Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Prana Vayus – The 5 Winds



Prana - The Vital Life Force energy.

The Prana Vayus (the five winds), are subtle channels in which prana is distributed throughout our being. Below is a brief summary:

Prana Vayu - Felt and distributed by the Inhalation and organs of respiration from the heart to the throat (upward flow of prana)

Apana Vayu - Felt and distributed by the Exhalation (downward flow of prana) and affects the processes of elimination

Udana Vayu - Felt and distributed in a circular pattern around the throat and head and affects the throat, neck, thyroid / metabolism, the power of speech

Vyana Vayu - Felt and distributed by the heart (flow of prana from the heart out to the extremities - hands and feet), affects the blood, lymphatic and nervous system

Samana Vayu - Circular distribution around the navel from the inside out, affects the small intestine, digestion, especially agni - the digestive fire in the belly.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Ms. Barone,
I was having real trouble grasping the pravavayus. The illustration and comprehensive explanation helped me get it.
Thanks!
All my very best,
Dorothea

Anonymous said...

There are like 9 vayuvu's that are associated with life as we know.. I stumbled upon this page trying to look up those. They enter during various stages of the conception and birthing process and similarly leave en-masse.. anyway this is an interesting theological exersise..

Metaji said...

thank you for the figure/diagram...may i copy it to show students? I'd be happy to pay you a fee.thank you,
Meta Hirschl
www.yoganow.org

Anonymous said...

Vayus are said to be 49 in all but only five are most important. Out of these five as described in this blog nicely in summary, only Prana and Apana are most important to practice. If thse two can be balanced, rest are not important as claimed by the experts.

Nancy Ruby said...

I, too, appreciate the simplicityof your diagram and would love to purchase the use of it for my students.
Let me know if we can create a viable exchange.

Sincerely,
Nancy Ruby
www.yogamotion.com