What Is Isha Kriya?

Isha Kriya is a guided meditation technique put together by Isha foundation. For those of you who don’t know, Isha foundation are a non profit organization founded in 1992 by Sadhguru.

Sadhguru is an Indian yogi and mystic. It’s very likely you’ve seen one of his many videos on YouTube!

These days he speaks pretty much everywhere around the world….universities, global corporations etc. Because of his immense clarity on worldly (and non worldly!) matters, he is able to articulate responses in an incredibly beautiful manner! Here’s one of my favorite Sadhguru videos. It’s a TED talk that he did a while ago. Plug in your headphones and listen carefully!

Are you blown away? You better be, otherwise you’re not human! Okay, so what are the goals of this “Isha Kriya”? What’s the purpose of doing it?

Isha Kriya is a simple meditation technique that’s designed to remind you that you are neither the body, nor the mind.

So if you’re not the body, nor the mind, then what the hell are you!? Well, that’s something you must seek to answer by becoming more aware and conscious. Everyone has their opinion on our nature of existence: some say we are energy, others say we are a soul, and the list goes on!

You as an individual should not believe anything that’s said to you about this! Answer the question yourself by becoming more conscious!

I’ve been doing Isha Kriya for about 2 months now, so I do have some experiences which i’ll share later. For now, let’s look at the actual guided meditation video detailing how Isha Kriya must be performed.

I’ll say this now and I’ll probably repeat it for the rest of this post: it’s so important that you follow the exact steps as they’ve been prescribed in the video. Don’t try to deviate and do your own thing, Trust me when I say, I learnt this the hard way!

Don’t Get Hung On Your Experiences!

Before I share my experiences over the last 2 months, it’s important to always remember:

An experience is an experience, nothing more nothing less!

The point is to not get hung on your experiences when you meditate. The way your body or mind feels is not something you must give your undivided attention to. Simply take note of it, realize the experience for what it is, and continue on with the meditation. Otherwise, your imagination will start to run wild and within 1 session of Isha Kriya, you’ll think you’re already enlightened!

But if they’re not important, why even share these experiences then!?

Experiences are useful for 2 reasons:

Again, recognize an experience for what it is, and then simply continue the meditation. Don’t try to overemphasize or overthink what’s happening to you!

My 2 Month Experience With Isha Kriya Meditation!

Without further ado, here’s a list of things i’ve experienced since starting Isha Kriya about 2 months ago. I must remind you that this list is purely informative, and should be taken as such!

#1 Body Movements From Side To Side & Back And Forth!

This is one of the first things I experienced during my first ten sessions doing Isha Kriya. As I sat there in a deep meditative state, my body would involuntarily sway from side to side, then transitioning to back and forth movements. It would start off slowly and then build up in intensity as I progressed through the session.

However, these random body movements were never intense enough to impact the quality of my session.

Why does this happen? Why does the body sway during meditation? One source says it’s the flow of energy against blocks, and when the energy dissolves the blocks, you get this spontaneous movement.

#2 Becoming More Conscious Of My Own Thoughts & Emotions!

Not just during Isha Kriya, but in my everyday life I became more and more conscious of my thoughts and emotions. Throughout the day, I became aware of most of the arbitrary and random thoughts floating in my mind. I’d be in the bus for example, and every little thought/emotion that would come up, I became more aware of!

I noticed how I felt about the weather whilst looking outside the window, I noticed how I felt about the bus being 30 minutes late, and I also noticed how I felt about sitting next to a fidgety passenger!

Everything that used to go unnoticed before was suddenly becoming more and more apparent now! In a sense it felt increasingly overwhelming and draining, but at the same time it also felt incredibly liberating!

#3 Becoming More Conscious Of Breath!

Just like thought and emotion, I became more conscious of my breath throughout the day, and instead of it happening “automatically”, i’d find myself wanting to take control!

Often times i’d find myself experimenting. I’d take a deep breath in, hold it for a moment, and then exhale waiting to see how long my body could go without oxygen!

As this consciousness came into me, my breaths (both inhalation and exhalation) became deeper and less frequent. However, consciousness of breath only came in spells. I wouldn’t be conscious of breath for the full 24 hours in a day, but only a few times.

#4 Nothing Seems To Really Stress Me Out Anymore!

This was by far one of the biggest and most noticeable impacts of Isha Kriya. All the things which used to irritate the heck out of me don’t anymore! The so called “everyday stresses” that most people experience in the 21st century:

All of these things used to consume me! Now not so much. Yes there are times when i’ll still get stressed out, but these are few and far between. And even when I do get stressed out, it immediately comes to my awareness. When this happens, i’m able to realize the emotion for what it is, and then simply let go!

#5 The Feeling Of Perspiration During Meditation (Flow Of Energy?)

This is one of the more recent sensations I’ve felt during meditation. Whenever I’m about 10 minutes into the meditation, I feel a strange warmth in my throat, and this feeling of sweat trickling downward. The exact same feeling is present on my forehead also.

I must say it’s a very pleasant experience!

Could it be something that’s connected to the throat (vishudda) and forehead (ajna) chakras? Maybe! I really don’t know that it is or it isn’t!

Note: I say it’s a “feeling” of perspiration because I can’t confirm if it actually is perspiration! Whenever i’m done meditating, there’s no sign of sweat/moisture on my throat or forehead.

#6 A Sense Of Combined Longing & Frustration!

I think this happens as a consequence of Isha Kriya. Somewhere during the meditation you experience something absolutely incredible, something so beautiful that words can’t begin to articulate. But it only happens for a split of a second!

The longing and frustration is just you wanting to get more of that sweetness!

Like sometimes in the middle of the day at 12 noon, a part of me wants to drop everything i’m doing to instead go and meditate!

#7 The Feeling Of Pulsations In Both Hands!

This is another recent experience that’s started to manifest itself both during and after meditation.

To describe it very bluntly, it feels as though my hands have a heart beat!

The feeling is a lot more intense and profound during meditation, but even well after that, if I focus I can feel the throbbing without much effort. Maybe it’s a result of increased perception of the body? I have no clue to be honest! But just like most of the other experiences, it’s mildly relaxing!

#8 A Complete Shift In What I Think Is “Truly Important” In Life!

Before Isha Kriya, I was a lot more “physical” and a lot less “spiritual”, if that makes sense! In other words, the focus of my life took a shift from survival (earning, eating, reproducing etc.) to spirituality (who am I?, what’s my purpose?, how can I learn more about the nature of my existence?).

And I’ve gotta stress, this was a massive transformation!

So much so that the way I look at life has changed incredibly. Materialistic things that once excited and thrilled me, no longer had the same effect. For example, video games…i’d spend hours on end playing video games before Isha Kriya, but now not so much. Not that I don’t play, it’s just that I don’t need to in order to be pleasant!

#9 Mortality Is A Daily Reminder!

There’s not a day that goes by where I’m not reminded of my own mortality. Not sure if it’s a result of the meditation, but I basically find myself consciously thinking about death and how soon it really is. Most people try to avoid death entirely, with the thought that it’s still a ways to go for them.

In many ways meditation is a constant “death reminder”.

It’s a good thing because it really helps put life into perspective. If you’re oblivious or ignorant of your own mortality, trust me when I say you’re not living life as you should!

Please Remember What I Said In The Beginning!

An experience is just an experience, nothing more nothing less. For those of you with wild imaginations, Isha Kriya is a tool to simply help you realize what you’re not, and even though you may do it once or twice a day, that reminder slowly starts to become a constant. In other words, you slowly realize that you’re not the body, nor the mind.

There are many aspects of my life that have drastically improved as a result, but there are still times when i’ll stress out over things. However, maybe this is just something where I need to do more work and go deeper.

The improvement cannot be questioned, however. And that’s the most important thing to be quite honest! I hope you enjoyed reading this post, and If you did please consider sharing on the socials. Lastly, let me know if you have any burning questions!

If you’ve practiced Isha Kriya, please leave a comment below sharing your own experiences!