Chapter 4 Shloka 29

अपाने जुह्वति प्राणं प्राणेऽपानं तथापरे।

प्राणापानगती रुद्ध्वा प्राणायामपरायणा:।।२९।।

Now the Lord says:

Some offer their Praan breath into the Apaan breath,

others offer their Apaan breath into the Praan breath;

still others restrain the activity of the Praan and Apaan

and give themselves to the practice of Praanayam.

Chapter 4 Shloka 29

अपाने जुह्वति प्राणं प्राणेऽपानं तथापरे।

प्राणापानगती रुद्ध्वा प्राणायामपरायणा:।।२९।।

Now the Lord says:

Some offer their Praan breath into the Apaan breath, others offer their Apaan breath into the Praan breath; still others restrain the activity of the Praan and Apaan and give themselves to the practice of Praanayam.

Little one, first understand Praanayam. This is the method whereby the practicant with his thoughts fixed on the divine attributes, restrains the inhalation and exhalation – praan and apaan of breath – and thus regulates it.

Praan

1. Praan is one’s life force.

2. It imparts strength and vitality to life.

3. The organs of perception are praan.

4. The organs of action are praan.

5. All the senses gain their strength from Praan.

6. Praan is the protective force within the body.

7. Praan is the force which regulates the activity within the individual.

There are 5 types of Praan – praan, udaan, apaan, vayaan, and samaan.

Little one, a person dies without air. Air is life giving. This same air enters the body and enlivens many inner organs for the protection of the body. The five divisions of praan are made in accordance with the particular organ that the life breath activates.

Praan Vaayu – sustains the lungs and the heart. Through the heart it governs the rest of the body. The Praan activates the lungs so that they function properly. It controls the power of breath intake. It is the life force for the whole body.

Vyaan Praan – the power that distributes the life force of praan throughout the body.

Samaan Vaayu – activates and strengthens the digestive process. It helps in transmitting the energy of the digested food all over the body. The Samaan Vaayu is active in the stomach and helps digestion in the intestines also.

Apaan Vaayu – protects the activity of the kidneys, the organs of excretion, the liver etc. It aids in expelling pollution such as urine, stools, pus etc. from the body. It exits from the body as impure wind.

Udaan Vaayu– This life breath works in the upper part of the body – the head, neck and upper chest. It also looks after the eyes, ears, mouth, nose, throat and the tongue. Praan is the life force behind all these activities.

It is due to the Praan that blood courses through the blood vessels and controls the warmth of the body. It enables all the organs to work efficiently and thus maintains life.

The incoming Praan transmits clean and healthy air to all parts of the body. Apaan expels the impure air. If both function normally, the individual remains strong and his organs are ever renewed. His faculties are energised and his mind remains at peace.

Praanayam connotes:

a) Lengthening the life span.

b) Distributing the life breath throughout the body.

c) Regulating the life breath in the whole body.

d) Controlling the Praanas and bestowing strength to the body and mind of the individual.

There are many methods of Praanayam: some inhale and hold their breath, others exhale and control their breath – yet others try to control both inhalation and exhalation. These depend on personal choice and capacity. If one concentrates on the life breath, the sense organs and the mind are both diverted from their outgoing tendencies and approach silence. Thus the mind is automatically controlled – so believe the practicants of Praanayam.

A sincere practicant of Praanayam can achieve detachment from external objects. Then his life will be immersed in yagya and he will engage himself in selfless actions, for, the practice of all these yagyas lies in selfless actions and the renunciation of the fruit of those actions.

All the yagyas mentioned so far are the various means for self purification. Through their practice:

a) The sadhak becomes established in the intransience of the Atma.

b) He engages the body in selfless actions.

c) Realising the meaninglessness of the body, mind and sense organs, he offers all his faculties in service in the spirit of yagya, for the welfare of all.