Prāṇa

Prāṇa is the vital life-force energy that animates all living beings, governing biological functions such as breathing, circulation, and digestion. In everyday understanding, it refers to the breath and the subtle energy carried by it. Yogic practices like prāṇāyāma work directly with prāṇa to improve health, calm the mind, and increase vitality.

Prāṇa is the subtle vital energy that forms the bridge between the physical body and the mind, operating through the prāṇamaya kośa (vital sheath) of the five-sheath model described in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad. It manifests as five primary currents — prāṇa, apāna, vyāna, udāna, and samāna — each governing distinct physiological and subtle functions. Mastery over prāṇa through yogic discipline leads to mastery over the mind and awakening of higher consciousness.

At the absolute level, Prāṇa is the first emanation of Brahman into manifestation — the primordial cosmic energy (Mukhya Prāṇa) that precedes and sustains all creation. The Praśna Upaniṣad declares that Prāṇa arises from the Ātman like a shadow from a person, inseparable from the ultimate Reality. In its highest sense, Prāṇa is not merely energy but the dynamic aspect of pure Consciousness itself, the vibrating power (spanda) through which the formless becomes form.