What is Pranayama?
Prana—Vital, eternal life force
Yama—To restrain or use self-control
Ayama—To stretch, extend, or expand (the dimensions in space and time)
Pranayama means to extend and overcome normal limitations, facilitating a deeper state of awareness about our use of energy. Prana is the vital life force (energy or chi) present in everyone and everything—it exists in people, in the air we breathe, and even within inanimate objects. This life force rides on the breath just as oxygen rides on the red blood cells that course through our bodies.
Prana is not to be mistaken for our breath or the air we breathe; these are separate entities. Prana is responsible for the birth, growth, and decay of all life forms. When we die, however, our breath disappears and our prana remains. Matter is the densest form of prana, while prana itself is very subtle and abstract. Within the body, prana travels along the passageways or energy channels known as nadis, which also parallel the meridians of Chinese medicine.
When our thoughts, speech, and deeds are pure and come from a place of empathy and compassion, we connect with unconditional love and our life force energy is high. Our life is full of purpose. Unkind thoughts, words, and actions create blockages in the body that disrupt the flow of prana. We may feel depleted of energy due to these blockages. The practice of pranayama begins cleansing these energy pathways and restoring balance to our bodies.
Pranayama activates and regulates prana, making a yogi more sensitive to vibrations within their own body, other beings, and the cosmos. When we increase our sensitivity and awareness, we are less likely to think, say, or do harmful things to other beings. We understand that doing harm to another creates energy blockages in our bodies. Increasing our awareness throughout our daily lives enhances this life force energy.
While each of the breathing technique has different effects and benefits, they all have one common goal: achieve a state of yoga by accelerating the movement of life force energy, increasing awareness, and creating the state and experience of equanimity. This assists us in realizing the oneness of being.