In Hindu philosophy including yoga, Indian medicine, and martial arts, prana (?????, pr??a; the Sanskrit word for "life force" or "vital principle") is all cosmic energy, permeating the Universe on all levels. Prana is often referred to as the "life force" or "life energy". It also includes energies present in inanimate objects. In the literature, prana is sometimes described as originating from the Sun and connecting the elements of the Universe. This life energy has been vividly invoked and described in the ancient Vedas and Upanishads.
In living beings, this universal energy is considered responsible for all bodily functions through five types of prana, collectively known as the five v?yus. Ayurveda, tantra and Tibetan medicine all describe pra?? v?yu as the basic v?yu from which all the other v?yus arise. Indologist Georg Feuerstein explains "The Chinese call it chi, the Polynesians mana, the Amerindians orenda, and the ancient Germans od. It is an all-pervasive 'organic' energy."
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Early references
The ancient concept of prana is described in many early Hindu texts, such as the Upanishads and Vedas. One of the earliest references to prana is from the 3,000-year-old Chandogya Upanishad, but many other Upanishads also make use of the concept, including the Katha, Mundaka and Prasna Upanishads. The concept is elaborated upon in great detail in the practices and literature of ha?ha yoga, tantra, and Ayurveda.
Prana is typically divided into multiple constituent parts, in particular when concerned with the human body. While not all early sources agree on the names or number of these subdivisions, the most common list from the Mahabharata, the Upanishads, Ayurvedic and Yogic sources includes five, often divided into further subcategories. This list includes: Prana (inward moving energy), apana (outward moving energy), vyana (circulation of energy), udana (energy of the head and throat), and samana (digestion and assimilation). Early mention of specific pranas often emphasized pr??a, ap?na and vy?na as "the three breaths". This can be seen in the proto-yogic traditions of the Vratyas among others. Texts like the Vaik?nasasm?rta utilized the five pranas as an internalization of the five sacrificial fires of a panchagni homa ceremony.
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V?yus
One way of subdividing prana is by the means of v?yus. V?yu means "wind" or "air" in Sanskrit and the term is used in a variety of contexts in Hindu philosophy. Pr??a is considered the basic v?yu from which all the other v?yus arise. Hence pr??? is the collective term which subdivides into the individual v?yus of pr??a, ap?na, u??na, sam?na, and vy?na. The functions of the five v?yus are as follows:
Nadi
Indian philosophy describes prana flowing in channels called Nadis. The Shiva Samhita states that there is a total of 350,000 nadis in the human body, while other texts says there are 72,000 nadis, each branching off into another 72,000. These nadis play an important role in the application and understanding of certain yoga practices. Shiva Samhita explains that the three most important nadis are the Ida, the Pingala and the Sushumna, each facilitating the flow of pra?? v?yu throughout the body.
Ida nadi relates to the right side of the brain, and the left side of the body, terminating at the left nostril. Pingala nadi relates to the left side of the brain and the right side of the body, terminating at the right nostril. Sushumna nadi connects the base chakra at the base of the spine to the crown chakra at the top of the head.
The practice of pranayama can be used to balance the flow of prana within the body. When pra?? v?yu enters a period of uplifted, intensified activity, the yogic tradition refers to it as pranotthana, a precursor to the Kundalini state.
Pranayama
The word Pr???y?ma derives from the Sanskrit words pr??a and ay?ma, translating as "life force" and "expansion" respectively. It is a common term for various techniques for accumulating, expanding and working with prana. In yoga, pranayama is a practise of specific and often intricate breathing techniques.
Many pranayama techniques are designed to cleanse the energetic channels called nadis allowing for greater movement of prana. Other techniques may be utilized to arrest the breath for samadhi or to bring awareness to specific areas in the practitioner's subtle or physical body. It can also be utilized to generate inner heat as in the practice of tummo.
In ayurveda and therapeutic yoga, pranayama may also be utilized for any number of tasks including to affect mood and aid in digestion. A.G. Mohan says the physical goals of pranayama may be to recover from illness or the maintenance of health while its mental goals are: "to remove mental disturbances and make the mind focused for meditation".
According to Georg Feuerstein: "the two most important species of the life force are obviously prâna and apâna, which underlie the breathing process. Their incessant activity is seen as the principal cause for the restlessness of the mind, and their stoppage is the main purpose of breath control (prânâyâma)". Swami Yogananda writes that: "The real meaning of Pranayama, according to Patanjali, the founder of Yoga philosophy, is the gradual cessation of breathing, the discontinuance of inhalation and exhalation".
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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