Inward moving energetic wind
Following the first practice of Marion's Series Energetic Winds, this article goes further in-depth to explore the nurturing power of prana-vayu (our vital breath). Here we discuss how harnessing our energy can have a profound influence on our physical health, mental balance and potential for personal growth.
Nurturing a relationship with prana-vayu allows us to harness the power of our breath and activate our prana (life energies) rooted between our chest and belly. Through regular practice and being aware of this part of our being, we enhance our health, particularly relating to key organs such as our lungs and heart. Beyond this, prana-vayu can be seen as an excellent way of regulating the mind-body connection. Many aspects and conditions of contemporary life have not been designed for our minds and bodies to flourish, let alone rest in a ‘natural’ state.
Often, we are overworked, overloaded and living sedentary or stressful lives, it is all too easy to be a little dis-regulated, or even a lot dis-regulated.
Practices and philosophies within yoga, developed over thousands of years, guide us into greater understandings of being, which help us down-regulate into better states of physical and mental health. These ideas and practices show us new ways to take in sensory data and engage with our inner and outer world in more creative, novel and intimate ways.
This new found ability and way of relating to the world, through an expanded exploration of the senses and how we process them and the world around us, opens us to personal-growth and self-discovery.
Word from Marjon
When we explore the five energetic winds, we often start practicing with the inward moving wind, called prana-vayu. This energetic wind differs from the all encompassing group of the five winds, called the prana vayus. Here we are now moving from the general group to one of its specific forms.
This inward, forward moving energetic wind is situated in the thoracic region of our bodies from our navel to our throat. It powers our respiratory system and closely relates to our hearts, lungs and diaphragms.
In Yoga, you will generally feel the effects of prana-vayu when taking a deep inhale whilst feeling your belly and ribs expand and lift up. You can practice by noticing the enlivening quality of your inhalation each time you breathe in.
On a more subtle and psychological level, it relates to how we take in sensory information or what gives us inspiration and fuels our vitality.