Hi guys
Can prana cause illness when it is misdirected in the body? What would be an example of misdirected causing illness?
Thanks
Yonita
If you do advanced pranayamas if you are a novice yes you can be sick.
Dont know what you mean by misdirected though. Anyone starting pranayama should never hold the breath or go so far so one feel the need to take an extra breath whilst doing it. The lungs should never be stressed.
Our ancient yoga teachers were scientists. Scientists who had developed greater awareness in their bodies than the vast majority of us today. They utilized terminology to explain what they felt in the most scientific manner available to them. Depending who you ask, prana is the life sustaining force, a vital energy that flows through the nadis. In Ayurveda, the sun and sunshine are said to be a source of prana.
And then some modern day “yoga practitioners” got ahold of it and made it into some supernatural anything-but-scientific term. Instead of continuing to build upon the work of our ancient yogis, we’ve thrown away much of modern science due to our lack of understanding and made up new ways of egoistically explaining things instead of coming from a place of scientific inquiry.
In Ayurveda, prana comes from the sun. We now know that we get vitamin D from the sun which is one of the most vital “forces” there is for human health.
In my opinion, prana is the interactions of vitamins, minerals, other nutrients, our immune system, respiratory system, circulatory/lymphatic system, nervous system, endocrine system, digestive system, and everything else our body needs for healthy functioning. So to answer your question, yes, prana can absolutely be “misdirected” in the body. Ask anyone with a disease, nutritional deficiency, or chemical/hormonal imbalance (almost all of us).
Prana is energy or the “breath of life.”
If you’d like to feel it, to get to know about it, you could do this…
I would perform yogasana for 1 hour as you normaly do. ANd then when you lie down in shavasana make Dharana or Concentration your practice.
Pick a spot in your body, knee, foot, shoulder and put your mind awareness into feeling it. You put your awareness into the feeling in your body.
Do this for about 5 to 10 minutes or so.
You will eventually begin to feel the energy gather into the area of your concentration. It has particular qualities.
For me to feel the energy it takes only my concentration and there it is.
Your concentration does not need to be “perfect” only persistent.
Proof is in the pudding.
What is that “Energy” that you’re feeling though? “Energy” is a nice word and I forever see it thrown around in yoga circles, but if we come to understand what “Energy” is, then we might be able to better utilize it.
[QUOTE=yonita;76058]Can prana cause illness when it is misdirected in the body? What would be an example of misdirected causing illness?[/QUOTE]
Yonita,
Prana is the resonance of universal vibration (om) in all bodies and in nature. We do not “direct” prana so much as it directs itself. We can merely create or remove obstructions to it (our own resonanace of om): those obstructions being the cause of illness and not the prana itself. However, there also has to be a balance between the rate of any increase in resonance (or prana), and the condition of the body, which is the purpose of yoga. This imbalance is the cause of all illness.
Hope that helps,
siva
[QUOTE=David;76078]What is that “Energy” that you’re feeling though? “Energy” is a nice word and I forever see it thrown around in yoga circles, but if we come to understand what “Energy” is, then we might be able to better utilize it.[/QUOTE]
Breath of Life.
Prana Vayu.
The energy or prana vayu follows the mind. The more you practice with it the faster it flows according to where you settle your awareness.
If your not familiar with it, you “charge up” by doing yogasana for a time, an hour is good. Then lie down and get comfortable. Then settle your awareness on a particluar location in your body. The time it takes, depends on your level, or sensitivity, or attunement to the energy. If your a noob it will slowly gather.
5 to 10 minutes of persistent (not perfect) dharana and you “should” feel it.
When you feel it for the first time you will go - hmmm. Thats different. I think my world is now rocked.
[B]Proof is in the pudding.[/B]
This is the begining of Pranayama.
What it is specifically, well I don’t know, life energy, the breath of life, prana vayu. They give it many names. My theory is that it, among other things, enables this marvelous thing we call “life.”
Praise the Lord.
[QUOTE=yonita;76058]Hi guys
Can prana cause illness when it is misdirected in the body? What would be an example of misdirected causing illness?
Thanks
Yonita[/QUOTE]
ah yes. If subtle channels become blocked then the prana vayu is hindered, reduced or eliminated which is detrimental to the health of the organ or part of the body which is supplied by the aforementioned subtle energy channel.
Man does not live by bread alone.
Blocked nadis are not the only cause of disease, but they can be problematic.
You could ask Suhas Tamble from this forum, he is well versed in that kind of subjects.
Thanks everyone for your thoughtful contributions.
David - so a diseased body is misdirected prana. Can you elaborate on this a little more? So health is prana that flows efficiently through the body. Misdirected prana is prana that is blocked or not flowing efficiently, thus disease. Have I caught your meaning correctly?
Siva - my understanding is that prana can be directed which isn’t to say it can be controlled. So laying your hand where you wish for prana to flow is a way to direct the prana. From my learning at least, prana follows consciousness.
[QUOTE=yonita;76058]Hi guys
Can prana cause illness when it is misdirected in the body? What would be an example of misdirected causing illness?
Thanks
Yonita[/QUOTE]
Yonita,
The prana misdirected, consciously or unconsciouly, does cause discomfort(s) in a person in terms of physical, mental, cognitive, emotional, etc, symptoms.
What sort of discomforts a person will have depend not only on his/her body type, age, gender, conditions but also which prana is misdirected or not channelised well.
The prana generally mean flow of air in body. As per Yoga and Ayurveda texts there are five main types of pranayas (vayus or air) in our body.