He who, dwelling in the air, whom the air does not know, whose body is the air, who controls the air from within —He is your Ātman, the Inner Ruler, the Immortal.

Air (vāyu) is the closest to our conscious experience: every breath reminds us of its presence. And yet, the air we breathe does not know the one who breathes. In our yoga practice, especially in prāṇāyāma, we experience this directly: I can observe the breath, control it, stop it —who observes? The antaryāmin is not another being but our own deepest being, the one who remains when air enters and leaves, immortality itself.