Panch Pran
You must have heard that the gross material body (स्थूल शरीर) is made up of Panch Mahabhoot called 5 basis elements. One of those bhoot is air or vayu. Pranas (प्राण) are that vayu and are the vital force which keeps the body functioning properly. According to their function it can be divided into 5 types :
Imbalance of these 5 vital forces is one of the causes of physical ailments which are also termed as adhyatmik taap (आध्यात्मिक ताप). In Yoga you might have heard about Pranayam whose literal meaning is "exercising pran". So pranayam means breathing exercises targeted for balancing these five forms of air for body to function optimally.
- Pran (प्राण) - It moves towards the upper part of the body that is in oral cavity, in head, in throat, in ear, in tongue, in chest and in heart.
- Apan (अपान) - It moves downwards and helps in excretion.
- Vyan (व्यान) - It moves in all directions pervading the entire body as nervous current. It is the cause of circulation and transportation of vital nutrients to all parts of the body.
- Udan (उदान) - It works at navel, thoracic cavity, chest, throat and throat pit. It also helps soul to pass out of the body at the time of death.
- Saman (समान) - its function is to help to digest food and maintain metabolism
Imbalance of these 5 vital forces is one of the causes of physical ailments which are also termed as adhyatmik taap (आध्यात्मिक ताप). In Yoga you might have heard about Pranayam whose literal meaning is "exercising pran". So pranayam means breathing exercises targeted for balancing these five forms of air for body to function optimally.
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