Prana Vashya

Prana Vashya Yoga

"Prana means Life. Now let us think what LIFE is. Life or Living refers to being present not just physically but being conscious about it. Where does this consciousness (awareness) come from? Or where is the source of this genuine capacity? It is definitely from the Prana which prevails in the body. It is the root of life which permits a being to remain conscious. (Being unconscious means the loss of "Pragna" or consciousness and not Prana.)

Prana Vashya Yoga: Yoga which controls the prana. It is the approach which controls the Life or our Lifestyle. The way in which we live decides how happily we live and how long/healty we live.

In its natural form, the Prana supports the Awareness. This capacity is utilized to develop understanding about the external world. "Where there is awareness, there is understanding. Where there is understanding, there is adjustment". This is with reference to the awareness which moves outwards. Out of our self boundaries or in a social perspective.

But if the same awareness is directed inwards, towards the prana, through different channels of the Body and Mind, the complete sentence changes to "Where there is awareness, there is understanding. Where there is understanding, there is control".

A healthy body and mind is the basic requirement for understanding the self. Hence the focus is to increase the awareness of the capacities of these two distinct entities thus developing control over them. Prana Vashya Yoga aims to direct this consciousness towards Prana or the self through a process of Asana to the body and Pranayama to the mind.

Prana indicates its existence by influencing the organism to breath. This is the only and "partly" voluntary influence. Hence Prana Vashya Yoga considers breath as the key channel to direct the consciousness towards the prana. The Yoga asana practice aims at being aware of or controlling the breath and being controlled by the breath to influence and assist the Physical movements in the initial stage and eventually developing this awareness towards the basic supporter of breath or developing control over one's own life.

The essence of withdrawing our awareness from the external world during the practice is considered extremely important in Prana Vashya Yoga. The practitioner continues to remain under the influence of conscious breathing cycles through the practice. For every half breath, there is a movement. Not even a single breath is left free without utilization. There is no point in the practice in which a breath is lost or some time is taken to think. The only goal is to reach a deeper state no matter what the level of the practitioner is. The sense of Vision is valued to accomplish perfection.

Here, the basic focus is to ensure that the mind is engaged within the body focusing on the breath and the physical movements. Here the Mind acts as a bridge in between the Breath which is a part of the Prana- the core (Nature or Prakruthi) and the Body- the boundary(Purusha) eventually guiding the practitioner towards higher level of consciousness. This can be strengthened by the Pranayama practice which demands and eventually increases the capacity of mind.

We believe that the awareness or control if present within the individual, he will be capable of modifying the environment in which he lives. He gives out positive energy and receives the same. He will be able to convert a stumbling block into a stepping stone. An Apple looks healthy outside only if there is Health inside. In the same way we can lead a healthy lifestyle or lead a peaceful life if we are healthy and strong from within."

Yogacharya Vinay Kumar