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Introduction to Prana
Prana 'The Great Life-Force'
To the unawakened mind, prana is felt as the breath alone. When self-awareness dawns, prana is felt as a subtle power that is connected to the breath. Only the fully awakened mind can experience prana in its totality; as the luminous pulsation at the source of our own being and at the basis of all creation.
Dr Swami Shankardev Saraswati
Everything that exists, animate and inanimate, is a manifestation of energy in one form or another. At the macrocosmic level, this energy is called Maha Shakti, which means ‘great power’. Within the microcosm of living beings Maha Shakti is called mahaprana (which means ‘the great life force’), and it is a very special form of energy. It is our life-force or vital energy, our inner power and strength.
Mahaprana in the body is divided into functional divisions in the pranic body. When mahaprana is involved in respiration it is called prana. The word prana can also be translated as breath.
The Pranic Body
Prana is a very complex phenomenon. Its nature is very subtle, highly changeable and constantly moving. Prana is responsible for all movement, change and growth in the body-mind. The pranic body pervades, animates and sustains the life and function within each part of the body-mind.
The pranic body has five divisions. These are functional divisions that occur because mahaprana interacts with the elements that make up our gross structure (the mahabhutas – see Samkhya).
Each division of mahaprana has its own name:
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Apana – when mahaprana is associated with the earth element it is called apana and acts primarily in the region below the navel, controlling the functions of the pelvis.
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Samana – when mahaprana is associated with the water element it acts in the upper belly and controls digestion,
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Prana – mahaprana associated with the fire element controls the organs in the chest, including respiration and the heart which pumps blood to heat the body and to feed the cells with life giving oxygen.
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Udana – associated with the air element controls the functions of the head, including the senses, thinking and other functions of the nervous system.
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Vyana – associated with the space element it is diffused throughout the body and controls and coordinates the other four pranas.
Prana and Breath
The key to knowledge of prana and how to control it lies in the breath. By learning pranayama, techniques to tune our awareness into the breath, we learn about prana in all its aspects.
We need a systematic process, called pranayama, to train us to feel and utilize the life-force; that allows us to sense what prana feels like. As we develop this awareness of prana we can become more sensitive to the body’s needs. Once we can feel our prana to some degree we can learn how to consciously generate, store and use prana wisely. In more advanced yogic practices we can begin to access prana directly from our spiritual essence.
This study of the breath and prana allows us to enter into relationship with the mysteries and the source of life. This is an ultimately fulfilling journey that takes us into an authentic feeling and understanding of our essence.
BIG Shakti has 2 CDs that teach the methods to harness and increases prana in a systematic and safe way. They teach the knowledge and practices which lead to an authentic experience of prana for healing and higher spiritual awareness.
To apply this knowledge in practice, you may like to take a look at a double CD 'Introduction to Prana and Pranic Healing". Produced by Big Shakti, it contains 2.5 hours of progressive instruction, with both classical and original techniques by Swami Shankardev Saraswati.
Prana and Pranic Healing
Pranic healing is our capacity to feel and direct our prana to restore balance and harmony to our body-mind. We achieve this by using the breath as a vehicle to channel subtle life-force, prana, to where we want it to go. Pranic healing is the art and science of injecting energy into sick and exhausted tissues to restore health and vitality, and to rejuvenate ourselves.
If our prana is low or imbalanced we feel weak, exhausted and imbalanced. We fall prone to illness and then we are unable to use our body, mind and intellect fully.
When we reach this point, we need to investigate the true essence of prana. It is an intelligent use of our time to learn what it is, how to manage it, how to use it properly, and how to create more when we need it. In learning such techniques, we restore our body and mind. This is pranic healing.
The human body-mind must be kept balanced and within a certain range of function for true health and strength. It is so easy for the body-mind to be disturbed, to lose prana if we are not careful, especially during stressful or difficult times.
The Prana Bank Account
Each one of us receives a prana bank account at birth. We each receive our definite quota. Living healthily requires that we balance the spending of our inheritance with building upon it. If we squander it – say in our youth, we degenerate at an early age. The more effort we put into building our prana, the more vital we become as we age. The more we are able to use the collective experience of our life to find fulfilment and meaning and, if we choose, for a noble purpose.
In spiritual work, prana is the force we use to dive into higher consciousness.
Generate, Store and Express Prana
Prana is life, and life feeds on life. The main function of prana is to maintain itself, to keep us alive. Our internal prana is always seeking to extract prana from the world around us and to generate more internal prana.
We take in prana from other life forms in the form of food and liquids, and from the air we breathe. The more alive and full of life-force a substance is, the more life-force we extract from that substance.
Generation of prana also occurs through stillness and deep rest. Sleep is meant to do this but is not always efficient, especially if we go to bed exhausted or full of worry and tension. Relaxation and meditation practices are the most efficient form of rest, allowing us to calm the mind and emotions and to deeply replenish and energize ourselves.
All activities, including movement, speech, thought and emotion, use prana and take prana from our reserve stores. Certain activities use a lot of prana, for example, worry or emotional distress. Poor diet and lifestyle can damage prana. Therefore we need to live a healthy lifestyle and engage in practices that maintain our prana in a healthy state.
Obstructions to the Flow of Prana
Life is pulsatory. Prana is constantly flowing and pulsating, for example, the heart and lungs pulse in a steady rhythm. Any contraction, whether it is muscular, mental or emotional can block the pulsation of prana and cause stagnation. Blockage of prana in the lungs can cause asthma, while blockage of prana in the blood vessels can cause high blood pressure and heart disease.
Prana can also become imbalanced, for example, over-stimulated or undercharged, or it can form toxins. When flow and pulsation are disturbed prana cannot nourish and strengthen us. Imbalance creates dysfunction and disease.
Yoga-tantra teaches us methods by which we can assist, strengthen and smooth the flow of prana so that we can over come blockages, aid purification and vitalize parts or all of the body-mind.
The key to pranic healing is to learn how to use the breath as a vehicle to move prana through the body, and to inject it into the parts of the body that need healing. This process of using the breath is often accompanied by the use of mantras.
The Results of Pranic Healing
The result of pranic healing is that our prana becomes strong, balanced and in tune with nature. We become powerful, creative, capable beings, able to fuel and support our innate intelligence and intuition.
When we know how to consciously restore and balance our prana we feel full of health. Balanced prana it feels ‘good’. There is a sense of strength, warmth and of being nourished. Prana is the basis of this warm glowing feeling. We feel that we can move and act in the world, that we have the strength and energy to engage in life.
About the Author(s):
In 2004, Dr Swami Shankardev and Jayne Stevenson decided to pool their talents to create Big Shakti. They co-create various seminars and workshops, which Swami Shankardev presents throughout Australia, USA, Europe and India.
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