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Chapter 2

The Different Paths of Yoga

As mentioned in Chapter 1, yoga is the act of reunifying with the Spirit – but there are

many ways to do this. At Chi Kri we believe that the number of different people there

are on this Earth, is the same as the number of paths to God. Although spiritually we

are the same, our environments and the way we learn and behave in our earthly

incarnations can vary a great deal.

Largely however, we will fall into groups where our characters may predominate: the

charitable, the devotional, the technical, the wise, the practical, the emotional, and so

on. Yoga caters for these groups of people by offering various core areas to achieve

oneness with the Spirit and with oneself.

Of course, we all have many areas to our personalities, but life being what it is, where

time, concentration, and energy are limited, we tend to follow one path more than the

other, with the aim of understanding it well and excelling in it.

At Chi Kri, we focus predominantly on the Ashtanga Yoga System of Patanjali, also

known as Raja (Royal) Yoga, explored below. You will notice how other aspects of

yoga will come into play from time to time, within yourselves and your lives.

Hatha Yoga

The ultimate aim of a human being is to unite themselves with their soul and, finally,

with the Spirit (or God). This would be considerably more difficult to achieve if the body

was weak or taken over by disease. Hatha Yoga is the yoga of the physical body,

designed to bring health and vitality through various postures (asanas).

The origins of Hatha Yoga postures are said to date back to the god of death, change

and transformation from the trimurti (holy trinity), Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva is said to have

given discourses to his wife, Parvati, and to locals in India on 84,000 different yoga

postures, most of which represent various aspects of nature, like birds, animals,

plants, etc.

These postures were handed down over the years to sages like Matsyendranath, until

the great sage, Patanjali, re-organised the whole yoga system in the 2nd century AD.

He created a system called the Ashtanga Yoga System, also known as the Raja Yoga

System; one of the eight limbs in that system is Hatha Yoga.

Other styles of yoga that incorporate Patanjali and Hatha Yoga include Sivananda,

Iyengar, Bikram, Jivamukti, Vinyasa and Classical Yoga.

Raja Yoga

As stated above, Patanjali created the Raja Yoga System around 200 AD in which he

summarised yoga into eight limbs (or subjects). The aim of the system is the

attainment of samadhi, the conclusion of meditation, oneness with Spirit.

Chi Kri, along with most schools of yoga today, mainly uses the Raja Yoga System.

Raja means royal. It is a technical system, a methodical way of accessing the Spirit or

God, and is the one that most rishis use. The eight limbs of Raja Yoga are described

in more detail later in this chapter.

Karma Yoga

Karma Yoga is the yoga of positive, spiritual and serviceful action without necessarily

seeking anything in return. It can also be said that it is where one offers the benefits

of their labour, and the fruits of their actions, to the universe or God.

Examples of Karma Yoga practice include:

• Selfless service, volunteering, and charity work (“seva”)

• Giving or donating

• Listening

• Teaching

• Preaching

Karma Yoga is something that anyone can incorporate into their life. It doesn’t require

grand gestures. A person who humbly dedicates their life to looking after their family

in the right way can also unify with the Spirit and achieve liberation.

Karma Yogis have good relationships with people and treat them well.

Bhakti Yoga

Bhakti is about loving the Divine through devotion, prayer, faith, and belief. Bhakti is a

form of humble love, which is blind to reason and does not care about knowledge or

proof (i.e. that which is verifiable by the five senses). Where there is that blind faith,

that innocence of heart, the Great Spirit lets these people in: if you have a little faith,

you can move a mountain. Every practice of yoga requires some Bhakti.

Long ago in India, men used to go and practice Raja Yoga (meditation) and the women

used to be busy looking after the children: all they did was Karma Yoga (looking after

the home) and Bhakti Yoga. God was not excluding the women because they didn’t

do asana or meditation.

Bhakti Yoga is powerful. You cannot complete the Raja Yoga system without it. But

you have to let go of the fear: how do you love something you’ve never met? And that’s

the point. There is no doubt at all about the existence of God to a Bhakti Yogi, who

surrenders completely to the love of the Divine. If Bhakti were a person, they would

not have an ego, they would be blind to reason and would not need proof – they would

have unwavering faith! They would wake God up through their love for Him and would

be praying at the temple every day.

Examples of Bhakti Yoga practice in the Christian culture would be prayers, reading

the gospel, praise and worship.

Examples of Bhakti Yoga practice in the Indian culture would be bhajans, aarti, fasting,

and festivals.

Fasting shows discipline and faith in the soul’s energy, as opposed to temptation,

desire and habit. Sometimes fasts are associated with particular deities to extract

particular aspects of the Divinity. If you carry on the process, you will eventually unite

with the Spirit’s power.

Other ways in which one can practice Bhakti Yoga include: expressing devotion

through artistry, creativity, dance, Sufism, rap, poetry, etc.

Gyana Yoga

This is the yoga of wisdom, intuition and inner truth - as opposed to knowledge.

Wisdom is positive discrimination: the ability to choose correctly and distinguish the

good actions from bad actions. It is the overseer of the mind, and it is the greatest

cleanser. Applying wisdom can help to tidy up a cluttered mind and to take away

excess pain and suffering.

Wisdom is a soul quality, one of the five aspects of the soul. People think wisdom is

knowledge/intelligence. It is not. Wisdom is a feeling, not a thought. True wisdom will

not feel like it’s come from the head, it will feel like it’s come from your heart and soul.

It is that part of you that is not using reason, intelligence, logic or emotion, but intuitively

knows what is right and what is wrong. Knowledge can come from the brain while the

mind is active, but we cannot hear wisdom until the mind is still. Wisdom will then come

up to the surface. It will give guidance and direction which is in tune with the soul –

and with the eternal rights and wrongs of the Universe.

Gyana Yoga is the path of introspection, wherein you start to look at your behaviour

and study yourself. It is good to examine your day every night before going to bed.

Gently focus on where you may have made mistakes and where you may need to

improve.

Take time out to follow teachers, gurus, and to read scriptures and meditate upon

them. When you read or hear something wise, digest it as knowledge. Find out what

it means, deconstruct it, and apply it.

You become wiser through experience. Until your beliefs, concepts, and thoughts

about yourself are tested, they are neither true nor false.

Until your mind has been thrashed against the harsh realities of day to day living, you

can believe anything, but it doesn’t mean it’s real. That is why experience counts for

so much. Without experience there is no chance of maturity. You are learning from

your mistakes, so that the next time you are presented with a similar situation, you act

in the better way.

By aligning to wisdom, you are aligning to truth. Through wisdom you can be closer to

union with God’s consciousness. With practice, this becomes your habit, and you build

a samskara (behavioural pattern) in your consciousness. You will take this with you

through lifetimes: Gyana accumulates with incarnations. As your soul evolves you

have more soul qualities in your character than ego qualities, and more wisdom

develops.

The Gyana Yogi eventually knows and understands everything: scriptures,

metaphysics, and the workings of everything from the heavens down to humanity.

They possess all knowledge and wisdom and know how to behave in any situation.

Their response is always in tune with the soul.

If you function like this in life, you are attuned and aligned with Sat, the eternal Truth.

God is described as Sat (Truth) - Chit (Consciousness) - Ananda (Bliss). No matter

what the Universe puts you through on Earth, as a Gyana Yogi you have a high degree

of integrity and dignity, always sticking to Truth and principles.

It takes the practice of meditation to determine what your inner voice of wisdom is.

You cannot think or emote your way to that answer. You must fight your ego to reach

it. You need to be mentally still. Until the mind is still you cannot see the soul. Gyana

Yogis constantly stay in that place of inner stillness. The Gyana Yogi is “calmly active

and actively calm,” as Paramahansa Yogananda says.

Kriya Yoga

Paramahansa Yogananda brought Kriya Yoga to the world from Mahavatar Babaji.

Babaji is around 1800 years old and lives in the Himalayas; he retains the body of a

25-year-old.

"Kriya Yoga is an instrument through which human evolution can be quickened," Sri

Yukteswar explained to his students. "The ancient yogis discovered that the secret of

cosmic consciousness is intimately linked with breath mastery. This is India's unique

and deathless contribution to the world's treasury of knowledge. The life force, which

is ordinarily absorbed in maintaining the heart-pump, must be freed for higher activities

by a method of calming and stilling the ceaseless demands of the breath."

Kriya Yoga contains specific meditation, breathing, and energy transformation

techniques that are performed for the unification of the soul with the Spirit. They are

very powerful, and Kriya Yoga is considered to be the highest technique of meditation

and pranayama available to humanity. To master it, one first needs to master a form

of yoga like Chi Kri.

Mantra (Japa) Yoga

Mantra (or Japa) Yoga involves continuous repetition of God’s name and

concentration on that force e.g. chanting “Aum” or “Hare Krishna”. When one repeats

the “Hare Krishna” mantra with full attention and unbroken concentration, the mind will

be settled and completely focussed.

You can also take on the qualities of the focus of your concentration. This will change

you on a subtle level. For example, if you concentrate on repeating “Aum” to the

exclusion of all other things, you will take on the qualities of Aum. This will have a

harmonising, healing, and uplifting effect on the body and mind.

Mantra is most effective when done with a spiritual feeling (“bhav”), love, and the right

attitude. Call out to God with love and He will respond positively out of love. You are

trying to tune into a higher frequency that resonates with your soul and Spirit.

Mantra Yoga can open your chakras too. Each chakra is associated with a specific

sound, and by chanting the relevant sound you can connect with the chi in that chakra.

The whole language of Sanskrit and yoga was designed around sound vibrations.

Every word in Sanskrit is composed of syllables which relate to a chakra and have a

specific effect on your being. For example, the word “Ram” comes from the Manipura

chakra.

The Eight Limbs of Patanjali’s Raja Yoga System

Modern yoga is structured in this way:

1. Asana (Hatha Yoga): Physical body work, disciplines, and observances

2. Yama: Public codes of conduct

3. Niyama: Private codes of conduct

4. Pranayama: Control of life force, energy/chi in the body

5. Pratyahara: Sense withdrawal

6. Dharana: The concentration of consciousness

7. Dhyana: Meditation – concentration on the soul, Spirit or direct derivatives of

the same

8. Samadhi: Liberation of the soul into Spirit: the aim of yoga.

Asana / Hatha Yoga

This limb focuses on the physical body and is the form of yoga that most people today

are familiar with. At Chi Kri, we define this as the first limb of yoga, as this is the most

common entry point into yoga for most people.

Yoga is a lot to do with personal, mental, and spiritual development; but without a

strong, healthy body, your development is certainly harder. Therefore, looking after

your physical body is essential, as it is the vehicle that carries you through the journey

of life. Your consciousness is the driver, making the decisions on where to go and

what route to take.

No matter how far you develop in virtually any area of life, if your vehicle is not well

maintained, it could surprise you with breaking down at any time and prevent you from

progressing any further. Or you could be driving along with a flat tyre and a broken

windscreen that considerably slows you down and hampers your progress. You will

still be able to go, but you are not going as far or as efficiently as you could.

In other words, being imperfect physically will not stop you growing, it just gives you

distractions and discomforts on your path. These are also lessons in themselves, but

it is wiser if we can avoid them! Therefore, keeping your “vehicle” in the best possible

condition that you can is going to get you further on this journey of life. The actual

practice of Hatha Yoga develops strength, suppleness, and stamina. This limb also

works on all the major systems of the body: muscular, skeletal, nervous, digestive etc.

The literal translation of “asana” is “seat.” So, asanas are also known as the stool or

correct position for meditation. This includes standing and sitting postures too. Sitting

with the spine erect and tall is important as it allows the energy (prana) to flow.

Asana is not the goal of yoga. In its purest sense, the purpose of asana is to strengthen

the physical body so it can sit in meditation for hours without disturbances (such as

the back and spine aching, the digestive system suffering, the body being poisoned

by toxicity, headaches occurring, stomach rumbling, getting tired, or losing vitality).

Yamas and Niyamas

Yamas and niyamas are collectively known as the ten disciplines, controls, or

“commandments” of yoga.

Yamas: Five Public Codes of Conduct

1. Ahimsa: Non-violence

2. Asteya: Non-stealing

3. Aparigraha: Non-coveting or non-hoarding

4. Brahmacharya: Observance of God’s will

5. Satya: Truthfulness

Niyamas: Five Personal Codes of Conduct

1. Saucha: Purity

2. Santosha: Contentment

3. Swadhyaya: Study of the self

4. Ishwarapranidhana: Devotion, worship of Aum

5. Tapas: Fiery determination, control, transformation

As Chi Kri teachers, it is important to be strict but realistic with yamas and niyamas.

When you teach them to students, meet them where they are at, and then slowly help

and guide them towards a higher goal.

Pranayama

“Prana” = life force or chi “Yama” = to control

Therefore, “pranayama” is the control of your life force.

Prana is found everywhere in creation: in air, food, water, sunshine, and space. In

human beings prana exists in all aspects of the body, including the mind, which is a

composition of the five elements.

Therefore, at Chi Kri we understand pranayama as being much more than just

“breathing exercises”. The practice of pranayama includes thought control, control of

intake of food and water, control of heat. Pranayama is total control of all things,

including the mind.

It is commonly practiced as breath control because this is the most easily accessible

form of prana. There are eight classical pranayama exercises that are practiced for

breath control. Chi Kri also has its own breathing exercises as well as other pranayama

controls, such as Mind Yoga.

The benefits of breath control are to slow the mind, help preserve energy and

temporarily withdraw the consciousness back to its source. Breath control also has a

cleansing effect on the body.

It is stated by yogic masters that the practice of pranayama breathing techniques are

so beneficial that the breath work alone can keep one extremely healthy, even without

doing much physical exercise. It is said that these techniques can change the body’s

temperature, increase the body’s digestive ability, improve the nervous, circulatory,

and respiratory systems, and do other far-ranging functions like remove asthma, lower

blood pressure, and cure other minor ailments.

Pratyahara

At Chi Kri, we define pratyahara as the bridge of conscious change.

On one side of the bridge we have ourselves living in the physical world, led by our

senses and our mind (which works with the data that we receive). On the other side,

we have the more intangible world of the soul.

Pratyahara is the bridge, the journey, and the path that takes us from one side

(external / physical) to the other (internal / spiritual). In a yoga class, this is often

materialised as the practise of relaxation and accompanying passive inner-journey.

Dharana

This limb deals with concentration. A “concentrate” is an undiluted collection of one

substance or thing. With respect to yoga, and in this limb of Dharana, “concentrate”

means the collected consciousness being amassed in one place, or pointed in one

direction. At this stage, we have closed off the senses and are now beginning to

concentrate our energy under the guidance of our consciousness and will power.

Laser-like concentration is essential for success – no one is successful without

concentration. When you learn to meditate, you must be able to concentrate. The

ability to concentrate is such a necessity in human beings that there is a whole limb of

yoga dedicated to it.

In the practice of asana, concentration is obtained by focusing the energy, willpower,

and consciousness on the movement that is taking place, and on the body parts and

senses associated with it. Concentration can also be applied to a focal point upon the

ground (especially when balancing).

In pranayama, concentration is applied by focusing slightly more inwards on the

breath, respiratory system, movements of the internal organs, as well as on the

techniques themselves. This can be achieved with the eyes open or closed.

Meditation

Meditation is where all concentration is focussed squarely on the soul, the Spirit, or

pure derivatives of either of these, like the chakras. Meditation cannot be achieved

with any stimulation from the five senses. The only permissible exclusion to that is the

guiding voice of a teacher, guru or master for a short period of time, until the

practitioner can be left alone to go deeper by themselves. Remember, the senses were

left behind on the other side of the bridge of conscious change (Pratyahara). And they

cannot enter samadhi. That is why meditation is a strictly spiritual experience.

Samadhi

Samadhi is the liberation of the soul into Spirit: the ultimate aim of the Ashtanga Yoga

System. Samadhi is where you have dissolved your ego (lower self) into your soul

(higher Self) to begin with, and the soul finally back into the Universal Source / Spirit.

There are various states of samadhi like sabikalpa samadhi and nirbikalpa samadhi,

but experience teaches us that the rules for states of samadhi are rarely fixed. Some

states are far deeper than others, and states may change from day to day, and week

to week.

In this area, the rules of Chi Kri Yoga are simple: you attain samadhi (union with the

Divine) purely for the purposes of elevating your soul more permanently, consistently,

and deeply, towards God. You aim to merge with Him, for long or short periods of time,

to enjoy the fruits of that experience. You then return to your normal life enhanced,

enlightened, and ready to serve the Earth, and those who are here, with love and

Truth, wherever you are called upon to do so, and whenever you are capable of doing

so.

Samadhi for the sake of experiencing fanciful and otherworldly experiences or

attaining siddhis (powers), is not the goal we seek. At Chi Kri, the goal is always

kindness, love, forgiveness, patience and so on. If you are deserved of other powers

like time-travel, levitating, manifestation, intense self-healing, control over your atoms

etc. (which are all possible through yoga), they will be added unto you as gifts by God,

when your ego is sufficiently restrained enough not to take advantage of them.

At Chi Kri Yoga, you can certainly achieve a low or high state of samadhi (nirbikalpa

samadhi). It can come quickly or take decades, depending on your ego, progress and

practise. And you should always remain under the strict leadership of your Chi Kri

master or guru – or a Chi Kri graduate-teacher who has been nominated to take you

towards these high degrees of meditation. Note that no one should ever try and guide

you to a state they have not been to themselves.

Also note that there are 26 involuntary characteristics of samadhi which you will

eventually need to be aware of through your journey into yoga. The below are not

techniques or goals necessarily, and should not be attempted without your teacher’s

direct and unambiguous guidance. They are just listed so you are aware of what your

being might do as it gets into much deeper states of meditation.

1. Total loss of breath

2. Vibration through whole body

3. Movement/shaking of the head left and right

4. Energy shooting up the spinal canal (sushumna)

5. Abdominal cavity sucked into a vacuum

6. Body posture shoots bolt upright

7. Light appears in the forehead

8. Head rolls up

9. White pentagonal star in the forehead

10. Eyes magnetically roll up, past the third eye, towards the crown chakra

11. Bursts of power including clapping, punching of air etc. denoting a vast electric

current moving through the body

12. Hands taken spontaneous mudras (hand positions) – mostly gyana mudra

13. Right hand taking spontaneous blessing pose, sometimes accompanied by

healing power

14. Spontaneous chanting of Aum

15. Spontaneous smiling

16. Spontaneous laughter

17. Smile through all the muscles of the skull - noticeably to the back of the head

near the medulla oblongata

18. Feeling in heart of being loved 1000 x greater than normal

19. Extreme joy, bliss, and happiness

20. Loss of ability to compose mundane thoughts or emotions

21. Total mental silence and trance-like state in God

22. God may begin to communicate to your consciousness

23. God may answer questions you have and present you with new information

24. One remains without breath for several minutes without strain

25. One loses the urge to speak for some time afterwards

26. One’s eyes and skin are purified, light and bright for several minutes after

finishing the samadhi state

Yoga and the Sanatan Dharma

Yoga is part of the Sanatan Dharma. “Sanatan Dharma” means the Eternal Truth/Way.

The contents of the Sanatan Dharma are sometimes wrongly described as a religion:

“Hinduism.”

However, the Sanatan Dharma is not a religion; it is a metaphysical and spiritual path

leading towards the understanding, alignment, and liberation into Brahman (the Sole

Reality). Therefore, someone from a religion like Christianity or Islam is more than

welcome into the Sanatan Dharma, as it is a non-sectarian inner path. Its teachings

are for all people. Its teachings also contain scriptures on medicine, surgery,

transportation, and engineering, as well as more spiritual matters.

Followers of the Sanatan Dharma are called Sanatanis or Sanatan Dharmis.

Therefore, a yogi, or a yoga practitioner, is technically a Sanatan Dharmi (at very least

for the period of practice).

The Word “Teacher”

The word 'teacher' in Sanskrit is split into several other words. These words are

derived from the teacher’s particular ability.

1. Adhyapak/Upadhyaya: A teacher who gives you information/knowledge

2. Acharya: A teacher who imparts skills

3. Pandit: A teacher who is able to give a deep and specialist insight into a subject

4. Dhrishta: A teacher who has a visionary and inspiring view on a subject

5. Guru: A teacher who is able to awaken the wisdom in you, leading you from

darkness to light

A yoga teacher can be any of these, or several, depending on their particular skills

e.g., an Acharya and a Guru. Or if they are visionary, then a Dhrishta is also suitable.

The Two Types of Scripture

Broadly, there are two types of scripture found in the Sanatan Dharma tradition.

'Shruti': Divinely ordained (heard) literature. These are texts that are ascribed to God

as the author. They are the word of God for all humankind, in any era, and for all time.

Shruti text is non-debatable, non-changeable and eternal. These are commonly known

as the pillars of the Sanatan Dharma path.

'Smriti': Materially composed (memorised) literature. These are ascribed to humans.

These are contemporary spiritual commentaries, prescripts, ideas, and instructions for

a given time, space, and situation. Smriti is not necessarily eternal, although

sometimes they can last for a long time – if they remain relevant.

An example of Shruti literature is the four Vedas, as they were not ascribed to any

one saint, rishi, or sage. Instead, they were dictated through them, as an offering to

the world. (Vedanta and Upanishads are also Shruti. Samhitas are also often

described as Shruti.)

The Shrutis

Each Veda has four parts to it:

Samhita – Fundamental part of a Veda, with hymns.

Brahmanas – Observations on a Veda, with attention to prayers and ceremonies.

Aranyakas – Containing words to be read by Rishis, (traditionally in forests), dealing

with metaphysical meanings of the Samhita.

Upanishads – The philosophical aspects of the Veda. These are then expounded by

teachers to worthy students.

The Four Vedas:

1. Rig Veda: Hymns and teachings about the gods, practises, and observances

2. Sama Veda: Hymns, songs, melodies, and chants for rituals

3. Yajur Veda: Rituals, recitations, worship formulas, mantras, and chants for

sacrifices

4. Artharva Veda: Mantras, spirit spells, rituals, prayers, ceremonial instructions,

stories and Upanishads

Upanishads (Upa-ni-ṣhad: “Sit down near”): These are the final summaries of each

of the Vedas. “Sit down near” metaphorically means to sit with the teacher, go over

what you know and clarify, discuss, and summarise the Veda in question.

Vedanta (Ved-anta: “End of the Vedas”): These draw ideas from the Upanishads, with

a particular focus on metaphysics, philosophy and the ideas behind God, Creation,

souls and beings.

Advaita Vedanta: By Adi Shankacharya. The main belief is that Brahman (God) is

everything and everything is a part of Brahman (this is the branch of Vedanta most

similar to Chi Kri ideas).

The Smritis

Examples of Smriti literature are the Vedangas, Upavedas etc. which form

supplementary sections of Vedic literature.

Vedanga: Sciences

1. Kalpa (ritual detail)

2. Siksha (pronunciation)

3. Vyakarana (grammar)

4. Nirukti (etymology)

5. Chandas (meter)

6. Jyotisha (astronomy/astrology)

Upaveda: Arts and Sciences

1. Ayurveda (medicine)

2. Gandharvaveda (music and dance)

3. Dhanurveda (warfare)

4. Shilpaveda (architecture)

Manusmriti: This is an ancient scripture assigned to Svayambhuva Manu. He was the

first “manu” on Earth. (A “manu” is a post, created by Lord Brahma, to be the

embodiment of the “the perfect man.”). Svayambhuva Manu was a mind-son of Lord

Brahma, and wrote this smriti as a guidebook for, amongst other things, how to create

and maintain a civil sociological structure (it contained information about the varna, or

“caste”, system of India). However, much of this text is debated today, as it is claimed

to be a smriti and not a shruti.

Other Terms

Samkhya Philosophy: This is a dualistic school. It is a key metaphysical and scientific

part of the Sanatam Dharma. It explains the meeting of maya and the soul. This is

technical and does not necessarily take the view that everything is Brahman. It

sometimes finds itself at odds with the yogic Advaita Vedanta view.

A ‘Pradipika’ is something which casts light on a subject.

A ‘Sutra’ is essentially a rulebook.

An “Itihasa” is a timeless, ever present and eternally applicable event e.g. the

Mahabharata epic.

Hatha Yoga Pradipika: Manual of yoga

Gheranda Samhita: Manual of yoga

Vasistha Samhita: Manual of yoga

Mandukyakarika: Upanishads of the Atharva Veda

Yoga Sutras: Patanjali’s update on yoga

Bhagavad Gita: Lord Krishna’s exposition of Sanatan Dharma in the Mahabharata

Ramayana: Lord Rama’s exposition of Sanatan Dharma

The Eight Limbs of Chi Kri

The systems of yoga that were available in the UK when Neil Patel first started

teaching (in 1990) were not really giving people everything that they needed. Hence

Neil created his own system, “Chi Kri”.

“Chi”, often known as “Prana”, "Lifetrons", or “Qi” is the word used to describe the most

potent force in a human being.

“Kri” is a root verb from Sanskrit that means action (and is used in other words like

Kriya and Karma).

Chi Kri: The sum of both these words together means to use your highest energy to

perform all actions.

Chi Kri also has eight limbs:

1. Physical Exercise

2. Diet and Health

3. Breathing Exercises

4. Inspiration

5. Science

6. Creativity

7. Service

8. Liberation

Physical Exercise

Even if we choose to lead a more spiritual life, certain parts of our bodies (like our

muscles and bones) are going to have a deeply interactive relationship with an

uncompromising physical world. Therefore, it is fundamentally important to ensure our

mobility, suppleness, strength, speed, and stamina are optimized for as long as

possible in our lives.

At Chi Kri, we cover these variations on this theme:

- Traditional yoga (asana)

- Chi Kri yoga variations

- Chi Kri Hip Hop Yoga

- Other exercise systems (Ab/core work, weight-training, boxing etc.)

Diet and Health

What we think, feel, eat and drink could all be considered a diet of sorts. They can

contribute greatly to our health, vitality, and healing power.

At Chi Kri, we cover these variations on this theme:

- Food psychology

- Quantum biology

- Food and drink nutritional advice

- Food and drink protocols e.g. juicing

- EBP (evidence-based health theories)

- Help with other general minor ailments and psychological cancer disease

management

- Medicinal natural products e.g. wheatgrass and holistic health protocols e.g.

Ayurveda and Chinese medicine

Breathing Exercises

Every cell in our body requires oxygen. But getting oxygen into the body is not the only

thing the lungs do. Every time we exhale properly, we are throwing out hundreds of

toxins too. The manipulation of the entire breathing system also has many other

benefits. These can range from adjusting the internal thermostat of the body, all the

way to lifting one towards deep states of meditation.

These are included in the areas of breath-work Chi Kri works with:

- Chi Kri breathing exercises

- Classical yogic breathing (pranayama)

Inspiration

The importance of the written language in the awakening of the soul can never be

overstated. Throughout history, human beings have leant into the realisations,

wisdoms, teachings, and observations of others via this medium. Without language,

it’s safe to say that humanity would never have been inspired to grow beyond

mundanity.

At Chi Kri, we cover these inspirational areas:

- Mind Yoga

- Philosophy

- Spiritual Poetry

- Scriptural study (including the Mahabharata and yamas and niyamas)

Science

In years gone by, faith, tradition, and culture were enough to convince social groups

about spirituality and God. But nowadays, there is, quite rightly, more of a demand for

scientific explanations for mystical or esoteric matters.

With a wide variety of hard and soft sciences to choose from, Chi Kri focuses on these

subjects:

- Metaphysics

- Vedic science

- Quantum physics

- Western and Vedic Astrology

Creativity

Creativity serves four important purposes to humankind. Firstly, it gives us a means of

accessing other peoples’ ideas in new and stimulating ways - like music. Secondly, it

gives us a medium to express ourselves in abstract or symbolic ways – like art. Thirdly,

it helps us detoxify our emotions, like dance or poetry. And finally – it’s just fun!

Chi Kri works with written creativity, and in these ways:

- Rap

- Poetry

- Creative writing

Service

A Chi Kri Mind Yoga quote states: “Happiness is the only thing which doubles when

it’s divided.” Yoga guru Paramahansa Yogananda says, “Life should be chiefly

service”. Whilst we naturally serve our family and friends, the aim of a Chi Kri student

is to attempt to serve the community and our world in some way - large or small.

The current projects we work with involve:

- Orphanages

- Anti-knife crime

Liberation

The aim of Chi Kri, and yoga in general, is to control excessive fluctuations of the mind,

emotions, and nervous system, in order to access the silent, still, and eternal soul and

Spirit within us all.

This is achieved through four specific states, which Chi Kri expounds upon:

- Relaxation (pratyahara)

- Concentration (dharana)

- Meditation (dhyana)

- Samadhi (the God state)