The Awakening of Prāṇa
From cosmic origin to technique. Four texts, one thread.
What is prāṇa?
We say "breath," we say "life force." But the texts say something else. Prāṇa is a bridge. It connects the formless to the formed. The Self to the body.
Let's trace it: from the Upaniṣads to Haṭha Yoga.
This prāṇa is born from the Ātman. As the shadow is spread over a person, so (prāṇa) is spread over This (Ātman). It comes to this body by the action of the mind.
ātmana eṣa prāṇo jāyate | yathaiṣā puruṣe chāyaitasminn etad ātatam | manokṛtenāyāty asmiñ śarīre
Where does prāṇa come from? From the Ātman. It's born from the Self like shadow is born from the body. It's not air. It doesn't enter from outside. It's a projection of what we already are.
This changes the practice. When you work with breath, you work with the shadow of the infinite.
Breathwork stops being exercise. It becomes sādhana.
But how do you apply this? Patañjali sums it up in five words.
Or through exhalation and retention of the breath.
pracchardana-vidhāraṇābhyāṃ vā prāṇasya
Exhale. Retain. The mind quiets.
No philosophy, no promises. Just direct instruction. And it appears here, in the first pāda, before the formal treatment of prāṇāyāma. For Patañjali, breath is means, not end. It serves to calm the mind.
Why does it work? The Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā explains.
When the breath is unstable, the mind is unstable. When the breath is stable, the mind stabilizes, and the yogī attains immobility. Therefore, he should control the breath.
cale vāte calaṃ cittaṃ niścale niścalaṃ bhavet | yogī sthāṇutvam āpnoti tato vāyuṃ nirodhayet
Agitated breath, agitated mind. Still breath, still mind. No mystery.
Fighting thoughts doesn't work. Work with breath. The mind calms on its own.
But there are prerequisites.
With āsana firmly established, the yogī, with self-control, eating healthy and moderate food, should practice prāṇāyāma according to the instructions of his guru.
athāsane dṛḍhe yogī vaśī hita-mitāśanaḥ | gurūpadiṣṭa-mārgena prāṇāyāmān samabhyaset
First āsana. Then diet. Then self-control. And a teacher to guide.
Without this, prāṇāyāma can destabilize more than harmonize.
Upaniṣads: Prāṇa is born from the Ātman.
Patañjali: Exhale and retain.
Haṭha Yoga: Stable breath, stable mind. But first, the foundations.
Next time you sit to breathe, remember where what you're moving comes from.