By Satish K Kapoor
The Chhandogya Upanishad likens pran to a horse that drives the body’s carriage. Yet pran is not just breath but the force behind the process of breathing. It animates both man and the universe.
Pran moves through five vital airs in the body – pran, apan, udan, vyan and saman; and five sub-vital airs: nag, kurm, krikar, devdutt and dhananjay. When breath moves upwards, it is called pran; when it goes downwards, it is apan; when it vitalises different organs, it is vyan; when it maintains an equilibrium, it is saman, and when it abandons the body, it is udan.
Nag is associated with belching and cough; kurm with blinking, krikar with hunger and thirst, devdutt with yawning and sleep, and dhananjay with the disintegration of the body after death. By mastering pran, one can empower the body, control the mind, and connect with the universal soul.
Human breath is the gross form of cosmic pran, which functions in all the three states of being – wakefulness, dream anddeep sleep. Through pranayam, one can regulate the breathing process, control inner and outer nature, and create a positive energy field around the body.
Pranayam is a sequence of three processes – purak, inhalation, kumbhak, retention, and rechak, exhalation. These are undertaken conjointly, employing right, left, alternate or both nostrils, and even the mouth for different purposes.
It is believed that inhalation provides oxygen to the blood, and exhalation throws out carbon dioxide from the lungs. Oxygenated blood moves from the lungs to the heart, then to all parts of the body, and finally returns to the lungs, clearing toxins in the process.
Breath flowing through the Ida, left nostril, has a cooling effect, and through the Pingala, right nostril, has a heating effect. When the breath changes from left to right, or vice versa, it flows through the Sushumna, middle channel, balancing positive and negative currents in the body.
While retaining breath, three yogic bandhas, locks, are performed – mulabandh, contraction of the pelvic floor, uddiyan bandh, contraction and drawing inward and upward of the abdomen towards the back and jalandhar bandh, contraction of the throat, with a view to stabilising pran and, in turn, the mind. Yog texts say that when pran-apan vayu enters the sushumna conduit and opens up brahma granthi in the abdomen, vishnu granthi in the navel, and rudra granthi in the throat, invigorating pranamay kosh, the vital body.
Yogic texts refer to several pranayams, each having a specific use and limitation. Of the tridoshas, three biological pillars of the body, mentioned in ayurved, namely vat, pitt and kaph, Surya bhedi pranayam, right-nostril breathing, cures the first, Shitali and Shitakari pranayams, cooling breath and hissing breath respectively, second, and Ujjayi pranayam, victorious breath, the last.
Kapalbhati kriya and Bhastrika pranayam, characterised by forceful inhalation and exhalation, are useful against certain ailments. Nadi shodhan pranayam, which entails alternate breathing, is considered one of the safest pranayams.
Pranayam is said to relieve tension in the cerebral-spinal region, thereby strengthening the nervous system. It purifies the mind and body. However, its wrong practice can be harmful, warns Hatha Yoga Pradipika (II,16). So, it must be learnt from a competent guru.
Disclaimer
Views expressed above are the author’s own.
