| Breathing is a very basic phenomenon concerning life. It | | | | ten different forms of this vital air. These were |
| is intimately concerned with the biochemical process of | | | | supposed to be responsible for performing different |
| obtaining energy from digested food materials. Every | | | | functions in the body. Five of these ten vayus were |
| cell and tissue of an organism's body depends | | | | supposed to be more important. They are: Prana, |
| continually for its life activity on the energy derived | | | | Apana, Vyana, Udana and Samana. As declared by |
| from oxidation of the digested food materials, and as | | | | the great Shankaracharya "one and the same prana |
| this process cannot go on without a continued supply | | | | becomes known as the five vayus due to diversity of |
| of oxygen to the cells and tissues, almost all forms of | | | | functions." |
| life seem to depend very largely on the process of | | | | The location and functions of the ten vayus are found |
| breathing. For the sake of description, this process | | | | described in many yoga texts, (e.g. |
| may be conveniently divided into two parts, one | | | | Trishikhi-brahmanopanishad, mantra ; Yoga |
| connected with the external environment, the other | | | | Yajnyavalkya ; Chhandogya Upanishad,; |
| with the internal environment. Taking oxygen from the | | | | Amritanado-panishad and so on). We do not have |
| external environment into the body constitutes the first | | | | space here to go into the details of these. We should |
| part of breathing, while making the oxygen available to | | | | note one fact, however, namely, that the word prana |
| every cell and tissue, is a function of what may be | | | | was in use in the Sanskrit language since very ancient |
| called internal breathing. In human beings, as we have | | | | times, and has been referred to at several places in |
| noted earlier, the first part is played by the respiratory | | | | the Vedic literature. It is said in the Atharvaveda that |
| system, and the second by the circulatory system. | | | | the activities in the body are based on prana and |
| We do not know if our ancient masters of yoga were | | | | apana. The same text at another place has compared |
| aware of the fact that the air we breathe in is a | | | | the relation of prana with the world of living beings to |
| mixture mainly of three gases, namely, nitrogen, | | | | that of a father with his son,declaring that "prana is the |
| oxygen and carbon dioxide. They knew it fully well | | | | fundamental basis of whatever is, was, and will be". |
| however, that life activity depends fundamentally upon | | | | The word "Pranayama", however seems to be of a |
| the vital air which they called "Prana".They distinguished | | | | later origin. |