PRANA AND THE VAYUS

WHAT IS PRANA?
Prana with a capital P life force, vital force, animating
principle, without Prana there is no life. Originates
outside the body
Gives vitality and strength
Provides the link between the physical body and the
energetic bodies/astral body. When this link is lost,
death results
Associated with the sun, all pervading. Exists in both
macrocosm and microcosm
The same energy from the same force, but manifests in
different forms

MORE ABOUT PRANA

- that which is/goes everywhere, in all beings, in earth
and rocks.
- flows through the nadis whose gateway is the nostrils.
2 main channels in yoga: Left nostril = ida nadi and
right nostril = pingala. Central channel sushumna
According to the Prashna Upanishad, Everything rests
in prana. (Easwaran, E (1987). The Upanishads, p229.)
The readings build an image of prana as burning like fire
and blowing like wind, having form and yet no form and
states, Prana is immortality. (Easwaran, E (1987). The
Upanishads, p229.)

Prana and the Breath

Prasna Upanishad prana issues out of the mouth and nostrils, resides in the
eyes and ears. In other words, it is manifest in the breath and animates the
sense organs. However it is NOT the breath itself. The confusion arises
because we need the breath to survive and we can manipulate the Prana
through pranayama.
Desikachar in Heart of Yoga says that Prana enters the body in the moment
when there is a positive change in the mind, occurring over a long period of
time. It does not simply flow into us when we inhale.
We cannot acquire more prana from the outside, by breathing it in, for
example. When allowed to flow correctly, then we have conditions for
optimum functioning.
Breath is the expression of Prana, the expression of life and the force behind
it.

 KAUSHITAKI UPANISHAD

Life is prana, prana is life. So long as prana remains in

this body, so long is there life. Through prana, one
obtains, even in this world, immortality.

 In yoga we are trying to influence the flow of prana

through our breath because, the quality of our breath
influences our state of mind and vice versa. In yoga we
are trying to make use of these connections so that
prana concentrates and can freely flow within us. (Desikachar,
T.K.V (1995). The Heart of Yoga. p 55.) In simple terms, as Desikachar
explains, the more content a person is or the better they
feel is an indication of the amount of prana they have
inside them. The opposite is also the case, that a person
who is disturbed is one whose prana has been
dissipated and lost.

VAYUS
THE 5 LIFE FORCES OF THE BODY
Prana (with a capital P) enters the body through the
vehicle of the breath
However, there are movements of prana WITHIN the
body
They are called Vayus meaning vital air or life
energies. In several Upanisad, vayu is referred to as the
deity of the wind, the god of the air. They are said to
govern the natural elements. In the Ramayana, of which
the Bhagavad Gita forms part, Hanuman was the son of
Vayu, the air god, and could thus leap across the
expanse of water separating India from Sri Lanka.
The vayu are concerned specifically with the pranamaya

THE KING RULES THE KINGDOM

AND appoints officers to reside over the different areas of the
kingdom, so each of the vayus governs an area of the body.
Each has a responsibility for a different function in the human
body and the flow of energy within that area. Remember each
vayu is interdependent and interconnected.l
The Prashna Upanishad creates imagery of the vayus in our
body as the fires of prana burning in different directions for a
specific purpose for example, Apana is like the holy hearthfire/Ever burning in the householders shrine; Vyana is like the
fire that faces south/For carrying offering to our ancestors.
(Easwaran, E (1987). The Upanishads, p233).

CHANDOGYA UPANISAD
On what are you (body and senses) and yourself (soul)
supported?
On prana
On what is prana supported?
On apana
On what is apana supported?
On vyana
On what is vyana supported?
On samana

 What enters the body is called prana

What leaves is called apana and too much apana can prevent prana
from entering so they must be in a state of balance to be effective
The practice of yoga aims to reduce these impurities. We have to
reduce the apana so that we can bring more prana into the body.
(Desikachar, T.K.V (1995). The Heart of Yoga. P57.) We can do this simply through
pranayama. When we inhale we draw in prana from outside the
physical body. During the inhalation prana meets apana. When we
exhale the apana within the body moves towards the prana,
Pranayama is the movement of the prana toward the apana and
the movement of the apana toward the prana. (Desikachar, T.K.V (1995). The Heart of
Yoga. p 58.)

 Agni relates to the metabolic fire in the body situated in

the navel area. Agni, fire, is the presiding element of
the navel centre, a pivotal point of pranic energy
energy that links body and mind. It is through the
various subdivisions of prana, functioning in
coordination with the navel center, that the body is
nourished and sustained. (Anderson, S. (2011) Agni
Sara, Building Core Strength). Kumbhaka or breath
retention in pranayama encourage apana to get rid of
the burnt waste and remove blockages as do certain
asanas, such as inversions.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Windows into the Infinite Barbara Powell Jain Publishing
The Yoga Book Stephen Sturgess Motilal Pubs.
The Yoga Tradition Georg Feuerstein Hohm Press
Gheranda Samhita S.C.Vasu Satguru Pubs
Heart of Yoga TKV Desikachar
Hatha Yoga Pradipika Swami Muktibodhananda Bihar
Pubs