....It gets me all excited to want to do meditation! Have a great day! God bless you!

[@ForrestKnutson]

Amazing! That spinning feeling is the experience of the 3rd knot!

[@subhaarthanari9323]

Thanks a million Guruji for this wonderful video totally inspirational and mind blowing 🙏🙏

[@ForrestKnutson]

Excellent Subha! These are some very important concepts. 🤩🙏

[@z3bekBG]

You're truly a gift from god, thank you so much for this!!!!! Helped massively. Please never stop with these vids.

[@ForrestKnutson]

I'm so glad to hear that 🪷🙏

[@z3bekBG]

I just came back from my kriya pranayama and was so frustrated at how I sometimes feel the current so profoundly in my spine... and sometimes I just don't... After your video, I realised I was getting frustrated by trying to force the breath hahaha... Thank you! Om Shanti Om 🕉@@ForrestKnutson

[@ForrestKnutson]

@@z3bekBG that's it! That's what I'm talking about.

[@simoneuzbazur]

Beautiful video! I do different type of Pranayama before meditation and when I finish to do pranayama I can enter easily in Samadhi cause I'm more relaxed. I never tried Spinal Breathing but I will today! 😊🙏

[@SM-vq1qd]

I love Forrestji and his explanation makes more sense to my annoying logical brain which doesn’t accept anything unless there is an explanation .

[@ForrestKnutson]

That's perfect 🤩😅🙏🙏🌹🌹

[@HMALDANA]

Hahahaha your descriptions always make me laugh, Forrest. That boxing bit was on point! Blessings and blissings, as you say!

[@ForrestKnutson]

Hahaha! That's perfect! We gotta make it fun, right? I know you get it! Blissings to you brother! 🤩🙏

[@HMALDANA]

@@ForrestKnutson Quoting the great Robert Frost, “If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane.”

[@punitsingh1009]

Really meaningful information

[@ForrestKnutson]

Perfect!

[@omsemperorvan5416]

Thank you

[@imck76]

wow.. GOOD news!! What a JOY!! You know what you're talking about.

[@sochii8696]

Grateful. Heartfelt thank you , you are showing the way Sir I am able to relate the experiences I had during my Kriya which otherwise I was looking for an answer , the answers which came to me after listening to you helped me piece the beautiful puzzle which is the universe 😊🙏 It also helped me understand all what I read through teachings of Lahiri Baba and my Kriya Gurudev

[@ForrestKnutson]

Wonderful! I love that! 🙏🙏

[@anuradhamusti5367]

Thanks a lot

[@erichofmann17]

Magical Forrest

[@vimaladominic]

Atma namaste sir heartfelt gratitude God bless much love for this wonderful video...🙏❤🙏❤

[@ForrestKnutson]

Thank you so much Vimala! God bless you too, and your loved ones!!🙏🙏

[@carpenterfamily6198]

8:17 I’d like to hear more about those four left-brain processes : Memory, time, the body map and the body hallucination.

[@3pk21]

Just purchased your book after one video!

[@ForrestKnutson]

Fantastic!

[@rebeccaaldrich3396]

I figured out how to lower my blood pressure in meditation and it was by breathing out super slowly and constricting my stomach? Can't quite explain the actual physical description but it worked. Now I can feel energy rising from down below to my mid stomach area.

[@deathbybears]

This is interesting. Was doing some box breathing with a five second inhale and a ten second exhale, and after twenty minutes I noticed relaxation and a faint glowing purple orb with my eyes closed.

[@selfhunter]

Great video…….you explained an experience I had forty years ago almost to the word. I had no idea what had happened to me. I now know, thanks for sharing.

[@ForrestKnutson]

Fantastic, Bob!

[@harveymurdoch9590]

Thank you for the ideas; your video is appreciated. Meditation should indeed be effortless. Samadhi cannot be reached by striving. Yoga is both a physical and emotional practice and I feel that your explanation of the benefits and pitfalls of the breath work would be more complete if you discussed the symbolic significance of the Ida, Pingala, and Sushumna channels.

[@arobersonable]

YUp!!! Right on. I've noticed I can coax the dorsal vagal a bit more if I don't feel "deep enough," then I go back to my medulla and straight up through the crown again. If I practice my peripheral vision, there is a giant ball of white on the right side and dark energy on the left. I try to merge those.

[@ForrestKnutson]

Amazing Amy! Keep expanding and the Great Union will arrive!

[@krishnahare3638]

CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT IS THAT EXPERIENCE?

[@aprilbryson4573]

Thank you so very much for this video! I have destroyed my nervous system and heart by trying to force a 1:1 inhale:exhale ratio. I finally realized a very long exhale felt better, but thought I was disobeying my Guru.

[@ForrestKnutson]

I'm so glad you are understanding! Yes, we have to follow that inner call in a Kriya practice. That's the inner guru. Blissings!

[@SM-vq1qd]

Yes I agree lot of breathing practices say 1:1 but somehow I couldn’t do that . My exhale is longer naturally so I felt so constricted and agitated . So I left that just do long exhales

[@SM-vq1qd]

Also any practice that is fast and furious it didn’t sit with me well .

[@couldbefaraway9726]

Wow thank you Forrest, I think i did this error…hmm…it makes sence…much love and much thanks~

[@ForrestKnutson]

You are so welcome!

[@PerfectAttention]

These 2 recent mornings i have been in a state that anything felt possible , i dont know if its samadhi because i could steel feel part of my body , my brain tingling in a very pleasant way, but it felt amazing...it happened when i merged my consciousness with someone from my childhood , they just showed up in a dream and i felt like becoming one with them

[@ForrestKnutson]

Wonderful! That's great archetype work!

[@kresienm9031]

Namaskram Forest, Thank you for this. I experienced no mind, no breath but still not seeing the spiritual eye.

[@rocky821]

Be patient. You will see it. for some people it takes time.

[@kresienm9031]

@@rocky821 thank you.

[@TreePlantedByTheRiver]

Any opinion on the number of spinal breaths? I hear some saying not to do more than 24.

[@kaushikmitra353]

Hi Sir, thank you for a fascinating video...I have been doing this practice for a few mins each day and have a few questions. May I email you a couple of my questions?

[@333Eriana]

WOW.

[@sunitasharma3247]

Where in india can i get initiate into kriya yoga

[@Vshamann336]

So I suffered trauma in my body has had a real hard time releasing all tension. However I've been capable of doing the Kundalini Awakening by squeezing hard and with no squeezing. The obvious better way is to be relaxed but the thing is is I had the same experiences by both ways. However every experience I've had no matter how much has had a black veil over what's going on behind. I only get very very brief moments of that black veil being gone and when that happens it usually gives me a hypnic jerk because it surprises me

[@Vshamann336]

So I've been trying to figure out how to do it with less tension because I feel the exact things you're talking about that's why I love this channel because it's the first channel I've seen discussing these things proper

[@michael-d7114]

Hello Forrest, love the channel and all the great info. I have a question regarding the spinal breathing as explained by Yogananda... as I understand it, he refers to this practice as a way of "burning thru" or "scrubbing" your karmic data which is stored in the spinal region, and is gradually cleansed as you scrub it off with the up and down motion of the spinal breathing and its associated prana. Is this something that happens naturally as one practices any Kriya? Or is it only through the conscious intention associated specifically with spinal breathing? Would love your insight on this.

[@michael-d7114]

Note: sometimes when I practice other kriyas, like alternate nostril breathing and/or om japa, I fall into a deep meditative state at which point I feel the prana naturally moving up and down the spine without my conscious intention of spinal breathing. Does this also accomplish the above noted "karmic scrubbing?"

[@arobersonable]

So before, I thought we were looking to increase the pressure on the dorsal vegal complex around the solar plexus region, but the dorsal vegal is the shushumna (?) which I always just experienced in a non-tense, neutral way. Please explain!

[@dayanchameeragunathilake9218]

Sir, can i just breath through the spinal without chanthing OM

[@nirvananjnana]

In yog books mentioned wher is mind there breathing. So we imagin mind spinal and breath. Many yogi gets miracle for following tha method.

[@toddf910]

Is a slight constriction of the epiglottis considered forcing, with respect to the in and out breath? Thanks Forrest. 🙏

[@ForrestKnutson]

Slight is just fine. Try to make it as smooth easy and subtle as possible.

[@akhilesh2776]

That digging in the wrong place was such a great reference 😂

[@lestafrank4109]

I can see I was going into Beta with the breathing. Confused a bit now. Do you have a video where you do the breath so we can see how to do it -to have a kundalini experience? Thank you for your amazing teachings.

[@Vshamann336]

How does one go about getting into some place to become a yogi?

[@robertweiszmann3981]

Thank you Forrest. Wen i do my breathing, it's take 10 second and i feel pressure and bourning in my forehead....watt can i do?

[@ForrestKnutson]

Pull that magnetic feeling back towards the medulla... And watch the video about Lahiri Mahasaya and the 3 Knots.

[@ryanramkissoon1630]

Why do u need to imagine that? The self is always there. Even the spine is within it

[@tyanite1]

Not exactly related, Forrest, but wanted to ask: Does the Freeze Response sometimes give a feeling of chills up and down the body? After months on end of trying, I finally stimulated my parasympathetic nervous system and then extremely briefly experienced something akin to chills (like in songs when you are with the person you love). I know you mentioned tingling, but this seems different than general tingling in the hands and feet. Thanks for all you do!

[@ForrestKnutson]

Yes absolutely that is a deep feeling of the parasympathetic. That's a very deep freeze response until the entire body dims from your awareness and begins to disappear.

[@tyanite1]

@@ForrestKnutson Thanks for your reply, Forrest. So nice to know that’s what the sensation was. I’m so happy to have reached this level. It’s been a very long road just to reach here. I will keep on. Your lessons are transformative. Please keep up the wonderful work.

[@vijayvijay4123]

ஆங்கிள் 🎉🎉🎉

[@bharathyaadavk.n1470]

What is critical mind and how to bypass it???

[@bigcat369]

🙏

[@longinesboutique7623]

❤️🙏🏻

[@phijk66461]

Yoga is always gentile, never forced!

[@ForrestKnutson]

Exactly Philip! Sometimes this idea is very subtle but over time it creates enough stress that it ruins the meditation.

[@vimaladominic]

I have seen your kundalini video..have been meditating on this "eida pingala and sushumna ".. for some times...just 3days ago got fever..and severe pain in the spinal column....i was just thinking have i done anything wrong...and i was listening to your explanation my pain decreased..have slight pain on my lower back near basic chakra and at the beginning of pineal gland..sir..i am surrendering..🙏❤🙏❤🙏❤

[@ForrestKnutson]

Sometimes the "energy" has a mind of it's own! Especially when it's working on healing. You can always remind the Divine, "Hey, could you help me out here? Go ahead and ease this feeling for me. Thank you!"

[@josephmitchell6796]

Old school yogis just rolling in their graves for lack of better words, for revealing the secrets that was hilarious and also easy to digest and understand. Om japa is a good form of spine breathing basically or can you just omm as you go up and down the spine in a smooth motion?

[@ForrestKnutson]

That's right, just OM as you are going up and down with the breath.

[@Vshamann336]

I don't think you really have to imagine it all you can feel it within about 10 seconds of the first time you do it if you're doing it correctly. Which I think relies on somebody teaching you intelligently. Which is a big problem I find in this space is people being able to convey their experience to teach somebody else. It really takes somebody in tune with their body to do it

[@elkiwi69]

Are you saying that doing HRV Breathing is basically the same as Kriya Breaths?

[@ForrestKnutson]

There is more to kriya than HRV Resonance only, but it is the base. If there is no HRV Resonance, the kriya breath will be a wash. Great question, Brian!

[@johns894]

What is the purpose to go into a samadhi? 🤔

[@justgivemeanumber8215]

Do you have the way into meditation for those who can't focus (ADHD-like... thoughts always come in and distract me for minutes at a time)?

[@nickcross8179]

Haha I suffered with this and Forest did a clip about this and works like a dream, when your starting meditation and thoughts come to mind , focus on both palms of your hand and soon as you get thoughts arise focus on left palm and right palm at exactly the same time! You can’t have any thoughts come to mind if you intently focus on ya palms , it’s amazing takes a little practise to remember to focus back but the more you do the easier your mind will calm down in the future!!

[@anu7982]

Yes, practice alternate nostril breathing technique . It will bring drastic changes if you have ADHD. Because I have had ADHD. It will disappear even without u being aware.

[@ryanramkissoon1630]

The spine itself is perceived. Why all these hoops?

[@sureshbabu1137]

Namaskaram sir. I am new to this kriya yoga. Is there any problem doing this spinal breathing without the advice of a master

[@ashokankk305]

Please don't do with out a realized guru. It is producing huge energy which your body can not tolerate. Need other kriyas to manage that energy. I suffered a lot, now came out from the problems. Now a daily practitioner.

[@tjitzevanderlinden7374]

hi forrest if i sit and take 4 or 5 spinal breaths i feel pressure evolving on my third eye?

[@ForrestKnutson]

That's the pressure of the 1st Knot, you might like that video about Lahiri Mahasaya and the 3 Knots.

[@tjitzevanderlinden7374]

@@ForrestKnutson exactly forrest you are right I experienced the same I couldn't talk about it without becoming emotional OK thank you thank you for your advice and the three knots love tjits .

[@seaweedhero1707]

"Don't get hung up on someone else's Samadhi."

[@ForrestKnutson]

That's right!

[@aloksahu7208]

🙏👍👍👍🙏❤️

[@Hokum6]

thanks. makes me wonder if all that background knowledge of meditation culture actually impedes ones progress.

[@ForrestKnutson]

If you hold it too rigidly then yes.

[@Hokum6]

So, am I understanding correctly that even apart from trying to force energy into those channels, you also would recommend against using the imagination of a warm or cold energy flow in kriya-style spinal breathing?

[@ForrestKnutson]

@@Hokum6 that's what I'm suggesting here. Just HRV Resonance, and OM Japa. Try it for a week, and see how you feel.

[@Hokum6]

Thank you, I will.

[@Hokum6]

@@ForrestKnutson Works like a charm. Sometimes I like the other variant I was taught, sometimes they mix. Your advice is invaluable, thank you for sharing it.

[@BubbleInThePond]

Hello Forest, I am new to your channel and find your videos fascinating and very enlightening.. So first of all I would like to thank you very much for all the work you are putting out there 🙏 If I may just ask you a question though: how do you reconcile the science of krya yoga with the Divine? I have read the Autobiography of a Yogi and it inspired me immensely. However, it seems that the more I discover the actual science behind the techniques, the more the Divine appears to become a fantasy linked to ‘simple’ organic functions. Do you know what I mean? Is Samadhi the manifestation of God or the result of advanced breath techniques, Kechari Mudra etc...? I am confused and I would be very grateful for your insight.

[@abhishekghosh7518]

The divine grace is necessary for samadhi. The techniques simply increase our receptivity. They can make us reach paravastha, from where everything depends on grace. Similar to opening the windows to receive sunlight. Though we can open the windows, we need to wait for the sunlight. In fact, in more advanced disciples who have done a lot of sadhana in previous incarnations, techniques may not be necessary. They could directly experience samadhi through Shaktipat.

[@BubbleInThePond]

Abhishek Ghosh thank you for your reply. What about when some people say that they know what Samadhi is because they can reach that state through hallucinogens? They describe the same experiences as Paramhansa Yogananda, yet they have no divine belief. I am not talking about other divine manifestations, in which I fully believe. It is only the experience of Samadhi that confuses me..

[@abhishekghosh7518]

@@BubbleInThePond hallucinogenic, by the very definition of the word, create hallucinations. They open the gates of the unconscious, while samadhi is superconsciousness. One may access the higher states of consciousness through these drugs as well, but it becomes so mixed up with the subconscious stuff that it becomes almost useless when it comes to insights and even potentially dangerous. If one has enough grace, even these may provide an opening to samadhi, but it can't give the experience of samadhi where the grace isn't there. Plus it's often dangerous, as it may temporarily weaken one's Aura and provide an opening for entities. In fact some spiritual paths use such substances, but under the strict supervision of one's mentor. On the other hand, techniques like a Kriya which Mr Forrest teaches are not only safe and organic, but can also give you repeated samadhi much more frequently, and can create permanent shifts in your perspective and perceptions in a way which can be easily regulated. Then there's also something called Shaktipat, which you receive during initiation, which perhaps Forrest also gives, which is the secret ingredient enlivening all the techniques. It not only makes you progess very fast, but also gives you the protection of a lineage of yogis. The experiences I have had during meditations, I was able to objectively verify most of them later on, which may not always be the case with drugs.

[@BubbleInThePond]

Abhishek Ghosh thank you once again for taking the time to reply, I very much appreciate it. You seem to be very knowledgeable and it is helping me a lot to read your explanations. Now I can only hope to be worthy enough one day of receiving the blessing that is Samadhi. Much joy to you 🙏

[@abhishekghosh7518]

@@BubbleInThePond do read the poem "Samadhi" written by Paramhansa Yogananda. It contains more than mere words.

[@arielleHT]

i fckued up my body eith kundaliny syndrom, over stressed, psos syndrom, depression and suicidel thoughts. be careful with this stuff

[@yogasamrat]

Acharyaji you made another error in pronunciation of the Sanskrit ! You have not learned to consult me before each segment!

[@PerfectAttention]

Oh foolish friend, memorizing rules of grammar won't save you at the time of death -$ankaracarya

[@ForrestKnutson]

Thank you Devananda! You've been a wonderful Sanskrit coach! All mistakes are my own! I thought I had ida and pingala down enough.

[@ForrestKnutson]

@@PerfectAttention Devananda is a friend of mine and he's been coaching me in Sanskrit ever so kindly so that I don't overly embarrass myself when it comes to Sanskrit. LOL! So he's not putting me down or my video down, he's just rightfully saying that I can't pronounce Sanskrit correctly to save my own life LOL!

[@PerfectAttention]

@@ForrestKnutson I knew , yet i couldn't help quoting that...ego moment,or maybe it's for all of our benefit...maybe both

[@gardeniabee]

What was the error? I want to learn the correct pronunciation too.🙏🏼