Prana

Prana is the life force, equivalent to the chi or ki in Oriental medicine. It strings body, mind, and spirit together on a single strand of breath, like pearls on a thread, and causes them to live and act together as a single organism.

Vata, Pitta, and Kapha — the Three Doshas — are the gross manifestations of Prana, Tejas, and Ojas, which are not doshas at all. Vata is the more unstable form of Prana, Pitta the more reactive form of Tejas, and Kapha the more inert form of Ojas.

We obtain Prana from our atmosphere and from our food. Breathing recharges Prana immediately. Prana is not oxygen any more than Kapha is mucus or Pitta is bile — Prana is the life force, and oxygen is one of its carrier substances. Food and water also carry Prana.

While most nutrients are absorbed into the circulation from the small intestine, Prana is absorbed from the colon. Modern research shows that substances called volatile fatty acids are absorbed from the colon into the circulation and can act as a significant energy source for the system. These volatile fatty acids, like oxygen, are carriers of Prana.

The health of our lungs and colons determines how much Prana we can absorb and thus how alive we feel. When the lungs or the large intestine function inefficiently, our bodies absorb Prana inefficiently and Vata is generated in increased amounts.

Unless Vata is regularly excreted from the system, it causes disease. Although disturbed Vata can affect any dhatu, it shows special affinity for Bone. The health of Bone is thus intimately tied to the health of the lungs and the colon. Pathologies in the lungs, bones, and large intestine are often related. For example, women who smoke lose more calcium from their bones because of the effect of carbon monoxide in the smoke on blood chemistry. Likewise, balancing one of these organs can benefit the others.

Emotions are held in the lungs. Just as we consume food, so we inhale the emotions of the air and the emotions of the universe. The subtle movement of the emotions is the movement of prana itself.

• Deep-seated grief and sadness (vata): the upper lobes of the lungs do not function properly.
• Deep-seated anger and hate (pitta): the middle lobes of the lungs are affected.
• Deep-seated attachment and greed (kapha): the lower lobes are involved.

Stagnation of deep-seated or suppressed emotions results in division. These emotions become harmful when they are seen as separate from the self. Observing emotions from beginning to end — without judging, comparing, or labeling — allows the observer and the object to become one. This non-dual seeing is the cleansing, opening, and clearing of prana vaha srotas, the channel of prana, and the healing of symptoms.

Dry ginger mixed with jaggery (solidified sugarcane juice) improves the flow of urine and feces, and when it is given to patients of upper respiratory congestion, it may relieve this congestion by relieving congestion in the colon.

Sometimes medicated enemas are administered to control an attack of asthma, illustrating the intimate connection between the colon (where Prana is absorbed) and the lungs.

Prana is the life energy that performs respiration, oxygenation, and circulation. It also governs all motor and sensory functions. The vital pranic force enkindles the central bodily fire (agni), and the natural intelligence of the body is expressed spontaneously through this activation by prana.

Prana has several seats. One seat is in the cranial space, where prana governs all higher cerebral activities including the functions of the mind, memory, thoughts, and emotions. The heart is another seat — prana governs its physiological functioning. From the heart, prana enters the blood (a further seat), controlling oxygenation in all the dhatus and vital organs.

Prana governs the biological functions of the two other subtle essences, ojas and tejas. During pregnancy, the navel of the fetus is the main door through which prana enters the womb and the body of the fetus, also regulating the circulation of ojas in the fetus. In all human beings, even the unborn, a disorder of prana may create an imbalance of ojas and tejas, and vice versa.