ĀYURVEDA: A Closer Look at Prāna Vāyu [Mind & Respiration]

Transcript

welcome to healthy ayurveda.com i'm dr mike daly wall vedic sage today we'll continue with vata subdoshas this time focusing on parallel as we know the primary functions of vatadosa are enthusiasm within the mind breathing whether it be inspiration or expiration movement within the body sensory perception and the elimination of waste products so cherika mentions five subdoshas of vata and shisruta mentions the corresponding functions the five sub doshas are prana udana samana viana and apanavayu pranavayu is located primarily in the head and neck along with the thoracic cavity or chest functions of vata subdosha are mentioned by sushruta and the primary function of pranavayu is purana which is to fill space this is demonstrated as piranha value being the driving force of inspiration that which fills the lungs with air allowing for oxygenation prana also governs the swallowing reflex which allows the passage of food down the esophagus and ultimately filling the stomach with food other functions of purana value include reflexes such as sneezing belching and spitting along with controlling organs of sensation all of these functions which are primarily located in the head and neck so the brain is arguably one of the most important organs in the human body it controls and coordinates actions and reactions allowing us to think and feel all things influenced by purana value the brain and various senses can be likened to the roots of a tree the tree grows well when its roots are free from defects similarly the body grows properly only if the head is free from diseases now this may be a metaphor implying that the brain which houses the organs of sensation is influenced by the senses and it's this influence which has an impact on our overall health and well-being or we can say that vata governs the mind or menace the mind governs the senses and it's the senses which influences the brain and it's this influence which affects our overall health and well-being that said altered prana value within the mind such as excess anxiety worry and fear may lead to impairment of thinking which may then lead to the aggravation of doshas vata pitta or kapha or even the rajas and thomas within the mind which then may lead to poor choices or bad actions such as the intake of improper food and diet or the improper lifestyle considerations and such vicious cycle if not interrupted leads to misery in the form of diseases so jedica reiterates this by explaining that the wrong utilization of the sense organs excess utilization of the sense organs or even the non-utilization of the sense organs as being the various causes of misery in the form of diseases so we can see how psychological factors of everyday living stress anxiety worry can affect prana value which then has an influence on our overall health and this is also how meditative acts such as pranayama helps to gain insightfulness and intelligence to help guide our manas or the mind in ways which are most conducive to healthful living so once again the primary function of pranavayu is purana which is to fill space and this can be understood as the inspiratory phase of breathing essentially this allows for oxygen to travel down the pulmonary tree in order to reach the distal alveoli for gas exchange which allows oxygen to enter into the circulation this oxygen is then carried and transported by red blood cells or recta dattu via the general circulation and upon entry into the mitochondria the electron from the oxygen molecule is used to create a proton gradient needed to drive the atp synthase for the formation of atp atp being the energy currency within cells required for life by speculating we can say that prana value provides the impulse within the sa node of the right atrium which initiates the conduction for cardiac contractility needed for circulation and it's this driving force along with vienna value which delivers oxygen or plana throughout the body and i would be inclined to attribute all of these contributing factors as being part of prana bahasrotas so once again the primary function of purana value is purana which is to fill space and we can think of prana value as the inward and downward movement that drives the food from the mouth down the esophagus and into the stomach to fill the space within the stomach and we can appreciate plana value a bit more if we can imagine much of vanta's actions are through the nervous system and the tenth cranial nerve or the vagus nerve provides the parasympathetic tone needed for rest and digest which is likely under the influence of pranavayu considering its prana value which propels the food down into the stomach needing to be digested abnormalities of piranha by you may lead to conditions such as hiccups coughing hoarseness of voice and even asthma and other conditions from aggravation of pranavayu perhaps in the mind may include excess crying weeping sobbing and even unusual laughter associated with mental conditions or insanity are also part of aggravated planner value so these are just basic considerations of prana value we'll continue to discuss these sub-doshas one by one eventually considering the management of such various imbalances meanwhile hope you've enjoyed and until next time be well