Prana — The Life-Force That Animates All Living Systems
Prana (life-force) is the subtle vital energy that distinguishes living from non-living matter, governs all physiological and psychological activity, and is the medium through which consciousness interacts with the body.
Prana (from 'pra' = forward + 'an' = to breathe, to live) is described in Ayurveda and Yoga as the fundamental vital force that animates all living beings. It is not oxygen (though breath is its primary vehicle), not ATP (though metabolic energy is its physical expression), and not neural electrical impulses (though the nervous system is its primary physical pathway). It is the organizing intelligence that coordinates all these physical systems into a living whole. In Ayurveda, Prana is closely allied with Vata dosha — both govern movement and both are disrupted by similar factors (irregular lifestyle, cold, dryness, excessive stimulation). The health of the Prana is inseparable from the health of the Pranic channels (Nadis, of which there are said to be 72,000), the most important being Ida (cooling, lunar), Pingala (heating, solar), and Sushumna (central channel, the highway of spiritual awakening).
Prana is the life of all living beings; it is the controller of the body and mind.
Biophysicist Mae-Wan Ho's research on the liquid crystalline nature of living organisms and their ability to store and transmit coherent energy — far exceeding what could be explained by conventional biochemistry alone — provides a biophysical candidate for the Ayurvedic concept of Prana.
Charaka Samhita
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- What Ayurveda says about breath and prana
Prana is the vital force that separates the living from the non-living, and the breath is named as its main vehicle rather than as the thing itself. Charaka calls it the controller of body and mind.