[QUOTE=Surya Deva;81372]I don’t really understand the secrecy to be honest. The Satyananda tradition describes the technique in far better detail publicly than the Kriya Yoga tradition. However, as Kriya Yoga is an initiatory tradition, I am not supposed to reveal that particular technique, because I would be betraying the trust of my initiator. They are not very discriminating though about who they give the initiation to - as long as you pay them their initiate sum 
However, I can describe to you in greater detail the Satyanada version of this technique(though you can find it yourself by reading the books published by BSY, in particular the one on Dharana), which in my opinion is far better explained and described than the Kriya one.[/QUOTE]
There really is no secrecy. As you have written they are not very discriminating about whom they give initiation to or so it seems.
There are reasons for this. Mostly it takes care of it’s self.
1.True initiation envolves shaktipat or lighting the lamp from another’s candle a quick internet search will yield the meaning of this word. In brief initiation is your introduction to spiritual life and is the first step.
- On the topic of indiscriminate initiating: Those whom are ripe and it is for them to practice Kriya Yoga as initiated will do so, those whom are unripe or not of an affinity for Kriya Yoga will naturally not practice and seek other things or satisfy their curiosity and go not further.
3.Those for whom it is their time and or have an affinity for Kriya Yoga will continue practicing in spite of the many challenges one encounters on this path.
Kriya Yoga when properly initiated takes on a whole new dimension and things that are not really describable happen swiftly. This truthful statement is reason enough to have a person one can communicate with who has gone before one in the practice of Kriya Yoga and can help guide one through the difficulties. A book can not do this.
Items 2 & 3 combined are the explanation for what appears to be indiscriminate initiation and the need for a qualified person, whom that qualified person is and why they are needed as one follows this path.
Kriya Yoga is not something to be taken lightly or casually, the performance of this powerful yoga when correctly initiated, taught and performed touches the very core of a person and changes are made to that fundamental core.
People often think they know what this means but in fact can not until experienced.
In retrospect it seems the best thing to say is only seek Kriya Yoga initiation if you are sincere and are ready to take on what will be largely unknown and unknowable until experienced and do so with great caution and respect.
- $. Payment for initiation. When I took initiation from KYI (Kriya Yoga International) there was a nominal suggested fee of $150.00 and the suggestion one should pay what they felt to. The work and shear amount of hours and attention those monks put into personal one on one initiation including introduction, teaching the techniques of Kriya Yoga and multiple guided Kriya meditation sessions over a period of 1 evening and two full days to include question and answer sessions and one on one friendly conversation with knowledgable practicing people was well worth the price of admission so to speak.
5.More on initiation: Your Mileage will very greatly 
There are contributing factors for why this is so. Below is an attempted numeration of them.
A. The person doing the initiation must be truly qualified to do so. One can not receive fire from a lamp that is not lit or is only imagined to be lit no matter how sincere the proposed giver of the fire is. They either have a lamp that is lit or they do not.
B. From experience as one who has received initiation form other sources teaching Kriya Yoga one should have an affinity for the one doing the initiation. In my case I felt very comfortable with the yogi / monk that initiated me.
As odd as this sounds when I first saw the picture of he who initiated me it came to me that this was my friend and that I knew him and this was the person to receive initiation from. Imaginings at first ? Perhaps.
When meeting this person in real life the only things that changed were that the feelings became even stronger.
When being initiated prior to this by others there was a feeling of something that just did not take place. There also was no feeling of affinity for the proposed initiators.
C.The person doing the initiation must also be a very good teacher, some traditions demand 15 to 20 years of being a Kriya practitioner before even being authorized to teach, which brings about the next topic.
In this age we have access to more knowledge than at any other time in known human history, we also have access to more bad advice, well meaning advice that is incorrect and outright lies. It takes a discriminating mind and effort to sift through all of this information that is available.
This is time consuming and disheartening at times because there is much fraudulent information and so many profiteers earning a living off of others hopes and ambitions.
The need for a very good teacher is very important due to the subtle nature of the Kriya Yoga being learned. A book will miss details that human interaction with a truly qualified teacher does not. The right teacher can instruct with a glance.
The right teacher will know what you are asking before you finish and will answer you correctly with a look which you will understand says let me speak.
You will understand without upset and the teacher will smile because they understand that you understood and tell you your answer. When you have found your teacher it will be like this. The teacher and student automatically understand each other, words follow thought and at times words are just too slow and the presence created by the teacher and the students synchronicity teaches volumes.
This is a wonderful experience, no book can ever impart and is exactly why a book is not capable of teaching Kriya Yoga.
For those interested Kriya Yoga is not just one form of Pranayama it has different parts to it that when performed correctly lead one from everyday workaday mind to the deepest levels of stillness and does so by a synergistic effect or performing more than just one practice in a specific sequence in a specific way. It is a combination of practices that culminate in the results most often sought in advanced Yoga Practice.
The daily practice of Kriya Yoga changes the person over time. A favored ZEN analogy is that of walking in the fog little by little one becomes quite wet through and through and only realizes later when they attempt to dry off. So it is with repeated practice of Kriya yoga over time the effects are cumulative.
When taught and performed correctly every-time one practices Kriya Yoga correctly with sincerity one will without fail reach stillness and more. One without fail will arrive.
On the topic of Spinal Breathing one should be careful about what one reads and practices.
Some would have one believe they must mutilate themselves in order to achieve certain mudras. The writers of this misinformation are very convincing and clever and likely believe what they write. It does not however make them correct.
However, you will find it described in good detail in the Swami Satyananda tradition, on the AYP web site and in Taoism’s microcosmic orbit.
However, I can describe to you in greater detail the Satyanada version of this technique(though you can find it yourself by reading the books published by BSY, in particular the one on Dharana), which in my opinion is far better explained and described than the Kriya one.