A Kriya is a completed action that initiates a specific physiological and consciousness-altering result. In the practice of Kundalini Yoga, a Kriya is not a random collection of exercises, but a precise, scientific sequence of postures, breathwork, and sound designed to produce a predictable state of being. By engaging the three pillars of breath, body, and sound, you systematically clear the obstructions within your subtle system, allowing for the direct recognition of your inherent nature.
Do you believe that the movements you perform in a spiritual practice are merely symbolic or perhaps a form of sophisticated calisthenics? After thirty years of observing the specific pressures these sequences place upon the human nervous system, I can tell you that a Kriya is closer to a surgical procedure than a workout. You are not moving to get fit; you are moving to alter the very chemistry of your blood and the frequency of your brainwaves. If you are wary of arbitrary movement or skeptical of "energetic" claims, you must understand that a Kriya operates on the principle of biological necessity. It forces the body to resolve its own internal conflicts by placing it under a controlled, rhythmic stress that demands a new level of integration.
The word Kriya itself comes from the Sanskrit root kri, meaning "to do." It implies an action that is total. When you perform a Kriya, you are not just doing a part of something; you are completing a cycle of energy. In the context of what-is-kundalini, this completed action serves to awaken the latent potential within the base of the spine and direct it upward through the central channel, the Sushumna. This is not a metaphor. It is a mechanical process. You are using the physical frame as a laboratory to produce a state of clarity that is otherwise obscured by the noise of the mundane mind. Every angle of the arms, every pattern of the breath, and every vibration of the tongue against the palate is a calculated input.
The precision of a Kriya is what distinguishes it from other forms of movement. You might find yourself holding your arms at a sixty-degree angle for eleven minutes, feeling the burn in your shoulders and the urge to quit. This is not a test of your willpower for the sake of ego; it is a method of putting pressure on the meridian points that correlate with the heart and lungs. You are breaking up stagnant patterns in the tissues. You are forcing the nervous system to upgrade its capacity to handle intensity. This is the work of Awakening (what-is-awakening)—the systematic dismantling of the limitations you have accepted as your identity.
The body is a geometric configuration of consciousness. In a Kriya, the physical postures, known as Asana, are used to create specific angles that pressure the glandular system. When you sit in a particular way or move your limbs in a specific rhythm, you are acting as a hydraulic engineer for your own endocrine system. You are squeezing certain glands and soaking others, which in turn regulates the secretion of hormones into your bloodstream. This is why a Kriya can shift your mood and your mental state so rapidly. You are changing your internal chemistry through the leverage of your own bones and muscles.
Accompanying the postures are Mudra, or hand gestures. Your hands are a map of your brain. Each area of the hand connects to a different part of the cerebral cortex. When you touch the thumb to the index finger in Gyan Mudra, you are not making a decorative gesture; you are sealing a circuit of knowledge and receptivity. By applying pressure to these points during a Kriya, you are directing the flow of energy to specific neural pathways. For the person who is wary of arbitrary movement, understand that Mudra is a tactile language you are speaking to your own nervous system. It is a way of locking in the effects of the Asana so that the shift in consciousness becomes stable.
To deepen the effect of the physical posture, we utilize Bandhas, or body locks. These are internal contractions that redirect the flow of Prana, the vital life force, within the body. By engaging the Mool Bandha (root lock), Uddiyana Bandha (diaphragm lock), and Jalandhara Bandha (neck lock), you create a pressure chamber that forces the energy to rise. You can learn more about the technical application of the three bandhas, the energetic locks that consolidate this force. Without the application of these locks, the energy generated during a Kriya would simply dissipate. The locks ensure that the results of your effort are consolidated and directed toward the higher centers of the brain.
Pause now and bring your awareness to the base of your spine. Feel the weight of your body against the seat. As you inhale, imagine drawing a line of silver light from the tailbone up to the crown of the head. As you exhale, let that light expand outward from the center of your brain. This is the central axis of your being, the highway upon which the Kriya travels.
The second pillar of a Kriya is Pranayama, the science of breath control. If the Asana is the car, the breath is the fuel. In Kundalini Yoga, we use a variety of breathing techniques to achieve different results. You might use Breath of Fire, a rapid, rhythmic diaphragmatic breath, to generate heat and purify the blood. Or you might use long, deep breathing to soothe the parasympathetic nervous system. Each Kriya specifies exactly which breath is required because the breath is the most direct way to influence the mind. You cannot have a calm mind with a shallow, ragged breath, and you cannot have a focused mind without a steady breath.
The mechanics of pranayama, the science of breath, involve more than just oxygenating the lungs. You are moving Prana, the subtle energy that underlies the physical breath. When you control the rhythm of the breath, you are controlling the rhythm of your thoughts. There is a direct correlation between the rate of your breathing and the rate of your mental fluctuations, or Vritti. By slowing the breath down to four cycles per minute, you induce a state of deep meditative awareness. By speeding it up, you break through mental lethargy and stagnation. The Kriya uses the breath to strip away the layers of conditioning that keep you trapped in reactive patterns.
For the seeker who wants practical tools for energetic shifts, the breath is your most immediate lever. It is always available, and it works instantly. In a Kriya, the breath is often synchronized with the movement, creating a powerful pump that moves energy through the Nadis, the subtle channels of the body. This synchronization creates a state of flow where the body and mind are no longer separate. You become a single, vibrating field of directed intent. This is not about feeling good; it is about becoming functional at a higher level of intensity.
The breath also serves as a diagnostic tool. During a difficult Kriya, your breath will tell you exactly where you are resisting. If the breath becomes shallow or you hold it unconsciously, you are encountering a block in your psyche. The Kriya demands that you breathe through the resistance, not by bypassing it, but by meeting it with the full force of your presence. This is how you build the "nervous system of steel" required to handle the influx of energy that comes with what Kundalini Yoga actually is. You are training yourself to remain steady in the face of intensity.
The third pillar of a Kriya is Naad, the inner sound current. Most Kriyas involve the use of Mantra, which are sacred sounds or phrases that are chanted aloud or mentally. A mantra is not a prayer in the sense of asking for something from an external deity. It is a sound formula that vibrates the seventy-two meridian points on the roof of the mouth. As the tongue hits these points, it sends signals to the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland, which then orchestrate the chemical balance of the entire body. You are literally vibrating your own brain into a new state of coherence.
The use of sound in a Kriya is based on the understanding that the entire universe is in a state of vibration, or Spanda. When you chant a mantra like Sat Nam (Truth is my Identity), you are aligning your individual vibration with the universal vibration. This is the science of Naad Yoga. It is a way of clearing the mental clutter—the "subconscious garbage"—that prevents you from seeing clearly. The sound cuts through the ego's chatter like a sword. It provides a focal point that is beyond the reach of the analytical mind, allowing you to experience the vastness of your own consciousness.
For the person who is skeptical of chanting, consider it as a form of acoustic therapy. Different sounds produce different neural responses. The sound "Ma" is soothing and maternal; the sound "Ra" is energizing and solar. In a Kriya, these sounds are used strategically to produce a specific result. You are not just making noise; you are using sound to tune your instrument. The body is the vina, the stringed instrument, and the mantra is the hand that plays it. When the tuning is correct, the music of the soul can be heard.
Bring your attention to the roof of your mouth. Notice the hard ridge behind your upper teeth. As you breathe, imagine a subtle vibration starting there and spreading through the entire skull. This is the seat of your command center. Every word you speak and every sound you make ripples through this area, shaping your reality.
A Kriya is not a one-time event if you wish to see its full effects. While a single session can provide an immediate shift in your state—clearing a headache, lifting a fog, or providing a burst of energy—the real work happens through consistency. In this tradition, we speak of the 40-day Sadhana, or daily practice. It takes 40 days of consistent practice of a single Kriya to break a habit. It takes 90 days to establish a new habit. It takes 120 days to confirm that habit, and 1000 days to master it. This is the arc of reconfiguration.
The 40-day rule is a mirror. It shows you your own resistance, your excuses, and your commitment. If you miss a day, you start back at day one. This is not a punishment; it is a recognition of how the nervous system learns. You are building a new neural pathway, and that requires uninterrupted repetition. For the Maya archetype, this is the practical roadmap to results. For the Gypsy archetype, this is the structure that prevents the practice from becoming a mere whim. You commit to the Kriya not because you feel like it every day, but because you have decided to be the master of your own energy.
I recommend starting with a short commitment. Choose a meditation or a brief Kriya and do it for eleven minutes a day for forty days. This is the ground from which you learn how to build a daily practice that holds. Do not look for "results" in the first week. Simply do the work. The Guru is not a person standing in front of you; the Guru is the Guru Tattva, the principle of wisdom that resides within the practice itself. The Kriya is your teacher. It will reveal your shadows, your strengths, and your potential. It will do so through the direct experience of your own body, breath, and sound.
As you progress through the forty days, you will notice that the Kriya changes even though the movements remain the same. On day five, it might feel like an ordeal. On day twenty, it might feel like a chore. On day thirty-five, it might feel like the most natural thing in the world. This is the process of the Kriya working on you, stripping away the resistance until only the essential remains. You are not "improving" yourself; you are uncovering what has always been there, buried under the weight of conditioning.
The beauty of a Kriya lies in its totality. It addresses the human being as a whole—physical, mental, and subtle. By combining the geometry of the body, the engine of the breath, and the vibration of sound, it leaves no stone unturned. The Kriya is one instrument within the complete technology of Kundalini. You emerge from a Kriya feeling integrated, as if the different parts of yourself have finally stopped fighting and have started working in harmony. This is the meaning of a "completed action." You have moved the energy through the entire cycle, from the densest physical matter to the subtlest mental frequency.
This integration is what allows you to walk through the world with a sense of sovereignty. You are no longer at the mercy of every passing emotion or external circumstance because you have a technology to manage your own state. You know how to shift your energy when you are depleted. You know how to calm your mind when it is racing. You are the operator of your own complex biological and energetic system. This is the ultimate goal of the practice: to be fully awake and fully functional in the midst of life.
The work of a Kriya is uncompromising. It does not ask for your belief; it asks for your participation. It does not offer "healing" as a destination, but rather a continuous process of refining your instrument so that the light of awareness can shine through it without distortion. You are the laboratory, the scientist, and the result. By engaging with the three parts of the Kriya—breath, body, and sound—you take the reigns of your own evolution. You move from being a victim of your conditioning to being the architect of your own consciousness.
In the Sovereign Revolution framework, you modify the posture while maintaining the mental focus and the breath. The Kriya is a frequency. If you cannot lift your legs to sixty degrees, lift them to thirty. If you cannot lift them at all, visualize the movement with total intensity while keeping the breath exactly as prescribed. The intention and the breath carry the majority of the energetic weight.
Within the Sovereign Revolution, these timings are based on the biological clocks of the body. Three minutes affects the blood chemistry and the lymphatic system. Eleven minutes begins to change the nervous system and the glandular system. Thirty-one minutes allows the breath and the mantra to affect all the cells and the rhythms of the body. To change the timing is to change the formula.
The Sovereign Revolution holds that a Kriya is a sealed sequence designed to produce a specific result. No, you do not mix them. Mixing them is like taking half a pill for a headache and half a pill for a stomach ache and expecting both to work. You disrupt the specific energetic arc of the sequence. If you want a different result, choose a different Kriya.
In this framework, a Kriya is designed to stir up stagnant energy. This includes stored emotions and subconscious patterns. When these things are "stirred up" to be cleared, they often pass through your awareness on their way out. Do not identify with them. Keep breathing and continue the practice. This is the process of purification in action.
The Sovereign Revolution position is that while not strictly "necessary" for the Kriya to function, these practices have a technical purpose. White reflects the light and expands your presence, while covering the head helps to contain the energy within the upper centers and protects the cranial bones from the pressure generated during practice. Experiment and observe the difference in your own experience.
Here, we understand this to mean: observe your life. If you lack focus, choose a Kriya for mental clarity. If you are exhausted, choose a Kriya for the adrenals or the kidneys. If you are stuck in your head, choose a Kriya that involves heavy physical movement and breath. Your current challenge is the pointer to the Kriya you need.
Angela Brisbane is a mystic and tantric teacher with 30+ years of practice and transmission in Kundalini Yoga and Non-Dual Tantra. She is the founder of Shakti Blooming — The Sovereign Revolution.
Brisbane, Angela. "What Is a Kriya in Kundalini Yoga? The Three Parts: Breath, Body and Sound." Shakti Blooming — The Sovereign Revolution. shaktiblooming.com. 2026.