Prana. There are a
million ways to describe it: chi, essence, life force, energy, flow, vitality,
vigor, vivacity, animation, dynamism, liveliness . . . Sometimes it is easiest
to understand when we put it in a context.
Think of a time when you felt truly alive, inspired and energetic. You probably were well rested and well
fed. Wherever you were, you were happy
and content with whatever you had. I can
almost guarantee that your prana was well cultivated at that time and in
balance.
So while some of us are interested in keeping our ojas well
stocked so that our tejas once lit can keep prana flowing, others may say, that
is enough Sanskrit for one day, I lost you after prana, can we just go back to
talking about prana? Just hang with me
for a second longer and we'll head back to how to cultivate prana.
Ojas, tejas and prana are what David Frawley terms as
"the essential or beneficial forms of Vata, Pitta and Kapha that sustain
positive vitality . . . they promote health, creativity and well-being . .
." (87). So if we were to take the
essence and positive qualities of the three doshas, that's what ojas, tejas and
prana are. Ojas (related to Kapha) is
primal vigor, it is a reserve, the base for endurance, responsible for
nourishing and grounding. Tejas (related
to Pitta) is inner radiance, it is vitality, it digests our experiences and
allows us to unfold. Prana (related to
Vata) is the primal life force, the directing intelligence behind all
functions, the great coordinator of mind, body and spirit, responsible for
evolution and harmonization.
Fantastic!
Great! I want all of these
qualities! So how do I get them? I believe Buddhism nailed this one with the
Noble Eightfold Path. Right view,
intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration
must be cultivated if we are to have any chance at finding inner peace. Ayurveda adds one more complex piece to the
puzzle. Right lifestyle. This is unique to you and you alone. The right lifestyle for you is individual,
the amount of sleep, type of work, creative outlets, movement and social
interaction, as well as the type and quantity of food, drink and herbs is your
responsibility to understand.
I like to think of myself as a scientist of my own great
experiment in life. I try my best to
stay detached and rather than assume that my actions are bringing greater ease
and inspiration into my life, I try to observe my actions and their
consequences. As much as possible, I
respect what I observe and make changes in my lifestyle to reflect what I
need. Not so easy because as we all
know, the only constant is change. This
is not to say that I don't have patterns because I sure do. I can pretty much guarantee to you all that
my imbalances always start with anxiety, fear and ungroundedness and I know now
how to get myself back into balance fairly painlessly. When we are in balance, we can easily
cultivate prana. Prana is cultivated
through maintaining a right lifestyle.
We gain it from the foods we eat as well as through all of our
senses. When we are in balance we can
more easily cultivate prana because we take it in with every breath we
take. So find a lifestyle that makes you
feel alive and ojas will create tejas which will create prana.
Yoga & Ayurveda.
Lotus Press, Twin Lakes. 1999.
