Prana Vidya- the Key to Expanding Consciousness and Healing

The Prashnopanishad says: This prana is born of the Self. Just as there is a shadow when a man is there, so prana is fixed on the Self... It is said that prana is the force that animates life within us. As long as prana is retained, the body will not die. There are actually five different prana's in the body, and improper distribution of these five prana's can cause disease in the body/mind. Since the pranic body is more subtle than the physical body we must refine our practice in order to be able to awaken our perception to our own pranic energy. The five prana's or vayu's (winds, or airs) as they are known are: Prana which is inhalation and the inward moving force that moves upwards from the navel to the throat. Apana is exhalation which is a downward moving force from the navel to the pelvis. Samana is the time between the two and is located at the navel center, it moves left to right sideways and back and governs our digestion and assimilation on both a mental and physical level. Udana is in the extremities moving down the arms and legs and up in to the head. Vyana is the vital force that pervades the entire body, the distributive force that acts as our reserve energy. But just how do we begin to get in contact with these pranic forces within us? How do we balance, build or reduce them when needed?
The science of Prana Vidya tells us that our first entry into accessing our energetic body is the proper use of Ujjayi breath. Learning Ujjayi breath is fairly simple, but its not always easy to remember to do the breath during a vigorous yoga practice. Many times we are so busy trying to hold difficult poses, or just keep up with the pace of the class that we loose our breath. Just remember that once you loose awareness of the breath you stop doing yoga. Because yoga is not just about asana ( physical postures) and yes there are many yogi's who don't do any asana, you can develop these practices in a meditative seat. The next time you are in class or sitting prior to meditation, set your intention to stay present with the breath for the entire class. Once you have yourself steeped in the breath, begin to practice sama vritti (same fluctuation) or 1:1 ratio breathing.  This means that you inhale for the same length that you are exhaling, with the same depth, quality and resonance. Making these two adjustments will transform your entire practice and prepare you for a deep meditation. You will begin to feel a shift from the physical body to feeling yourself in a different way, seemingly moving beyond the boundaries of the physical body and becoming more expansive.
Once you are comfortable in 1:1 you can begin to build into other advanced practices, like retention of breath that will allow you to go deeper in to discovering the pranic body.
This month I will be posting a series of videos and sharing some of these simple pranayama practices. I hope you will enjoy the journey into the pranamaya kosha. I look forward to hearing your feedback as always. And for those of you in LA please join me for Yoga for Healing on July 24th where we will be exploring these concepts in depth.

resource: Prana, Pranayama, Prana Vidya-bihar