PRANA AND THE VAYUS - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

PRANA AND THE VAYUSSlide2

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 formsSlide3

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.)Slide4

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.Slide5

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.Slide6

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.Slide7

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

koshaSlide8

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 hearth-fire/Ever burning in the householder’s shrine;

Vyana

is like the fire that faces south/For carrying offering to our ancestors.’ (

Easwaran

, E (1987).

The Upanishads,

p233). Slide9

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

samanaSlide10

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

.)Slide11

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. Slide12

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