Prana is energy, spirit or life. We often refer to prana as our breath, or Pranayama. Energy flows through our body just as rivers do. The rivers of the body are called nadis where they converge in large oceans of energy are called chakras. This energy allows us to show up in the world and express ourselves everyday. (Nadis? Chakras? Check back soon for more details on these words too!)
When we control our prana or our energy, new opportunities arise. As a yogi, it is valuable to us for we can connect and improve both our health, and minds. When we connect with our breath we are able to calm the physical and mental spaces which creates the space we need to connect with our higher selves.
Prana is not unique within the yogic culture, it is present in most ancient cultures. In Latin, we have spiritus (breath), Rig Veda the cosmic purusha, Qi in Chinese, Pheuma in Greek, Ether in Western Cultures, or Rauh in Ancient Hebrew. Prana no matter its name the wind, breath, and energy of our bodies.
In yoga we practice building our energy and breath with pranayama. Pranayama is two Sanskrit worlds: prana and yama. We now know that prana is the energy and breath, where yama is the restraint. If Prana is the flow of energy and yama is the restraint, the practice of pranayama is learning to control or restrain the flow of energy.
If we are breathing we are doing yoga. But if we want to live better, we need to breathe better. We have all had moments where our heart rate races, or our stress is off the charts and we notice we are not breathing. Then when we have the opportunity to be slow and still, our mind races. We want to practice but what we feel is the constant thoughts that are arising. In yoga, if we focus on the breath, we can slow the racing mind. By restraining the flow of breath we can retrain the flow of energy. When we allow for inner consciousness, we allow the energy to flow with control.
I have talked about the nadis or rivers of energy in the body. When we do not have control our bodies are out of control. Just as a river can overflow its banks, so can our energy. We want our body to transition and flow just as a river. We want to allow for the meanders to transition, but if we dam a river, the water is blocked. If the dam is removed there is a torrent of destruction. By allowing our body to healthfully flow we allow our spirit to connect to a higher presence.
