PRANA
PRANA AND PRANAYAMA
Through Pranayama we
understand how Prana works, how to
activate it and how to direct it. We gain
knowledge of the life force that moves
and animates all things.
What distinguishes modern-day yoga
classes from normal workouts is the
intimate focus on the breath and the
understanding of how to use it to
balance the nervous system, rejuvenate
the body and calm the mind.
Breath work is indeed the ‘practice
within the practice’ – a bridge between
the conscious and unconscious minds
and therefore is one of the most
important tools in a student’s pursuit of
the state of Yoga or union.
PRANA AND THE BREATH
As we are born, we inhale. As we
die, we exhale. Our entire life exists
between these two actions. Obviously,
the breath never leaves us for long. It is
the primary form of nourishment in the
body, bringing oxygen to the blood and
cells and eliminating carbon monoxide
and toxins. It is also one of the main
ingredients for advancing along the
path of Yoga toward liberation.
The breath and Prana are intricately
connected. The breath is considered the
bridge between the body and the mind.
We can influence the level of Prana in
the body through the help of the breath.
This is also the way that we begin to
influence the mind.
The ancients figured out that by paying
attention to our breath and by
controlling it in certain ways, great
transformation could be achieved,
which would help us along our journey
from darkness to light. Teachings
related to the breath go back to the
beginning of recorded history. “When
breathing in know that you are
breathing in. When breathing out know
that you are breathing out.”
26 www.yogicherald.com Dec. 2018
These are among the first
instructions given to
students of mindfulness
meditation, and they date
back thousands of years to
the Buddha himself.
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika,
one of the seminal texts on
Yoga written in the 15th
Century, states, “When the
breath wanders the mind is
unsteady, but when the
breath is still so is the
mind.”
The great sage, Ramana
Maharshi, who lived and
taught up until 1950, stated, “Breath
and mind arise from the same place
and when one of them is controlled, the
other is also controlled.”
All these teachings make the important
connection between the breath and our
mind. The breath is the key that opens
the door to realization and freedom in
our lives. Conscious awareness of
breath is necessary if we are to realize
the purpose of yoga as stated in the
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali in Sutra 1:2,
“Yoga is the calming of the fluctuations
of the mind.”
PRANAYAMA AND THE
NERVOUS SYSTEM
Normal breathing is controlled by
the autonomic nervous system, which
responds to the patterns created in the
mind by thoughts. Whatever pattern our
thoughts take, the breath will find a
similar rhythm. Quick shallow breathing
happens when we are anxious or feeling
stressed. If in a state of initial shock we
may sharply inhale, or when in fear we
may even hold our breath. Deep
rhythmic breathing brings about a state
of ease, relaxation and calm.