Prana: life force, vital energy, and ever-flowing essence. Prana is sacred, and in this post you’ll not only learn the answer to ‘what is prana?’, but also how to nurture and strengthen this energy.
Prana = Life Force
Prana is life force energy and it’s what sustains all living beings here on Earth. Prana is what animates us in this human form which means that our life in this human form is sustained by our prana. While we are alive, prana flows through our body and mind; when we die, it leaves this form. Where prana, your life force, goes after death is up for your interpretation, but I think this description helps you best understand prana. It’s that animating force beyond the body and beyond the mind.
An important point to consider is that prana is not limited to human beings. Prana is the universal life force that animates all living forms. Let this understanding guide you to offer love and respect to all living things. No human is better than another, and being human doesn’t make you better than the spider or the tree. We all have the same essence of prana, life force energy. Recognize that and live with love.
How Does Prana Flow?
Prana flows through us through energetic channels which in yoga are called nadis. There are many nadis throughout our being and prana flows through us in different directions. But there are three main nadis that are most often discussed when it comes to energy flow.
The first two channels you may be familiar with as they relate to our feminine and masculine energy. The Sanskrit terms for these energy channels are ‘ida nadi‘ and ‘pingala nadi‘. We all have both of these channels regardless of our gender.
Then there’s a central energy channel called ‘sushumna nadi‘. This channel runs from the base of the spine (where kundalini lives) up to the crown of the head. For spiritual awakening, we want to direct our energy up this channel. But this isn’t the only way prana moves. Trying to direct energy upward without first creating free flow through other channels, especially ida and pingala, would be inefficient. This is why practices that work with both feminine and masculine energy can be helpful on your spiritual path.
And it’s important to note that a consistent spiritual practice is essential for allowing prana to flow freely up sushumna nadi.
Can Your Prana Be Drained?
We want our prana to flow freely throughout our being but you can also be letting your prana flow outward too much.
Think about how you feel after spending time with really negative people, probably not so great. One of the reasons is likely that the encounter drained some of your prana. Obviously, spending less time in these situations is ideal, but I know it’s not always possible and that’s ok. As you grow and deepen your yoga and spiritual practice, you’ll learn how to engage with these ‘energy drainers’ without draining your own energy. Also, I don’t want this to sound scary. It’s not like this will drain all of your prana, but it can temporarily dampen it, where it’s not flowing as nicely.
The more we nurture our connection to our life force energy, the less likely we are to spend time in draining situations, and when we are in them, we are better equipped to navigate them.
What is Pranayama?
Now you know what prana is, but how do you work with your prana? Well, one of the best ways is pranayama. Pranayama consists of practices that use the breath to interact with our life force energy.
Our breath gives us access to parts of the mind we are often unaware of.
Think about it this way, we breathe unconsciously most of the time, which we need to do to stay alive. We don’t usually think about the fact that we’re breathing, it just happens automatically. Other things that happen unconsciously or automatically in our body are our heart beats, our food is digested, etc. But the only unconscious thing that we can directly control at any moment is our breath….at least this is true for most of us.
Many people live their lives “unconsciously,” meaning they just go through the motions and live their lives in similar patterns which usually gives them the same results. To make significant changes in our lives, we need to shift ourselves to live more consciously. Pranayama, or breathwork, allows us to access deeper, often unconscious parts of the mind so we can begin this shift towards living more consciously. As we do, we revitalize our life force energy.
Every breath pattern is associated with a specific state of mind, so by changing the pace of your breath, you can shift your mindset and even influence your physical state. A simple example is how diaphragmatic breathing, also known as belly breathing, can calm the nervous system.
Certain pranayama practices can also help us become more comfortable with discomfort. Holding the breath or practicing breath of fire may feel challenging, but these practices teach resilience. Disclaimer: These are just examples of some pranayama practices and these may not be right for everyone, always do what is right for your body.
Through the practice of pranayama, we work on controlling and sometimes restraining the breath; this helps us to feel more connected with our life force energy. In essence, pranayama helps us gain more control over our own prana. We are switching from unconscious living to conscious living and switching to understanding that we are more than just the body and mind.
Living In Connection With Prana
Connecting with prana helps us respond to the world around us in a more peaceful and intelligent manner.
The more connected you are with your prana, the less likely you are to make impulsive or thoughtless decisions.
This awareness of our prana supports more conscious, peaceful living, because we see prana within all.
Putting This Into Practice
Now that you know the answer to the question, “What is prana?”, how can you put this understanding into practice? In yoga, there are many ways to connect with prana. Yoga is more than physical poses; meditation is yoga, pranayama is yoga, and conscious living is yoga.
If you’re looking for a place to practice yoga that goes beyond just the physical body, I invite you to join my Patreon community. Over there we practice our yoga poses with intention, honoring the body, mind, and soul. We also practice meditation and pranayama to support deeper awareness and connection. Each month there are new practices shared.
There also are specific yoga and meditation sessions focused on balancing feminine and masculine energy, as well as on working directly with prana. Along with these practices, you’ll find many more sessions in my library. If you’re looking for these practices specifically, simply type “prana” or “feminine and masculine energy” in the search bar.
You can explore my Patreon community here: Click Here To Join!
Thank you for taking the time to read this post and I hope to have you as part of my community. Namaste.