Prana Vidya — The Science of Life Force
Prana is the fundamental life force that animates all living beings — the Tantric science of prana distinguishes five primary pranas and teaches their cultivation, direction, and refinement as the foundation of all spiritual practice.
Tantric and Yogic traditions describe five aspects of prana (life force) operating in the body: Prana-vayu (the upward-moving breath — inhalation, heart and lungs), Apana-vayu (the downward-moving force — elimination, reproductive organs), Samana-vayu (the equalizing force — digestion, solar plexus), Udana-vayu (the upward-circulating force — speech, expression, throat), and Vyana-vayu (the pervading force — circulation throughout the body). The mastery of prana through pranayama is considered the royal highway to mastery of the mind — since mind and prana are intimately linked (wherever prana goes, the mind follows; wherever the mind goes, prana follows).
Control the prana, control the mind. Control the mind, control the universe. This is the teaching of all the Tantras.
The Shiva Samhita and Hatha Yoga Pradipika hold that mind and prana are yoked — restrain one and the other stills — which is why pranayama is treated as the direct road to mastery of the mind.
Shiva Samhita
Written about in
- What Tantra says about illness and the body failing
Tantra divides life-force into five vayus by function — prana for breath and heart, apana for elimination, samana for digestion, udana for speech, vyana for circulation. When something fails, the tradition's first question is which movement has stopped, on the claim that mind follows prana wherever it goes.