Psychophysiological analysis of Kriya Yoga as per Patanjala Yoga Sutra
Yoga Mimamsa January 1, 2016 Sarita Vivek Bapat
Kriya Yoga, as described in the Patanjala Yoga Sutra, consists of three components—Tapas (austerity), Svadhyaya (self-study), and Ishwara pranidhana (surrender to the divine)—that appear both as the initial practice in the Sadhana Pada and as one of the Niyamas. This analysis argues that the repetition is significant because these three steps, when examined from a psychophysiological perspective, bring about internal bodily control and prepare the mind (chitta) by removing inner resistance, thereby enabling the practitioner to enter Samadhi. The process transforms an ordinary person into a yogi.