The Breath Bible

The Five Vayus — the currents of prana

Prana is not the breath itself; breath is its vehicle. Within the body that force differentiates into five governing currents, each with a seat, a direction and a domain of life.

• Prana vayu — seated in the chest — intake, inspiration, reception of everything from air to impressions
• Apana vayu — seated below the navel — downward elimination, grounding, release and letting go
• Samana vayu — at the navel — digestion and assimilation, of food and of experience alike
• Udana vayu — throat and head — expression, speech, upward movement, will and aspiration
• Vyana vayu — pervading the whole body — circulation, coordination, the integration of the other four

The Mechanics of a Complete Breath

Most practitioners never fix the underlying pattern, and every technique built on a faulty pattern inherits the fault. Here the breath is rebuilt from the ground up.

• Diaphragmatic restoration — releasing the habitual chest-and-shoulder breath and returning movement to the diaphragm
• The three-part breath — abdomen, ribs, upper chest — filled and emptied as one continuous wave
• Ratio and rhythm — inhalation, retention, exhalation and pause, and what each phase does to the nervous system
• Breath rate — why slowing to six breaths a minute changes heart rhythm, pressure and mood
• Nasal primacy — why the nose, not the mouth, is the instrument of pranayama
• Common faults — reverse breathing, breath-holding under stress, over-effort and the strain it plants in the channels

The Pranayama Library

Each practice is taught with its purpose, its correct sequence, its contraindications, and the imbalance pattern it answers.

• Nadi shodhana — alternate-nostril breathing — the master purifier and balancer of ida and pingala
• Cooling breaths — sheetali and sheetkari for heat, irritability and pingala excess
• Warming breaths — surya bhedana and kapalabhati for lethargy, damp heaviness and ida excess
• Settling breaths — ujjayi, bhramari and extended exhalation for anxiety and an overactive mind
• Kumbhaka — retention taught conservatively, only once the base pattern is steady
• Contraindications — clear guidance for pregnancy, hypertension, heart conditions, glaucoma and recent surgery

Breath as Daily Practice

• Morning sequence — the order in which cleansing, warming and balancing breaths are practised
• Situational breathing — short protocols for sleep, focus, digestion, travel and acute stress
• Measuring progress — breath rate, comfortable retention and nostril dominance tracked over the 40 days
• Journalling — recording what each practice does to your own state, so the plan becomes yours