What is the difference between prana and the vayus?

Prana is the energy; the vayus are its directions. Confusingly, the first of the five is also called prana, which is why the texts sometimes say prana vayu to be clear.

Which vayu does pranayama work on?

All of them, but each practice has a target. Kapalabhati works apana and samana, ujjayi works udana, long even breathing works prana and vyana.

Are the upa-pranas taken seriously?

They are listed in the Gheranda Samhita and in Ayurvedic sources and repeated consistently. They are minor by definition, not disputed.

Why does one wind remain after death?

Dhananjaya is associated with the tissues rather than with breathing, and the classical account has it persisting in the body afterwards. It is a statement about the difference between a body and a person.

The winds

The ten vayus

Prana is not one thing sitting still. The texts sort it by direction: what comes in, what goes down, what gathers at the centre, what rises, what spreads. Five main winds, and five minor ones that account for blinking, burping, sneezing, yawning and the last of them, which does not leave when you do.

5: main winds
5: minor winds
1: that stays after death

The winds

Five that run the body's major functions, and five that handle the reflexes nobody thinks about.

The five prana vayus

Sorted by the direction they move.

🌬️

Prana

Prāṇa · प्राण inward chest

The inward and upward wind seated in the chest. Takes in air, food, sensation and everything else that arrives.

⬇️

Apana

Apāna · अपान downward pelvis

The downward wind below the navel. Everything the body lets go of moves on apana, which is why the locks work against it.

🔥

Samana

Samāna · समान gathering navel

The gathering wind at the navel. Brings what has arrived toward the centre and separates the useful from the rest.

⬆️

Udana

Udāna · उदान upward throat

The rising wind at the throat and head. Speech, upright posture, effort, and in the older texts the movement of consciousness at death.

🕸️

Vyana

Vyāna · व्यान pervading whole body

The pervading wind, everywhere at once. Coordinates the other four and moves what they process out to the edges.

The five upa-pranas

Minor winds, each named for a reflex.

🐍

Naga

Nāga · नाग belching

The serpent. Governs belching and hiccups, the release of trapped air upward.

🐢

Kurma

Kūrma · कूर्म blinking

The tortoise, which withdraws into its shell. Governs blinking and the closing of the eyelids.

🤧

Krikara

Kṛkara · कृकर sneezing

Governs sneezing and coughing, and in most lists hunger and thirst as well.

🥱

Devadatta

Devadatta · देवदत्त yawning

God-given. Governs yawning and the stretch that comes with it, the body taking in air the ordinary breath missed.

💠

Dhananjaya

Dhanañjaya · धनञ्जय remains

The winner of wealth. Governs swelling and the tissues, and is the one wind said to remain in the body after death.

Direction, not substance

The vayus are not five different energies. They are one energy classified by where it goes, which is why the names describe movement: ana is breathing, and the prefixes do the work. Pra is forward and in. Apa is away and down. Sam is together. Ud is up. Vi is apart and through.

That classification is the practical heart of pranayama. A breathing practice is not general exercise for the lungs. It is aimed at one of these directions, and the classical instructions say which.

The five main winds

Prana sits in the chest and brings things in. Apana sits below the navel and takes things out. Between them, samana gathers at the navel and processes what arrives. Udana rises from the throat and handles speech, posture and effort. Vyana is everywhere and coordinates the rest.

The relationship that matters most in practice is between prana and apana, which move in opposite directions. Hatha yoga is largely the project of bringing them together at the navel, which is what the locks are for: mula bandha lifts apana against its habit, uddiyana draws prana down, and the meeting is said to generate the heat that opens the central channel.

The five minor winds

Naga, kurma, krikara, devadatta and dhananjaya are given the involuntary reflexes: belching, blinking, sneezing and hunger, yawning, and swelling. They look like a curiosity and they are doing something specific. A system that claims to account for the movement of energy in the body has to account for the movements that happen without asking, and this is that accounting.

Dhananjaya is the odd one. It is said not to leave at death, and the texts connect it to what happens to a body afterwards. The older commentators use it as a reminder that prana is not the same as the person.

Keep reading

The energy centres

Each centre is assigned one of the winds.

The nadis

The channels the winds move through.

The koshas

Pranamaya kosha is the sheath the winds make up.

The layers of the aura

The modern field model of the same territory.

Frequently asked questions

: Prana is the energy; the vayus are its directions. Confusingly, the first of the five is also called prana, which is why the texts sometimes say prana vayu to be clear.
: All of them, but each practice has a target. Kapalabhati works apana and samana, ujjayi works udana, long even breathing works prana and vyana.
: They are listed in the Gheranda Samhita and in Ayurvedic sources and repeated consistently. They are minor by definition, not disputed.
: Dhananjaya is associated with the tissues rather than with breathing, and the classical account has it persisting in the body afterwards. It is a statement about the difference between a body and a person.

The vayus

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