F undamentally, kriya  means internal action. When you do inner action, it does not involve the body and the mind because both the body and the mind are still external to you. When you have a certain mastery to do action with your energy, then it is a kriya. If you do external activity we call it karma; if you do internal activity we call it kriya. Traditionally, or in the general sense of the term it is understood like this: karmas are those which bind you, kriyas are those which release you.

Whatever we do with your body, your attitudes and your thought, for example today your thoughts may go in one direction. Tomorrow if another person comes and influences you, they will go another way. Similarly, whatever we do with your body, your body is well today so it likes asanas. Tomorrow morning if your body is stiff, you will hate asanas. Your emotions are not at all reliable. At any moment they can shift from this to that. But your energies are different. Once we start working with the energy in a certain way, it has a different kind of depth to life. Suddenly, there is a different dimension to every aspect of your life because your energies have been touched and activated in a completely different way.

Kriya: action, volition

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Shambhavi - Isha Foundation@ Flickr

A seeker asks Sadhguru is the Shambhavi Mahamudra can help someone with a history of drug abuse and mental disorders.