Prāṇa

Prāṇa (Winds or Vital Energies)

• Meaning & Role: Prāṇa (Tib. rlung, རླུང་) literally “breath” or “wind.” It denotes the vital currents of energy that sustain body and mind. The mind rides upon the winds—where the wind moves, consciousness follows.

• Five Principal Winds:
  1. Life-sustaining wind (srog ’dzin rlung) – centered at the heart; supports life and consciousness.
  2. Upward-moving wind (gyen rgyu rlung) – throat; governs speech, swallowing, and exhalation.
  3. Fire-accompanying wind (me mnyam rlung) – navel; regulates digestion and the inner heat (tummo).
  4. Pervading wind (khyab byed rlung) – distributed throughout; enables bodily movement and posture.
  5. Downward-clearing wind (thur sel rlung) – lower abdomen; governs elimination and reproductive functions.

• Practice: Through vase breathing, kumbhaka, visualization, and candālī (inner-heat) yogas, practitioners purify the winds, then gather them into the central channel, leading to the cessation of coarse thought and the dawning of the innate awareness of clear light.