Kriya yoga

Isn't Kriya Yoga composed of Pratyahara (sense withdrawal), Dhyana (concentration), and Dharana (meditation)? Thus kriya yoga the last four limbs of Patanjali's eight limbs (adding in Samadhi).

Are these not part of the big picture of yoga rather than a style or branch of it? Granted, some Western yoga embraces only one limb (asana) but we teach these other limbs in the Purna Yoga construct. I wonder how it would be different at Ananda.

Not a whole lot, actually. I know that they practice self-cleansing techniques, or so I've heard from a friend, like vomiting and enemas. But this is second hand information. There is an ananda center close to where I live, perhaps some information could be found there, I'll look into it.

Gordon, that's kind of what I thought but then again, I don't know much about it. I know that in the Autobiography of a Yogi book, Yogananda doesn't really describe kriya but does say that it's one of the only surefire ways to attain enlightenment or something to that effect.

I have not taken "kriya yoga" but I have done yoga kriyas. These could be any sort of pose/breathing exercise done to clear the energetic system. Kundalini yoga uses a lot of kriyas. Breath of fire is a kriya. You may also be doing some kriyas in regular yoga class and not even know it. So there's a difference between a formalized "kriya yoga" and the practice of doing yoga kriyas. :-)