The Sanskrit word Prana means the flow of All-Pervading Energy. Herewith are just a few basic references related to this vastly expanded experience.
The breath could be pictured as rails on which the thought rolls. The thought is like a steam engine which is of no use if it has no rails to roll on. It would go nowhere and would only topple over. This is exactly what happens to one’s thoughts if they are not kept in coordination with the breath. In other words, the thought is disorderly and incoherent if it is not guided upon the rails of breath.
Awareness of the breath refers essentially to the fineness of the breath-flow. The rhythm of the breath-flow, is motivated by the state of mind, besides the influences of the environment. When one is irritated, angry, or worried, the breath-flow goes wild. The more one becomes conscious of the combination of breath and the state of mind, the more one has in hand a precious tool, which could be so helpful in daily activities.
Pranayama also teaches the ability to direct the breath either to the right or to the left, awakening either the active energy (Jelal), or the responsive condition (Jemal), whichever is the most appropriate for the circumstances involved.
Another practice is to visualize the breath-flow directed to a chosen area, or at a distance, while exhaling a slightly lengthened breath without any exaggeration in the count, followed by a refined inhalation. The thought is then automatically channeled along the breath-flow, but if the breath is un-restful, the contact wavers, like with a computer which coordinates information and becomes useless when unplugged.
The feeling heart is, however, the captain on the ship, and it is also the inspiration of one’s thoughts and actions, but if these are steered in a different direction than the feeling heart, the ship goes astray.
We have various responsibilities toward our families as well as social obligations, but we are also responsible for our thoughts and actions, since these can have such a great effect upon ourselves and others.
Mahadeva, the king of the yogis, said that there is nothing that cannot be accomplished through mastery over the breath.
Hidayat Inayat-Khan
