Inside Yoga 103 (10/3/14)
As we are in the modern era of sound-bites, it is appropriate that there is one sound-bite which applies to yoga practice: when we practice yoga we are “getting rid of what we don’t need”. One of my teachers, Clive Sheridan, said this at the start of a 30-day yoga retreat some years ago, and the moment he said it, a light bulb in me went on. And I still use this short sentence as a reminder to what underlies this practice.
What do we want to get rid of? This can mean anything, and everything – from unwanted emotions and thoughts, to physical injuries and illness which brings us down and affects our health adversely.
Imagine we are a house and there is a blockage in the house – we call in the plumber, the electrician and anyone else we can think of to solve the problem, so that everything functions properly, and safely. In a similar way with yoga we remove blockages and get our energy flowing freely and safely.
In yoga theory prana is described as something that “is infinitely everywhere”. Prana brings life to everything, plants and animals alike depend upon prana to live; prana is vitality. It is described as flowing inside us, keeping us alive.
There are five forms of prana:
As something goes in, something else goes out: is one way of looking at this, and of the five pranas, we tend to focus on prana-vayu and apan-vayu. Prana goes into the body, and apana leaves the body: so we focus on making space for more prana, by ensuring that apana does not accumulate and cause a blockage.
Apana has the function of elimination and providing the energy for it, and it also refers to the lower abdomen and the rubbish that collects there when the power of prana is not in a state of equilibrium. For example, when a person is slow and heavy, in yoga terms, they are described as having too much apana. Apana as pranic energy is something we need, but apana as rubbish left from activating this energy actually prevents prana from developing within. All forms of prana are needed, but to be effective they must be in a state of balance with each other. The aim is to reduce apana to an efficient minimum, so that we can bring more prana into the body.
Too much apana does not just result in constipation, and heaviness, it also affects our breathing adversely, eg, shortened breathing. If we have trouble holding our breath, and cannot exhale slowly, it is said that the apana is too high.
In yoga theory, the interactions of prana and apana are described: when we inhale, prana from outside the body is brought in, and at this point prana meets apana; and when we exhale, the pana within the body moves towards the prana. Pranayama is the movement of prana towards the apana, and the movement of the apana towards the prana.
It is this relationship between prana and apana which lies beneath all yoga practice whether we are exploring yoga postures or breathing exercises.
In general terms it is about understanding that it is all about achieving a balanced state of being. And this means managing our internal “account”: by seeing that we need to manage the flow of apana as much as the flow of prana.
Once we understand this relationship between the two pranas, we start to look at yoga as being more than just the exercises we do in class. For example, yoga teaches us to see what we eat. Diet is tricky subject, a topic which causes heated debate, but we are a product of what we eat. A diet that leaves us overweight and lacking in energy is increasing apana and also results in apana being stuck inside; change the diet and see how the apana goes and prana comes in – ie, more energy, feeling more content, and feeling more alert…. Simple goals achieved by seeing ourselves in a holistic way – seeing ourselves in our entirety, as it is all interconnected.
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