The 5 Pranas: Yoga Physiology

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                                     The 5 Pranas:  Yoga Physiology

All living beings are complex open systems, which essentially means that they are continuously exchanging energies from outside of themselves to provide for growth, development and transformation of their forms. As humans, we take in sunlight, water, food, air, and love, as well as information pouring in through the sensory portals, to keep aliveness flowing. We also need to Unknowneliminate, release or let go of what is either harmful or no longer needed. Not only solid, liquid and gaseous materials, but also attitudes, ideas, emotions and belief systems can be released. The yogis of old, recognizing these processes of life, described the nature and functioning of ten different on-going energy exchanges, five of major importance and 5 minor ones. Known as vayus or ‘winds’, from the Sanskrit word for the element air, (the Sanskrit root ‘va‘ means that which flows,) these energy flows are not only integral to healthy physiological, psychological and emotional functioning, but are also gateways to the cosmic fields and an intimate experience of the infinite.

The Sanskrit word prana refers to the fundamental energy of the cosmos, but is often used to refer to the vital life force energy we experience as aliveness. The Chinese use the word chi or qi, the Japanese ‘ki’ (as in aikido) to describe this, but alas, the is no English equivalent. Thus the vayus are often called the 5 prana vayus, or just the 5 pranas. The five major pranas (there are also 5 minor ones) are known in Sanskrit as: prana, apana, vyana, samana and images-2undana, and together these five make up the Pranamaya Kosha, one of the three subtle sheaths or layers in yoga anatomy.

The first vayu is, confusingly enough, also called prana and refers to the process of taking in energies from the outside. The most obvious expression is inhalation, where we expand the chest cavity to draw air in and absorb the vital element oxygen, and the organizing center of the prana vayu is said to be the mid chest or heart chakra region.  But eating, drinking, reading, listening, or taking in energy and information on any level is included in the category of prana. As the energy of oxygen is the major mover in physiology, the prana vayu is also said to be the energy that sets things in motion. Prana is associated with the element air and the fourth chakra.

Apana, or the apana vayu, is the complement to prana, and is involved with expelling energies and materials out of the system. Apana means ‘moving away’ and refers to all levels of elimination. On the organic level, it engages the large intestines/colon/rectum, bladder/ureters/kidney and lungs, and on the psychological level it facilitates the letting go of negative thoughts, emotions and beliefs. Centered in the pelvis, apana also governs the expelling processes of insemination, menstruation and child birth. Apana is associated with the element earth and the first or muladhara chakra.

imgresSamana vayu governs digestion and the ability to absorb what we need from the energies we have taken in through the prana vayu. The solar plexus or third chakra is the organizing center, the element fire, and the organs involved include stomach, small intestine, liver, gall bladder and pancreas. The samana is the ‘balancing’ energy, mediating between what comes in, prana, and what goes out, apana. It extracts the nutrients while leaving the bulk and toxins behind. The lungs, as they absorb the oxygen and leave the nitrogen behind, also have a samana component. Digestion is a form of discernment and thus samana is also associated with the process of learning and discriminating between wise and not so wise life choices. In posture and asana practice, samana balances the action of the upper limbs governed by the prana vayu and fourth chakra, with apana governing lower limbs.

images-1The vyana vayu takes the energies that have been absorbed and distributes them throughout the entire body. Vyana means ‘outward moving’ and represents the element water and the second chakra. The circulatory system is its the most obvious physiological component, but on a more subtle level, the nervous system (western model) and the nadi system (yogic model)  also function through the vyana. It is the most integral of the pranas as the circulatory and nervous systems are interwoven through all levels of the body. The musculo-skeletal system and skin are also engaged through the vyana as a coordinator of movement. Because of its global activities, it does not have a true center of organization.

The udana vayu, ‘the air that carries upward’, regulates growth, development and imgres-1creative output of the organism, from conception through death. It even extends beyond death as it governs the moving of the soul or karmaskaya out of the body through the crown chakra at death. Very active in the head as the brain is where the most continuous development takes place in the adult, the udana is centered in the fifth chakra region of the throat, supporting the thyroid and parathyroid glands. The voice is a vehicle for creative expression and udana energies create speech.  In embryology, udana works with the apana to precipitate the birthing process and this continues in life as the rising of the kundalini energies of integration and awakening. In the Prasna Upanishad, udana is said to guide the mind from dream sleep into dreamless sleep and thus realize Brahman, the ultimate unity of all.

The five minor pranas, also known as upapranas or upavayus are as follows.
Naga, which releases abdominal pressure and protects the digestive system through belching and vomiting.
Kurma controls the eyes by adjusting the size of the iris to adapt to changing light intensities, and also protects the eyes through blinking.
Krkara protects the sinuses, nasal passages and throat through sneezing and coughing.
Devadatta brings about yawning and sleep.
Dhanamjaya works through the opening and closing of the valves of the heart.

 

 

 

 

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Beginning: Related Links
1. Developing Mindful Awareness
2. Attending to the Breath
3. Orienting to Grounding and Lightness

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The Ten Oxherding Pictures

A Holiday Gift from the Buddhist World to all of us.

The ten Oxherding Pictures from Zen Buddhism represent the stages and path to awakening, integration and enlightenment, with the Ox representing our True Nature and the Oxherder each of us, the embodied being. It is important to note that the stages are not linear but spiralic and multi-dimensional, as we usually can get glimpses of more advanced levels before we have truly completed and integrated the any or all of the previous ones.

Also, we may often be working with several stages at the same time. More subtle awakenings in one level may trigger unconscious and unresolved traumas stored in the earlier levels that then need to be revisited, transformed and integrated. Then, the energy held in trauma is resolved and free to use for deeper growth.

There are many variations on the ten pictures representing the stages, and these are usually accompanied by poetic verses and/or commentary describing the journey. The paintings seen below are traditionally attributed to 天章周文 Tenshō Shūbun (1414-1463), of the Muromachi period in the late fifteenth century and are found at the Shōkokuji temple in Kyoto, Japan.

These stages can be seen as three sets of three transformations, with the final stage standing alone. The first three are the beginners journey, the second three those of the intermediate student, and the final three the most subtle and refined. The tenth transcends all and resolves as the awakened Buddha in the world helping others. Looking more deeply and ironically, we find that ultimately it is the Ox who is training and leading the Oxherder

1: Seeking the Ox
We know something is missing in our lives, but don’t know what it might be, or where to look. Our souls ache, our spirit feels fragile. The spiritual journey begins, but our minds are full of confusion and delusion. Our search is random and we cannot find the Ox anywhere. This is Dante at the beginning of The Divine Comedy.

2: Seeing Tracks of the Ox
Through study and guidance we begin to get glimpses. Maybe we discover yoga or meditation, or find spiritual teachers or writings that inspire us. But although we see the tracks, the Ox is still unseen, unknown. The tracks give us some confidence and we continue seeking, driven by the awakening cosmic impulse to discover/uncover the fullness and truth of our Being. The Ox is calling us.

3: First Glimpsing the Ox
There is the Ox. Wow! So magnificent! How did we ever not see! But the Ox remains elusive, disappearing into the forest. How could that be? Our minds are still confused, our seeking still undisciplined. The Ox teases us. She is everywhere and then nowhere to be found. Our mental habits and beliefs still dominate in spite of the revelation and we struggle to find ground. We are still beginners on the journey.

4: Catching the Ox
We finally catch the ox and grasp the rope to hold her, but she is wild and free, used to cavorting in the fields. We must hold the rope firmly and steadily. The rope of course is our evolving meditation practice and this is where it gets more serious. We are no longer beginners. We are in the realm of un-abiding awakening and must be ‘all in’ with our practice to stabilize the ground. Habits and conditioning have many tentacles extending into the unconscious, so our discipline must become stronger. The Ox keeps us on our toes.

5: Taming the Ox
As our practice becomes stronger, we can hold the rope more loosely as the Ox is relaxing somewhat. It is actually the mind that is relaxing as we begin to realize that the Ox is always steady and it is our minds that are wild and untamed. By relaxing our efforts, our practices can now include resting in the infinite and we become more comfortable in stillness and mystery. Habits still arise as the unconscious has many layers and levels of confusion and trauma, but we recognize the reality that our thoughts arise and fall from the depths of silence and that our delusion is self created.

6: Riding the Ox Back Home
The seeking and struggle come to an end and we can let go of the rope as Ox and herder are one, moving effortlessly together though the world. Buddha Nature is awake and free and we feel spontaneous joy and happiness. The Oxherder plays his flute for the birds and children of the village. This joy and delight can be a surprise as the practice has seemed quite serious at times. Unseen unconscious traumas may still exist so vigilance is still required.

7: Ox Forgotten, Self Alone
The Ox is now gone and the Oxherder sits at home alone. This is ‘Self as ‘I am’ without the need to ‘be something. This is Kaivalya of the Yoga Sutras, Purusha distinct from Prakriti. Up until now, there has remained a subtle sense of duality, of practice and life, of spiritual and not spiritual. This now dissolves. There is no longer ‘something to do’. Everything is meditation and nothing is special. Things are ‘just as they are’.

8: Ox and Self Both Forgotten
Total Emptiness. No concepts, ideas or beliefs, no sense of separateness. Even the “I am” is gone. All gone. Not even the scent of ‘holiness’ or special-ness remains. Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate.

9: Return to the Source
From the realization of Emptiness emerges the realization that the amazing flow of life always continues on in its own perfection. Seasons come and go. Cherry trees bloom in the spring. Birds sing and the rivers flow. Stars are born and others explode into cosmic dust. Emptiness is Fullness, Fullness is Emptiness. Bodhi svaha!

10: Returning to the Marketplace with Helping Hands
The enlightened being joyfully joins the world to aid all beings on their journey. Freedom, wisdom and compassion are the roots of action. Enlightenment is not passive but celebratory and engaged.

Here are some other perspectives:
From Tricycle Magazine
https://terebess.hu/english/Kuoan1.html
https://terebess.hu/english/oxherd0.html

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