The Prāṇā can be understood as the vital energy that exists throughout the Universe, that is, the principle of life, the primordial energy that assumes all forms. Everything in the material world with life is considered to have prana. In some Vedic texts, Prāṇā s understood as a cosmic web of “light”, vibration, like a spider web with very fine white threads. Interestingly, Davi Kopenawa describes a white web through which the xapiris, spirits of the Amazon forests, move.
In the philosophical system of Yoga, there was a very strong attempt to understand the Macrocosm (universe) within the Microcosm (our body).
In the human body, there are five types of prāṇā:
As we can check in Chudamani Upanishad
23b / 24- हृदि प्राणः स्थितो नित्यमपानो गुदमण्डले || 23b ||
समानो नाभिदेशे तु उदानः कण्ठमध्यगः | व्यानः सर्वशरीरे तु प्रधानाः पञ्च वायवः || 24 ||
hṛdi prāṇaḥ sthito nityam apāno guda-maṇḍale || 23b ||
samāno nābhi-deśe tu udānaḥ kaṇṭha-madhyagaḥ | vyānaḥ sarva-śarīre tu pradhānāḥ pañca vāyavaḥ || 24 ||
Prāṇa always inhabits the heart, apāna the anus region, samāna the navel region andudāna the middle of the throat. Vyāna permeates the entire body. These are the five main Vayus.
| Prāṇa | localizado na região torácica com sede no Coração | Breathe, Talk, Laugh, Sing, Place, Arts |
| Apāna | lower abdomen | Controls elimination, allows solids and liquids to enter the body. |
| Udāna | Throat (pharynx and larynx) | Swallowing, .commands the vocal cords and controls the absorption of air from food |
| Samāna | Navels | Maintains gastric fire to aid digestion |
| Vyāna | Seat in all joints | It is responsible for circulating blood throughout the body and distributes energy from food to arteries, veins and nerves. It is also responsible for sweat, and sense of touch |
In Figure 1, you can see the distribution of Prāṇa around the body.
Figure 1: The 5 types of Prana of the body
These 5 air (Vāyu-s) are divided into 5 other sub-Vāyu-s:
| Upa-Prana | Responsibility |
| naga | Burping, erection, hiccup |
| Kurma | Opening and closing eyes, eyelid movement, Iris enlargement, preserving the view of great luminosity |
| Devadatta | Yawning |
| Krikala | Sneezing, causes thirst, hunger, coughing, preserving the nasal passages from foreign particles |
| Dhananjaya | Opening and closing of heart valves, activates the decomposition of the corpse |
The main absorption organs are Prāṇa are the nerve endings of the nasal passages; the pulmonary alveoli, the tongue and the skin.
“Thus, for the yogin, the nose is the main organ for the absorption of Prana, as it is known that the air is the great food of man, passing through the narrow place, being "supervised" by the turbinates, which are covered by an infinity of very sensitive nerve receptors, feeling like this, all the variations of the air
The pulmonary alveoli allow the passage of oxygen to the blood (…)
The tongue is an important organ for absorbing Prana, extracting energy from food.
The skin is the tissue that covers the entire body. It is extensive and important in its energy-absorbing function. The toxins accumulated in the body are rejected and expelled through the pores. For better skin conservation, it should be exposed to the sun and air” (FERNANDES,N. Yoga Terapia: o caminho da saúde física e mental, p. 169 , 2a. Edição, São Paulo, Ground, 1994
Prāṇāyāma
The word Prāṇāyāma is the junction of two Sanskrit terms, prāṇā and āyāma, in which āyāma means “control”, “stretch”
Some Pranayama references
Yoga Sutras de Patanjali
तस्मिन् सति श्वासप्रश्वास्योर्गतिविच्छेदः प्राणायामः ॥४९॥
tasmin sati śvāsa-praśvāsyor-gati-vicchedaḥ prāṇāyāmaḥ ॥49॥
In what is true, Pranayama is the separation of the movements of inspiration and expiration “[Prāṇā it is the breath, but it is not necessarily the material breath. Like breathing, it is related to the preservation of life. Prāṇa has the subtle nature of “spirit” (breath) and is related to air because it is invisible and is only perceived as wind when it is in motion. To be more precise, prana is pure movement] (G. BARBOSA, 2017, p.95)
Bhaghavad-gita, cap .6
योगी युञ्जीत सततम् आत्मानं रहसि स्थितः ।
एकाकी यत-चित्तात्मा निराशीर् अपरिग्रहः ॥ १०॥
yogī yuñjīta satatam ātmānaṃ rahasi sthitaḥ |
ekākī yata-cittātmā nirāśīr aparigrahaḥ || 6.10||
The transcendentalist must always engage his body, mind and ego in activities related to the Supreme; he must live alone in a secluded place and must always carefully control his mind. He must be free from desires and feelings of possession.
शुचौ देशे प्रतिष्ठाप्य स्थिरम् आसनम् आत्मनः ।
नात्युच्छ्रितं नातिनीचं चैलाजिन-कुशोत्तरम् ॥ ११ ॥
तत्रैकाग्रं मनः कृत्वा यत-चित्तेन्द्रिय-क्रियः ।
उपविश्यासने युञ्ज्याद् योगम् आत्म-विशुद्धये ॥ १२ ॥
śucau deśe pratiṣṭhāpya sthiram āsanam ātmanaḥ |
nātyucchritaṃ nātinīcaṃ cailājina-kuśottaram || 11 ||
tatraikāgraṃ manaḥ kṛtvā yata-cittendriya-kriyaḥ |
upaviśyāsane yuñjyād yogam ātma-viśuddhaye || 12 ||
To practice yoga, it is necessary to go to a secluded place and cover the ground with kuśa grass, and then cover it with the skin of a deer and a soft cloth. The seat must be neither too high nor too low and must be situated in a sacred place. The yogī should then sit on it very firmly and practice yoga to purify the heart, controlling the mind, senses and activities, and fixing the mind on a single point.
समं काय-शिरो-ग्रीवं धारयन्न् अचलं स्थिरः ।
सम्प्रेक्ष्य नासिकाग्रं स्वं दिशश् चानवलोकयन् ॥ १३ ॥
प्रशान्तात्मा विगत-भीर् ब्रह्मचारि-व्रते स्थितः ।
मनः संयम्य मच्-चित्तो युक्त आसीत मत्-परः ॥ १४ ॥
samaṃ kāya-śiro-grīvaṃ dhārayann acalaṃ sthiraḥ |
samprekṣya nāsikāgraṃ svaṃ diśaś cānavalokayan || 13 ||
praśāntātmā vigata-bhīr brahmacāri-vrate sthitaḥ |
manaḥ saṃyamya mac-citto yukta āsīta mat-paraḥ || 14 ||
One should keep the body, neck and head erect, keeping them in a straight line, and one should look fixedly at the tip of the nose. So, with the mind placid and subdued, without fear, completely free from sexual life, one should meditate on the Self within the heart and see the Self as the ultimate goal of life.
