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FAMILY
October 2008 
Prana-Deepak Chopra
Posted on Sep 25th, 2008
by 
nathangela
nathangela
A Letter From Deepak
Where there is energy, there is prana, the universal life force that exists everywhere. Any form of energy is considered prana, including heat, light, electricity, and gravity. Prana is the prime mover of all activity; it is life and consciousness.
The most obvious manifestation of prana is our breath. Each day, we take more than 20,000 breaths, but how often do we notice the life force that animates our being? If we pay attention, our breath can teach us more than we can imagine: our emotional state, the power of the present moment, gratitude, peace, and even God.
Focusing on the breath immediately brings us into the now. When we allow ourselves to be present, we create the breathing room we crave so intensely and we can feel, unimpeded, the sensual rhythm of our lives.
The interplay between inhale and exhale is an intricate pas de deux. The inhalation, rising from the root of the spine, has an expansive quality that bubbles up the way a lover greets his beloved. In the slight pause that follows, lover and beloved are united in a total embrace. During the exhalation, which reaches all the way down to the pelvic floor, the beloved is kissed as she merges back into the infinite.
The inhalation bathes the body in life; the exhalation surrenders that life back to its source. Each breath offers the chance to awaken and the opportunity to let go. When we pay attention, we can feel the core of our being ripple through our body. Breathing with awareness is a form of prayer, a grateful listening to the divine within ourselves.
Breathing in gratitude, we breathe out joy. This simplicity is the key to our vitality. We spend years searching for the key, looking high and low. The journey home begins when we realize that the key is hiding in our own pocket.
Love,
Deepak
"Are you looking for me?
I am in the next seat.
When you really look for me
you will find me instantly.
You will find me in the tiniest house of time.
Kabir says: Student, tell me,
what is God?
He is the breath inside the breath." ~Kabir
In Vedantic philosophy, prana is the life-sustaining force that flows through our bodies, similar to the energy of chi or Qi expressed in various Asian schools of thought. In Sanskrit prana means breath. And it is our breath - each breath - that keeps us in constant dynamic exchange with the universe. This energetic life force that moves in us, out of us, within us, and through us is ever present in our extended bodies as well, swirling with the wind, exploding with the surf, swaying with the trees, and rolling through blades of grass. Prana exists in every being and every piece of this planet that has life within it.
In Ayurveda, prana expresses itself through the Vata dosha, whose primary characteristic is movement. There are five Vata subdoshas that govern the flow of prana throughout our body and mind:
Prana Vata: responsible for perception, inspiration, and thought;
Udana Vata: governs the process of speech;
Samana Vata: controls the rhythm of peristalsis;
Apana Vata: the subdosha responsible for menstruation, waste elimination, and sexual function;
Vyana Vata: governs the circulation of blood throughout the body.
These five pranic subdoshas keep our vitality flowing through our five senses, as well as through the ether that swirls around us.
Pranayama (pronounced PRAH-nah-YAH-mah) is a breath-control practice that helps us regulate prana and influence our mental and physical states. There are a variety of pranayama or conscious breathing techniques to relax, balance, or invigorate your body-mind, including Nadi Shodhana, Bellows Breath, and Ujjayi. According to yogic philosophy, the breath is merely a gateway to the world of prana and its manifestation in the body. The great yoga masters teach that as we become more attuned to the pranic energy within, we spontaneously move from a constricted state into increasingly expansive states of awareness.
This Namasté is dedicated to Prana and its energetic aspects. In his letter, David Simon explains the Sanskrit origins of this timeless concept, and Deepak shares a poetic perspective on prana's eternal ebb and flow. This month's recipe, meditation Q&A, and other features offer further guidance to nurture your vital energy. We invite you to begin right now by taking a deep breath, feeling your lungs fill with air - with pure prana - and exhaling in gratitude for the primordial force that sustains you in every moment of your life.
Words of Wisdom
"Wisdom tells me I am nothing. Love tells me I am everything. Between the two my life flows."
~Nisargadatta Maharaj
"Emotions consist of energy plus a story. If we let go of the story, only the energy is left."
~Trumpa Rimpoche
"The depth of your breath is an extension of the expansiveness of your soul.
With each inhale you open your heart; with each exhale you stretch your being.
Breathing in . . . breathing out. Always reaching beyond
your heart, your body, your very essence . . . beyond that which existed only moments before."
~davidji
Where there is energy, there is prana, the universal life force that exists everywhere. Any form of energy is considered prana, including heat, light, electricity, and gravity. Prana is the prime mover of all activity; it is life and consciousness.
The most obvious manifestation of prana is our breath. Each day, we take more than 20,000 breaths, but how often do we notice the life force that animates our being? If we pay attention, our breath can teach us more than we can imagine: our emotional state, the power of the present moment, gratitude, peace, and even God.
Focusing on the breath immediately brings us into the now. When we allow ourselves to be present, we create the breathing room we crave so intensely and we can feel, unimpeded, the sensual rhythm of our lives.
The interplay between inhale and exhale is an intricate pas de deux. The inhalation, rising from the root of the spine, has an expansive quality that bubbles up the way a lover greets his beloved. In the slight pause that follows, lover and beloved are united in a total embrace. During the exhalation, which reaches all the way down to the pelvic floor, the beloved is kissed as she merges back into the infinite.
The inhalation bathes the body in life; the exhalation surrenders that life back to its source. Each breath offers the chance to awaken and the opportunity to let go. When we pay attention, we can feel the core of our being ripple through our body. Breathing with awareness is a form of prayer, a grateful listening to the divine within ourselves.
Breathing in gratitude, we breathe out joy. This simplicity is the key to our vitality. We spend years searching for the key, looking high and low. The journey home begins when we realize that the key is hiding in our own pocket.
Love,
Deepak
"Are you looking for me?
I am in the next seat.
When you really look for me
you will find me instantly.
You will find me in the tiniest house of time.
Kabir says: Student, tell me,
what is God?
He is the breath inside the breath." ~Kabir
In Vedantic philosophy, prana is the life-sustaining force that flows through our bodies, similar to the energy of chi or Qi expressed in various Asian schools of thought. In Sanskrit prana means breath. And it is our breath - each breath - that keeps us in constant dynamic exchange with the universe. This energetic life force that moves in us, out of us, within us, and through us is ever present in our extended bodies as well, swirling with the wind, exploding with the surf, swaying with the trees, and rolling through blades of grass. Prana exists in every being and every piece of this planet that has life within it.
In Ayurveda, prana expresses itself through the Vata dosha, whose primary characteristic is movement. There are five Vata subdoshas that govern the flow of prana throughout our body and mind:
Prana Vata: responsible for perception, inspiration, and thought;
Udana Vata: governs the process of speech;
Samana Vata: controls the rhythm of peristalsis;
Apana Vata: the subdosha responsible for menstruation, waste elimination, and sexual function;
Vyana Vata: governs the circulation of blood throughout the body.
These five pranic subdoshas keep our vitality flowing through our five senses, as well as through the ether that swirls around us.
Pranayama (pronounced PRAH-nah-YAH-mah) is a breath-control practice that helps us regulate prana and influence our mental and physical states. There are a variety of pranayama or conscious breathing techniques to relax, balance, or invigorate your body-mind, including Nadi Shodhana, Bellows Breath, and Ujjayi. According to yogic philosophy, the breath is merely a gateway to the world of prana and its manifestation in the body. The great yoga masters teach that as we become more attuned to the pranic energy within, we spontaneously move from a constricted state into increasingly expansive states of awareness.
This Namasté is dedicated to Prana and its energetic aspects. In his letter, David Simon explains the Sanskrit origins of this timeless concept, and Deepak shares a poetic perspective on prana's eternal ebb and flow. This month's recipe, meditation Q&A, and other features offer further guidance to nurture your vital energy. We invite you to begin right now by taking a deep breath, feeling your lungs fill with air - with pure prana - and exhaling in gratitude for the primordial force that sustains you in every moment of your life.
Words of Wisdom
"Wisdom tells me I am nothing. Love tells me I am everything. Between the two my life flows."
~Nisargadatta Maharaj
"Emotions consist of energy plus a story. If we let go of the story, only the energy is left."
~Trumpa Rimpoche
"The depth of your breath is an extension of the expansiveness of your soul.
With each inhale you open your heart; with each exhale you stretch your being.
Breathing in . . . breathing out. Always reaching beyond
your heart, your body, your very essence . . . beyond that which existed only moments before."
~davidji
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