Prana is the source of life
“Prana is the life source. Without prana we would not be here. It is the life that runs around our body.” Words of my Guru Sharath Jois.
According to the Shastras we inhale 21,600 per day, but practicing Pranayama or the conscious manipulation of breath, we can decrease that number, which means we can increase our lifespan. The words prana can be broken down into two root words pra meaning before and ana meaning breath. What’s there before breath? pure consciousness. What is there after breath? Our consciousness, the in-between is this physical incarnation where consciousness takes form into something tangible known as the body. Within the body is the mind, made up of the buddhi(intellect, discernment), manas(thinking faculty), ahankara(sense of self “I’, ego), and chitta (memory, impressions). Those faculties of the mind help us make sense of the world but also bind us to our preferences and can lead us to misunderstand the true nature of life and who we are.
Prana is at the center of these processes, it operates as winds or energies within our bodies, that travel in little channels known as the Nadis(72,000 recognized ones of which Shushumna is at the center and Ida and Pingala run on the side of it). Our history lies in the grooves of this internal maps. It flows, becomes obstructed and sometimes stagnant causing us to experience separation from the truth.
Prana can be controlled through the pranayama. By manipulating the breath we can begin to redirect the way that prana flows within us. It’s a topic too large and complex to lay out on this blog, but you can begin to experience it for yourself when you come to practice. The simple practice of breathing consciously can offset a state of calm within your mind, and a sense of harmony within your body. It begins like that.
Transformation happens through your breath. “The coordination of your breath with your posture is the most important part of this practice. It is how you become awake - that is vinyasa. Each move has a breath, coordinate the inhale and exhale correctly - then the mind becomes very calm, so focused within yourself. Your body is controlled by your mind but your mind is controlled by your breath. So if you correct your breath, or control your breath then you can control your mind, when you control the mind, you can control your body. Chitta vritti nirodaha - this mind is very distracted. So how to control that? We need to control mind, body and the breath - so the mind can stay still - and it won’t be so distracted all the time. Then you can connect with the divine which is within you- then you can recognize divinity within” notes from conference with Sharath Jois.
Blog post by Bibi Lorenzetti