What are the origins of the kundalini yogas?
Hatha, laya and kriya yoga all trace their origins back to the era of the Indian Mahasiddhas. This era spanned the 8th and 12th centuries in Northern India, Nepal and Tibet. The key figures in this era included the Mahasiddhas Matsyenranath and his student Gorakshanath as well as Jalandhara and Jalandhara’s student Krishnacarya. Gorakshanath and Matsyendranath are venerated as the originators of the Natha lineage. Jalandhara is commemorated in the practice of the Jalandhara mudra but he and his student Krishnacarya are also deeply venerated for their roles in the early years of Tantric Buddhism. In fact each of these great yogins is venerated both in Hindu Tantric and in Buddhist Tantric schools. Of these individuals there are several works attributed to Jalandhara and Krishanacarya in the canon of Indian Buddhist Tantric literature which has survived in Tibetan translation.
