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Prana (प्राण, IAST: prāṇa) is a Sanskrit word meaning 'breath' and refers to a vital, life-sustaining force of living beings and vital energy in natural processes of the universe. Prana is a central concept in Indian medicine and Yoga where it is believed to flow through a network of fine subtle channels called nadi. The three main channels are: the ida, the pingala, and the sushumna. The ida and pingala channels correlate with left and right uninostril breathing. If Prana enters a period of uplifted, intensified activity, the Yogic tradition refers to it as Pranotthana (Sovatsky, 1998). Image File history File links Example. ... The Brahmic family is a family of abugidas (writing systems) used in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Tibet, Mongolia, Manchuria, and to an extent, Korea. ... IAST, or International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration is the academic standard for writing the Sanskrit language with the Latin alphabet and very similar to National Library at Calcutta romanization standard being used with many Indic scripts. ... The Sanskrit language ( , ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and one of the 22 official languages of India. ... For other uses, see Life (disambiguation), Lives (disambiguation) or Living (disambiguation), Living Things (disambiguation) Look up life, living in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Vitalism is the doctrine that vital forces are active in living organisms, so that life cannot be explained solely by mechanism. ... The deepest visible-light image of the cosmos, the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. ... In the chakra-system, a Nadi (plural: Nadis) is an energy formation which is a channel in which prana energy flows and may connect chakras. ... A woman practising hatha yoga Yoga (Devanagari: योग) is a family of ancient spiritual practices originating in India. ...

Prana's first expounding came in the Upanishads, where it is part of the worldly, physical realm, sustaining the body and the mother of thought and thus also of the mind. Prana suffuses all living form but is not itself the Atma or individual soul. The Upanishads (उपनिषद्, Upanişad) are part of the Hindu Shruti scriptures which primarily discuss meditation and philosophy and are seen as religious instructions by most schools of Hinduism. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... Atman may refer to a concept in Hindu and Buddhist traditions: Atman (Hinduism) Atman (Buddhism) See also Anatta (anatman) This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ...

The popular understanding of prana as being the same as air could be said to be a misunderstanding, or a simplification of the concept. The incorrect assumption that Prana is respiratory air arises from the popular understanding of the practice of Pranayama, in which the control of Prana is achieved (initially) from the control of one's breathing. According to Yogic philosophy the breath, or air, is merely a gateway to the world of prana and its manifestation in the body. In yoga, pranayama techniques are used to control the movement of these vital energies within the body, which is said to lead to an increase in vitality in the practitioner. However, the practice of these techniques is not trivial, and Kason (2000) mentions circumstances where pranayama techniques might disrupt the balance of a person's life. The possibility of adverse effects resulting from these techniques must therefore not be underestimated. AIR is a three-letter abbreviation with multiple meanings, as described below: The Annals of Improbable Research, a monthly magazine devoted to scientific humour All India Radio - Indias Government Radio service AIR, a popular electronica band from France. ... Pranayama (Devanagari: प्राणायाम, prāNāyāma) is a sanskrit word that means control (yama) of the life force (prana). ... A woman practising hatha yoga Yoga (Devanagari: योग) is a family of ancient spiritual practices originating in India. ... Pranayama (Devanagari: प्राणायाम, prāNāyāma) is a sanskrit word that means control (yama) of the life force (prana). ...

In practical terms, prana can be explained in various ways. Feelings of hunger, thirst, hot, cold, etc. in the body could, according to this worldview, be interpreted as pranic manifestations. All physical feelings or energies that arise or flow within the body might also be interpreted as evidence that prana is at work. The presence of prana is said to be what distinguishes a living body from a dead one. When a person (or any other living being such as an animal) dies, the prana, or life force, is thought to leave the body through one of several orifices.

Prana is also a term which can be further classified into subcategories, referred to as pranas. According to Hindu philosophy these are the vital principles of basic energy and subtle faculties of an individual that sustain physiological processes. There are five 'Pranas' or vital currents in the Hindu system : Prana, Apana, Vyana, Udana and Samana. The pranas constitute the second sheath (kosa) of a human being (who is essentially the Atman or the Self). The kosas are listed below. Practitioners of yoga, especially within Hinduism, believe that vital currents are generated by the human body, and that these currents control all biological processes. ... According to Advaita Vedanta, a philosophical branch of Hinduism, ātman is the all-pervading soul of the universe. ...

1. Annamaya Kosa (Gross Body)
2. Pranamaya Kosa (Vital Air Sheath)
3. Manomaya Kosa (Mental Sheath)
4. Vigyanamaya Kosa (Intellectual Sheath)
5. Karanamaya Kosa or Anandmaya Kosa (Causal Sheath)

Veerya or seminal energy is said to be "the Prana of Pranas". Veerya is an ancient Indian term for Seminal energy and is fairly interchangeable with the western term semen. Vedic tradition holds that: The vital energy, the Veerya that supports your life, which is the Prana of Pranas, which shines in your sparkling eyes, which beams in your shining cheeks, is...

Cultural references

Prana: Psychedelic Trance Act consisting of Andy Guthrie and Tsuyoshi Suzuki.

See also

• Aether (classical element)
• Aether theories
• Ayurveda
• Etheric body
• Etheric plane
• Hinduism
• Kundalini
• Life force
• Mana
• The Od
• Qi
• Tsa lung
• Reality and Chakras in Bön
• Upanishads
• Yoga
• Yoga Sutras

Chinese Wood (木) | Fire (火) | Earth (土) | Metal (金) | Water (æ°´) Hinduism and Buddhism The Pancha Mahabhuta (The Five Great Elements) Vayu/Pavan (Air/Wind) Agni/Tejas (Fire) Akasha (Aether) Prithvi/Bhumi (Earth) Ap/Jala (Water) Aether (also spelled ether) is a concept used in ancient and medieval science as a substance. ... Alchemy, natural philosophy, and early modern physics proposed the existance of aether (also spelled ether, from the Latin word aether, meaning upper air [1]), a space-filling substance or field, thought to be necessary as a transmission medium. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Ama (Ayurveda). ... The etheric body, ether-body, æther body, or vital body is one of the subtle bodies in esoteric philosophies, in some religious teachings and in New Age thought. ... The etheric plane or etheric region is one of the planes of existence, or more specifically a subplane or planes, in Theosophy and New Age thought. ... Hinduism (Sanskrit: , , also known as , ) is a religion that originated on the Indian subcontinent. ... Kundalini (, IAST: ) is a Sanskrit word meaning either coiled up or coiling like a snake. ... The term life force or lifeforce can refer to: The soul, spirit, or other vitalistic energy. ... Mana is a traditional term that refers to a concept among the speakers of Oceanic languages, including Melanesians, Polynesians, and Micronesians. ... Also called Od [õd] and Odyle, Odic Force is the 19th century name given to a hypothetical vital energy or life force that proponents say permeates all living plants, animals, and humans. ... QI, standing for Quite Interesting, is a comedy panel game television show hosted by Stephen Fry and shown on BBC Two and BBC Four. ... Tsa lung (Tib. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Bön. ... The Upanishads (उपनिषद्, Upanişad) are part of the Hindu Shruti scriptures which primarily discuss meditation and philosophy and are seen as religious instructions by most schools of Hinduism. ... A woman practising hatha yoga Yoga (Devanagari: योग) is a family of ancient spiritual practices originating in India. ... This article is in need of attention. ...

References

• Kason, Yvonne (2000) Farther Shores: Exploring How Near-Death, Kundalini and Mystical Experiences Can Transform Ordinary Lives. Toronto: HarperCollins Publishers; Revised edition.

• 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

• Telles Shirley (2005) Oriental approaches to masculine and feminine subtle energy principles. Perceptual & Motor Skills, Apr;100(2):292-4.

External links

• Prana - overview
• The Amazing Potentials of Pranic Energy
• Pranayama