Talk:Prana

The ancient concept of prana is described in many early Hindu texts, such as the Upanishads and Vedas. One of the earliest references to prana is from the 3,000-year-old Chandogya Upanishad, but many other Upanishads also make use of the concept, including the Katha, Mundaka and Prasna Upanishads. The concept is elaborated upon in great detail in the practices and literature of haṭha yoga,^[4] tantra,^[5] and Ayurveda.^{[citation needed]}

Prana is typically divided into multiple constituent parts, in particular when concerned with the human body. While not all early sources agree on the names or number of these subdivisions, the most common list from the Mahabharata, the Upanishads, Ayurvedic and Yogic sources includes five, often divided into further subcategories.^[6]Template:Page needed^[7] This list includes: Prana (inward moving energy), apana (outward moving energy), vyana (circulation of energy), udana (energy of the head and throat), and samana (digestion and assimilation).^[8][3]Template:Page needed Early mention of specific pranas often emphasized prāṇa, apāna and vyāna as "the three breaths". This can be seen in the proto-yogic traditions of the Vratyas among others.^[9]Template:Rp Texts like the Vaikānasasmārta utilized the five pranas as an internalization of the five sacrificial fires of a panchagni homa ceremony.^[9]Template:Rp

Template:Refimprove section One way of subdividing prana is by the means of vāyus. Vāyu means "wind" or "air" in Sanskrit and the term is used in a variety of contexts in Hindu philosophy. Prāṇa is considered the basic vāyu from which all the other vāyus arise. Hence prāṇā is the collective term which subdivides into the individual vāyus of prāṇa, apāna, uḍāna, samāna, and vyāna.^[6]Template:Page needed^[3]Template:Page needed The functions of the five vāyus are as follows:^[3]Template:Page needed^[10]Template:Page needed

Template:Refimprove section Indian philosophy describes prana flowing in channels called Nadis. The Shiva Samhita states that there is a total of 350,000 nadis in the human body, while other texts says there are 72,000 nadis, each branching off into another 72,000.^{[citation needed]} These nadis play an important role in the application and understanding of certain yoga practices. Shiva Samhita explains that the three most important nadis are the Ida, the Pingala and the Sushumna, each facilitating the flow of praṇā vāyu throughout the body.^[4]Template:Page needed

Ida nadi relates to the right side of the brain, and the left side of the body, terminating at the left nostril.^{[citation needed]} Pingala nadi relates to the left side of the brain and the right side of the body, terminating at the right nostril.^{[citation needed]} Sushumna nadi connects the base chakra at the base of the spine to the crown chakra at the top of the head.^{[citation needed]}

The practice of pranayama can be used to balance the flow of prana within the body. When praṇā vāyu enters a period of uplifted, intensified activity, the yogic tradition refers to it as pranotthana, a precursor to the Kundalini state.^[11]Template:Page needed

The word Prāṇāyāma derives from the Sanskrit words prāṇa and ayāma, translating as "life force" and "expansion" respectively. It is a common term for various techniques for accumulating, expanding and working with prana. In yoga, pranayama is a practise of specific and often intricate breathing techniques.^[12] Many pranayama techniques are designed to cleanse the energetic channels called nadis allowing for greater movement of prana. Other techniques may be utilized to arrest the breath for samadhi or to bring awareness to specific areas in the practitioner's subtle or physical body. It can also be utilized to generate inner heat as in the practice of tummo. In ayurveda and therapeutic yoga, pranayama may also be utilized for any number of tasks including to affect mood and aid in digestion. A.G. Mohan says the physical goals of pranayama may be to recover from illness or the maintenance of health while its mental goals are: "to remove mental disturbances and make the mind focused for meditation".^[13] According to Georg Feuerstein: "the two most important species of the life force are obviously prâna and apâna, which underlie the breathing process. Their incessant activity is seen as the principal cause for the restlessness of the mind, and their stoppage is the main purpose of breath control (prânâyâma)".^[3]Template:Page needed Swami Yogananda writes that: "The real meaning of Pranayama, according to Patanjali, the founder of Yoga philosophy, is the gradual cessation of breathing, the discontinuance of inhalation and exhalation".^[14]Template:Page needed

• Chaitanya (consciousness)
• Chakra
• Fate/stay night: a series of visual novels that refers to prana as the source of all energy, similar to mana.
• Qi Men Dun Jia
• Yoga Sutra

• Kason, Yvonne (2000). Farther Shores: Exploring How Near-Death, Kundalini and Mystical Experiences Can Transform Ordinary Lives. Toronto: HarperCollins Publishers; Revised edition.
• Rammurti S. Mishra Yoga Sutras: The Textbook of Yoga Psychology
• Sovatsky, Stuart (1998). Words from the Soul: Time, East/West Spirituality, and Psychotherapeutic Narrative. SUNY Series in Transpersonal and Humanistic Psychology, New York: State University of New York Press.

• Prana (Wikipedia)
• Prana - A Overview as per vedic scriptures along with a hymn to Prana from Atharva Veda
• Prana - overview