The Breath and Prana
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Edited November 26, 2024
Now more than ever, in light of Covid, we are reminded of the value of self care. Caring for your well being with life’s simple offerings- a soothing cup of tea, calling up a friend, quiet time, more vegetables in your diet. A practice that has helped me over the years is paying attention to my breathing. Do you notice how you are breathing corresponds to how you are feeling? I have found that breathing exercises help destress and energize me, provide focus and clarity, and improve my breathing capacity . In Yoga, the practice of paying attention to and regulating your breath is called pranayama. Prana is energy and yama means control.
Prana
Prana is simply energy from our sun and moon. Prana is everywhere, in every living thing and makes everything grow. Prana travels in our bodies, via countless vibrational channels, called nadis in Ayurveda and meridians in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The Chinese call prana chi, and in Japanese, ki. Prana is absorbed through marma points found all over the body. We also breathe in prana because it’s in the air- prana is everywhere. Prana enlivens us, infusing us with nature’s energy and intelligence at a very deep cellular level. We feel energized when we’re in nature. Think about it, how your body does what it does in this largely unseen level, a deep subatomic world that is mind boggling to comprehend. This is the level prana speaks to us. This deep intelligence comes from the vibration of nature. In Ayurveda, “deha prana samyoge ayuh” says that life is the flow of prana. Prana is associated with health and vitality and is the ultimate healing factor, as my Ayurvedic teacher, Vaidya Rama Kant Mishra, put it.
Components of Prana:
Soma, Agni, Marut
Shaka Vansiya Ayurveda (SVA) recognizes that prana is composed of three components: soma, agni and marut. Soma is vibrational energy emitted by the moon. Soma has cooling, nurturing and stabilizing qualities governed by earth and water elements. SVA points out that soma is the raw material of ojas. Ojas is associated with immunity and biological intelligence. Our body makes ojas, made in the final stage after food has nourished all seven tissue layers (blood plasma, blood, muscle, fat, bone, bone marrow, reproductive tissue). Agni is vibrational energy from the sun. Agni is hot, having sharp, transformative qualities, governed by the elements fire and water. Marut is vibrational energy governed by space and air elements allowing for soma and agni move and imparts intelligence to the flow and distribution of soma and agni. When prana enters the body, marut becomes vata dosha, agni becomes pitta dosha and soma becomes kapha dosha. Each dosha is governed by the respective elements associated with each component of prana.
Prana and You
Prana is often called “vital energy” or the “life force”. Looking deeper into this, in traditional Ayurveda, special attention is paid to prana and our connection to it. My teacher’s family lineage, Shaka Vansiya Ayurveda (SV Ayurveda or SVA) maintained the purity of Ayurveda since the beginning, emphasizing the importance of prana. Prana heals. In fact, in SVA prana is highlighted as “the ultimate healing factor”, the main pillar of life. Prana is viewed as an abstract entity, we can’t see, feel or touch it, but in fact prana is as real as the ground you’re standing on.
Again, prana is vibrational energy made up of three components: soma and agni, vibrational energies that come from the moon and sun, respectively, and marut, the force that allow for soma and agni to circulate. Prana travels in the body via nadis, which are vibrational channels, or energy channels, and there are countless of them, more than physical channels, called shrotas in Ayurveda. So how does prana get inside us and where does it go?
Prana enters the body at the top of the head on the adipathi marma point and also in through the nostrils and ears. Each component of prana travels in its own nadi, and each gets converted to vata, pitta, kapha- the three doshas. Soma into kapha, agni into pitta and marut into vata. The marut component of prana travels down the sushumna nadi, the central channel. Soma vibrational energy travels down the left side of sushumna nadi called ida nadi, and agni vibrational energy travels down the right side called pingala nadi. In the body, we have three energy reservoirs where each component of prana is stored. Marut predominant prana reservoir is at the throat. Agni reservoir is at the stomach and the soma reserve is at the navel. Vata, pitta, kapha govern our physical, mental, emotional health. Rest assured we have the support of nature because there is constant supply of prana coming from the sun and moon. Because the sun and the moon powers life on earth and makes everything grow, then prana is in the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe.
3 Components of Prana
Soma - energy from the moon, governed by water & earth elements
Agni - energy from the sun, governed fire & water elements
Marut - the movement of soma and agni, governed by space & air elements
5 Elements of Nature
Akash - space
Vayu - air
Agni - fire
Jal - water
Prithvi - earth
3 Doshas and 15 Subdoshas
VATA DOSHA
Overall Function: governs the movement of pitta and kapha
Elements: governed by space + air
5 Subdoshas: prana, udana, samana, apana, vyana
Prana Vata- head area; the master of all fifteen subdoshas of vata, pitta, kapha; governs the five senses, thinking and reasoning
Udana Vata- governs the throat, voice, breath, memory
Samana Vata- movement of food in the digestive tract
Apana Vata- downward flow of elimination of wastes, sexual function, menstruation
Vyana Vata- blood flow throughout the body, rhythm of the heart
Qualities: quick, cold, light, dry, rough, activity, movement, slim build, small boned, irregular appetite & bowel movements, prefer warmer weather; when out of balance qualities are exacerbated, for example too flighty, spacey feeling, nervous, jittery, anxious, dry skin, emaciated, irregular sleep, cold hands and feet, think or move or talk too fast.
PITTA DOSHA
Overall Function: transformation of thoughts, emotions, food, digestion
Elements: governed by fire + water
5 Subdoshas: pachaka, ranjaka, sadhaka, alochaka, bhrajakaPachaka Pitta- stomach; governs digestion and metabolism
Ranjaka Pitta - liver; clean healthy blood
Sadhaka Pitta- heart; love, desire, motivation, spirituality
Alochaka Pitta- function of the eyes
Bhrajaka Pitta- healthy glow of the skin
Qualities: heat, burning, acidic, strong digestion, focused, precise, organized, medium physical build, quick to grasp and understand; when imbalanced, impatient, irritable and fiery temperament, highly emotional, jealous, heartburn, acid stomach, ulcer, liver overheated, itchy eyes and skin, acne, skin breakouts
KAPHA DOSHA
Overall Function: calms the quick, over-active vata and soothes the fiery, sharp qualities of pitta
Elements: governed by water + earth
5 Subdoshas: tarpaka, bodhaka, kledaka, avalambaka and shleshaka
Tarpaka Kapha- moisture and fluids for brain, eyes, nose, mouth
Bhodaka Kapha- sense of taste
Kledaka Kapha- moisture of the stomach lining
Avalambaka Kapha- protection and lubrication for the muscles, heart and lungs
Sleshaka Kapha- moisture for soft skin and synovial fluid of the joints
Qualities: soft, unctuous, soothing, relaxed, calm, stable, nurturing, warm and friendly, big boned, slow and methodical; lethargic and lazy when imbalanced, weight gain, rigid
Each of us are born with all three doshas with varying percentages of each. For example, someone may be born with a lot of kapha with less pitta and vata, so this person is a kapha type. Someone else may have more vata and pitta, and less kapha, so this a combination type called vata-pitta. Below are doshic combinations you could be born with:
Pure Doshas:
Vata
Pitta
Kapha
Combination Dosha:
Vata-Pitta Vata-Kapha
Pitta-Vata Pitta-Kapha
Kapha-Vata Kapha-Pitta
Tri-Dosha:
Vata-Pitta-Kapha
Dosha means “that which is out of balance”, or “that which is seeking balance.” Throughout our lives, doshas respond to the changing environment and other stressors in our lives, creating imbalances in the body and mind. Your current imbalances is called vikruti. Your true nature, the unique balance of the doshas you were born with is called prakriti. Your prakriti remains the same your whole life.
Prana and Health
When it comes to diet, the more denatured a natural food is, the less prana it has. The same for water and air when there is processing or pollution. Electricity, electromagnetic radiation, and electromagnetic frequencies and WiFi also pollute prana.
Prana is everywhere. It is vibrational energy from our sun and moon. Each component of prana- soma, agni and marut is expressed in varying quantities. For example, why is a chili pepper hot and an apple is sweet? This is because a chili has more agni vibrational energy and an apple has more soma. So prana is in the food we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink. The purity of prana gets corrupted when tampered with by chemicals in the air from pollution, from food processing and water filtration.
My Ayurvedic teacher, Vaidya R. K. Mishra further explained that the intelligence of nature comes from the marut component of prana specifically the space element. Recall that the marut component of prana is governed by space and air elements. Air allows from the movement of soma and agni. Prana in the air gets disturbed by air pollution, electromagnetic frequencies and radiation (EMFs, EMR) from cell phones and its towers, WiFi, computers, X-rays. We all know how drained we feel being in front of a computer all day. These frequencies travel with prana inside our energy channels and disturbs the intelligence, flow and distribution of prana. He recommended nature as best for pacifying the influx of EMFs and EMRs we are now all exposed to:
Lie or walk in sand
Walk bare feet on grass or earth
Hug or sit next to a tree
Walk in the moonlight
Put a few shredded basil leaves in your bath water or in your drinking water
Have plants around your home and computer areas
Be with nature as often as you can
Prana in food gets corrupted by over processing, for example through packaging and canning, and less prana would be found in fast food, or take out. Food after being processed, reheated, microwaved, packaged, shelved becomes acidic and this compromises our health.
Prana in water is compromised with chlorination, filtering and processing. Think how much better you feel when you are eating home cooked fresh meals and drinking pure clean water. Leftovers after four hours lose prana, as the ancient doctors cognized. Furthermore, the ancient sages knew that handling and processing herbs for medicine required extra care to keep prana intact. With respect to pharmaceuticals and supplements made in labs, we are left to wonder the potential strain it can have on the body, though it may have some positive effects. Ayurvedic sages also said “if you take part from the whole it will make the body sick”. These days medicine is life saving, no doubt. Long term use of medicine, however, as our world has discovered has its side effects.
Now we can see why prana is so important for health.
Breathing with Awareness
There are different types of pranayama, some are relaxing like nadi shodhana-alternate nostril breathing, cooling as with sheetali, and others are heating or stimulating to the body like bhastrika, ujjayi or agnisara. It is highly recommended pranayama is learned by a trained practitioner.
Pranayama gives you the opportunity to experience the connections of body and mind through breathing. In addition to prana entering the top of your head at the adipathi marma point, you also breathe it in through your nostrils- soma energy from the moon through the left nostril travelling down towards the ida nadi, and agni energy from the sun through the right nostril down towards pingala nadi. Pranayama is one of the eight limbs in the traditional practice of Yoga as described in the ancient text, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali:
1. Yamas- ethical morals
2. Niyamas- self-discipline
3. Asanas- postures
4. Pranayama- breath control
5. Pratyahara- withdrawal of the senses
6. Dharana- concentration
7. Dhyana- contemplation and meditation
8. Samadhi- union with you true self, your inner joy and peace
Benefits of Pranayama
Decrease stress
Improve psychological stress-related disorders
Improve autonomic nervous system function
Improve immune function
Improve sleep
Improve executive function of the brain- mindfulness, learning, memory, recall
Listen to your body
If you’re new to pranayama start with just a few repetitions and sets, up to 5 minutes, and if you have a medical condition you should consult with a health professional before embarking on any pranayama. Try this. Start with simply breathing in and out from your nostrils, or breathing out with pursed lips. Pay attention to the quality of your breathing, the length, the rhythm and notice any movement from your belly and chest. The belly should inflate when you breathe in, and deflate when you breathe out. If you feel off, like dizzy or nauseous after doing some rounds, pause until the feeling subsides. Repeat and see what happens. Do less repetitions and less sets if you have to, or stop all together and try again later. Remember to always pay attention to how you are feeling.
Diaphragmatic breathing
Diaphragmatic breathing is often taught by therapists and doctors to help patients relax and recognize the main breathing muscle, the diaphragm, located inside and around your lower rib cage.
Lie down comfortably, head and knees on a pillow. Place one hand on your upper chest, the other just below the rib cage. You can also do this sitting up.
Breathe in through your nose. The diaphragm will engage and you can feel it move with your hand, moving your belly upward if you are lying down, and forward if you are sitting up. In a sitting or standing perspective, the diaphragm moves forward, out to the sides and upwards towards your head, inflating your belly and expanding your rib cage. The idea is to utilize your diaphragm muscle move during breathing, more than any other accessory breathing muscles, like your shoulders or throat.
Breath out through pursed lips or through your nose.
Repeat steps 1-3, five times for 1 set.
Do another set if you feel good, up to 3 sets. You can work your way up to doing 10-20 repetitions with 3 sets. Always listening to how your body feels.
If you would like to do some breathwork and learn more about holistic healing with Yoga, self-care and vegetarian cooking classes, I go live on Zoom every season with my Seasonal Workshops, a series of classes designed to put the knowledge into action.
References
Vaidya R. K. Mishra- Notes from Shaka Vansiya Ayurveda Courses, Practicum, Conferences and Lectures 2003-2015
Marianne Teitelbaum, D.C.- Healing the Thyroid with Ayurveda, 2019
Sri Sri Yoga- Notes from Yoga Teacher Training, 2006 & 2020
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3573542/
https://www.healthline.com/health/pranayama-benefits#less-stress