Pranayama has a number of significant impacts on prana and, via it, the body and mind.
- Pranayama brings prana back into the body, increases and stores it, balances the nadi system's flow (svara), and guides prana towards the central energy channel (sushumna).
- Pranayama also has a significant impact on the body's humours (doshas) and the qualities (gunas) of the mind.
- Because of these benefits, pranayama may be used to fight any of the barriers mentioned by guru Patanjali in the Yoga Sutra!
- Because knowing the particular pranayama methods is required to explain these effects.
The following are the primary benefits of pranayama practice:
- Returning dispersed prana to the body The Vasishta Samhita, which contains sage Vasishta's yoga teachings, claims that prana is angulas bigger than the body (finger widths).
- This implies that the pranic body extends 12 finger widths beyond the gross body's surface.
- Pranayama, according to Sage Yajnavalkya, pulls prana into the body, which was previously dispersed 12 angulas outside the gross body's surface.
The Vedic literature also contains the same information.
- The sage Atharvan depicts our body as being finger widths long, with prana spreading 12 angulas beyond the body in the Shandilya Upanishad.
- Sage Atharvan adds that the best of yogis is one who reduces his prana so that it does not disperse outside the body via yoga practice.
The siddhas of the Middle Ages came to the same conclusion.
- According to the Goraksha Shataka, prana emerges from the body's surface in 12 angulas, but is drained during intense acts like as sexual intercourse in 36 or more angulas.
- The same statistics are cited by Sage Gheranda. This distributes one's prana and shortens one's life, according to the elders.
- You will live longer if you reduce the dispersion of prana.
- According to the Hatha Tatva Kaumudi, whomever lowers the discharge of prana to less than 12 digits is a yoga master.
The scattering of prana appears in our life as a scattered mind:
- being chatty and engaged in a variety of activities that don't lead us anywhere.
- It causes restlessness,
- 'being out there' instead of resting in one's center,
- 'being all over the place' instead of resting in one's heart,
- maintaining degrading relationships,
- and creating unwholesome cravings for oneself.
Pranayama is a technique for concentrating prana in the body and withdrawing the projection of prana out into the environment, making us a more complete and integrated human being.
You may also want to read more about Pranayama and Holistic Healing here.
