Kriya Yoga in Portland, Oregon
Kriya Yoga, the breath-based meditation technique, is handed down—from teacher to student—through an unbroken lineage of enlightened masters. We practice in the lineage of Paramahamsa Hariharananda and Paramahamsa Prajnanananda, hosting periodic initiation programs led by their authorized teachers, alongside weekly guided group meditations.
What we do
Practice, study, and community
Weekend Group Meditation
For initiatesPractitioners sit together on Saturdays. Collective practice supports your own daily discipline — it does not replace it. The scheduled date, time and venue of each group meditation session are shared with Portland Center initiates by email and in the center’s WhatsApp group.
Kriya Yoga Initiation Programs
Talk open to everyoneOnce or twice a year, an authorized yogacharya gives a public introductory talk, confers initiation, and leads the follow-up guided meditations.
Study & Community
Open to everyoneScripture reading, recorded discourses of Paramahamsa Hariharananda and Paramahamsa Prajnanananda, retreats, and gatherings including the annual Holi picnic.
Our lineage
An Unbroken Lineage of Realized Masters
Kriya Yoga has been handed from teacher to student through eight masters, from Mahavatar Babaji Maharaj — who reintroduced it in 1861 through Shri Lahiri Mahashaya — to Paramahamsa Prajnanananda, its present spiritual head. Initiations at the Greater Portland Center are given by yogacharyas he authorizes.
Common questions
Kriya Yoga is a breath-based meditation technique — described by this tradition as the science of breath and a path to freedom. Practised sincerely, it is intended to calm the mind, steady the body, and deepen spiritual awareness, with calmness, peace, joy, love, and compassion described as the fruits of practice. It is the technique the masters of this lineage brought to the West in the twentieth century.
Not in the way a yoga studio means it. The practice does include some postures, but they serve meditation rather than exercise — they settle the body so attention can rest on the breath. Kriya Yoga is centred on breath and inner awareness, so you do not need flexibility, athletic ability, or prior yoga-studio experience. You sit comfortably and work with the breath under the guidance of an authorized teacher.
No. Group meditation sessions are for seekers who have received Kriya Yoga initiation in this lineage, whether many years ago or at the most recent program. If you have not been initiated, the introductory talks are the place to start: they are open to everyone, of any age, with no prior experience needed.
The Greater Portland Center of Kriya Yoga International holds Kriya Yoga initiation programs in Portland, Oregon once or twice a year. Email portland-or@kriya.org to hear when the next one is announced.
We are happy to help
Questions about the program, joining online, or the venue? Email portland-or@kriya.org · Sadhna 360-261-4777 · Kailash 971-238-6269