How the Primordial Powers of the Gunas Changed My Meditation Practice
This is a true story, but it is also only one personal experience. I am not sharing it as medical advice or as a universal rule. I am sharing it because, for me, it became living proof that the primordial powers of nature (the Gunas) are real. They affect our body, mind, energy, and meditation practice more deeply than we often realize.
For years, I wanted to deepen my meditation. I wanted stillness, clarity, self-realization, and a closer relationship with God. But my body was falling apart.
One night, I dragged myself out of bed at 3 AM to eat breakfast because I was starving. The day before, I had given massages to nine people. I came home exhausted around 6 PM, but I did not want to eat much because I knew I needed to sleep.
“I cannot do this anymore,” I thought.
Constant exhaustion. Hunger. Hypersensitivity. Indigestion.
It had all become worse over the last couple of years. I ate my strange night breakfast, fell asleep about an hour later, and then got up for meditation at 7 AM. I tried to meditate twice every day, even when I felt physically terrible. I almost never missed my practice. If I could not do it at the usual time, I did it later in the day.
That morning, I sat down and my head was buzzing. I was restless. My energy was at its lowest. I did my kriya routine, but for months I had been unable to go beyond 35 or 40 minutes. The physical discomfort and unbearable tension in my head were too much. I wanted to go deeper. My body would not allow me to.
And yet, I always felt better after practice. Without it, I probably would not have survived the day.
This article was inspired by Lucie Kořínková a student of the Kriya Yoga Apprenticeship Program. Her article has been edited by Ryan Kurczak. Lucie has a Kriya Yoga Inspired YouTube channel that can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/@OURGOODEVENTS
After practice, I struggled to eat another breakfast because I knew I had eight or nine more clients that day. I made protein porridge, but I already knew it would not give me real energy.
My digestion was in terrible condition.
I used to love massage therapy. I used to experience it as service. I loved focusing on people and their well-being. But now I was afraid to eat at work because food made me even more tired. I survived on protein bars and energy bars just to keep going.
I had been vegetarian for 25 years. I thought I knew what to eat.
But physical stress had taken its toll. I could no longer digest vegetables or legumes well. I could not even hike much on my days off anymore, although hiking had always been something I deeply loved. My recovery rate was almost zero.
My sensitivity had also increased. While working with people, I felt their energy much more than before. Even if I had slept reasonably well, my energy dropped after the fourth client. Then I simply prayed to make it through the rest of the shift.
I tried everything for insomnia and indigestion. Herbs, probiotics, supplements, different routines, different hopes. Sometimes I felt I was only earning money to buy the next remedy.
But things kept getting worse. My doctor had no idea what was happening. All my blood tests were fine.
I prayed every day. God has always been my best friend. I could always feel His presence guiding me, protecting me, and giving me insight when life fell apart. But about this problem, there was silence.
I asked angrily, “Why are You silent about this? You see how much I suffer. I cannot do Your work like this. I cannot meditate. I cannot live normally.” Still, no clear answer came.
I analyzed the problem from every possible angle. My mind was agile and restless. I wanted the fix immediately. I had a feeling I would need to change my diet and lifestyle, but I felt too tired, lazy, and unwilling. I already felt that life was asking me to eliminate too much. Then something shifted. I began to ask a different question. What if my meditation practice was not causing the problem, but revealing it?
What if the practice, which is meant to lead a person toward balance, was shining light on everything in my life that was out of balance?
I wanted self-realization, consciousness, health, and well-being. Yet I imagined I could receive all of that without truly changing anything.
Then it dawned on me.
I researched insomnia and indigestion again. This time, I was seeing differently. I found countless stories from people with similar problems, along with recommendations that matched my condition.
As a massage therapist with some holistic understanding, I recognized the principles. They sounded like a blend of Ayurveda and Chinese Medicine.
Eat freshly cooked meals. Choose grains, vegetables, legumes, and fruits according to the season. Avoid stale, old, and processed food. Wake before sunrise. Eat the last meal early. Rest enough. Eat consciously. Go to bed before 10 PM. Follow the natural rhythms of nature.
Simple advice. Very inconvenient advice. At first, applying it took time and effort. But I had tried everything else, so I decided to give it a sincere chance.
After one month, the results were unbelievable. I could stand next to my clients without tension in my belly. I could digest food again.
But I also realized that I could no longer do massage therapy at that intensity. The final sign came one day when I found myself standing in a cold shower at work just to wake myself up enough to finish the clients booked for that day. That was it. Time for a shift.
I reduced my massage hours by half and replaced part of that work with something more compatible with my energy.
I realized that I had spent years going against my own body-mind constitution. I was fighting my sensitivity, pushing myself, and trying to be like others.
But the deeper I went into kriya yoga practice, the more clearly the practice exposed the places where I was not truthful with myself. My symptoms were screaming, “No. Not this way.”
This process began in 2024. Since then, my digestion and sleep have improved significantly. I still have work to do with my daily rhythm and exhausting attitudes, but my overall well-being is about 70 percent better.
Most importantly, after about three months of changing my diet and routine, I could suddenly meditate for 60 to 75 minutes in the morning and 30 to 45 minutes in the evening. The quality of meditation became incomparable.
Anytime I slip back into old habits, I pay the price. The difference in awareness is immense.
Now I see healthy self-discipline as an expression of self-love.
When I read Ryan’s book, The Primordial Powers of Creation, I found myself laughing and nodding. I knew exactly what he was describing because I had experienced it in daily life.
I finally understood the effects of certain foods, conversations, environments, entertainment, and habits on consciousness. I understood the heaviness of tamas and the agitation of rajas. I understood why protein bars, leftovers, draining conversations, perfectionism, and overstimulation had affected me so deeply.
Through kriya yoga, life was guiding me toward greater truth and equanimity. It was also showing me where I was still out of harmony.
The primordial powers of nature are operating all the time. They are present in what we eat, when we sleep, how we work, what we consume, how we speak, and whether we live truthfully.
We often want a quick fix so we can continue doing the things that hurt us. But real healing asks for change. My meditation practice did not give me the quick fix I wanted. It gave me something more valuable. It showed me what had to change.
What I learned most deeply was that my meditation practice was not causing my suffering. It was revealing what was already out of balance.
For a long time, I tried to meditate more deeply while continuing to live in ways that exhausted my body, disturbed my digestion, and drained my energy. I wanted stillness, clarity, and spiritual depth, but I was ignoring the signals my body was giving me. The insomnia, hunger, indigestion, hypersensitivity, and exhaustion were signs that my life was no longer in harmony.
I had been looking for quick fixes through herbs, probiotics, and remedies. Eventually, I understood that real healing required real change. I had to stop fighting my own nature and begin supporting my body, mind, and practice.
I changed the foundations of my daily life. I began eating freshly cooked meals, following natural rhythms, avoiding stale and processed foods, eating earlier, resting more, and going to bed earlier. I also reduced my massage work because my body and energy could no longer handle that intensity.
The deeper change was internal. I began to see self-discipline as self-love. Discipline became a way of honoring what my body-mind constitution truly needed.
After these changes, my digestion improved, my sleep became better, and my meditation deepened. I went from struggling through 35 or 40 minutes to meditating 60 to 75 minutes in the morning and 30 to 45 minutes in the evening.
My meditation did not give me the quick fix I wanted. It showed me what had to change.
If you would like to learn more about the yogic understanding of the Gunas, the primordial powers of creation and how you can work with them to improve your life and meditative capacity, consider taking our online Teachable course:
https://kriya-yoga.teachable.com/p/kriya-yoga-and-the-primordial-powers-of-creation
This course is intended to reveal the powers of the cosmic forces of creation as they relate to your spiritual practice. The cosmic forces of creation are energies that permeate all levels of our being. Knowledge of their influence helps you to take action to harness their strengths so that you can empower your meditation practice and yogic lifestyle.
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