“Prana is the breath of life of all beings in the universe. They are born through it and live by it, and when they die, their individual breath dissolves into the cosmic breath.” - Prashna Upanishad
Hey lovely,
It’s spring in Aotearoa. You've definitely already felt it, that subtle quickening in the air, the way the mornings have changed, the sense that something dormant is beginning to stir. The birds know it. The plants know it. And if you’ve been practising long enough, your body knows it too.
According to one of yoga’s most ancient and central teachings, what you’re feeling has a name: Prana. The life force. The vital energy that pulses through all living things, and which, like everything in nature, moves in cycles, ebbs in winter, and rises again with the season.
This week I want to introduce you properly to Prana: what it actually is, what modern science has to say about it, and how it moves through your body in five distinct ways that your yoga practice has been working with all along, whether you realised it or not. 🌸
WHAT IS PRANA?
The Sanskrit word Prana comes from the roots pra (before, forth) and an (to breathe, to live). It is most often translated as life force, vital energy, or breath, though it is all of these and more than any of them.
In the yogic understanding, Prana is the animating intelligence that underlies all of existence. It is not the breath itself; it is what the breath carries. Not the electricity; it is what makes electricity possible. It is the difference between a living body and a body that is merely biological matter. It is, to use a modern metaphor, the signal rather than the wire.
What science is starting to understand: Western science doesn’t yet have a single word for Prana, but it keeps discovering what looks remarkably like it. Bioelectricity, the electrical field generated by living cells, governs how cells communicate, how wounds heal, and how the body organises itself. Research by biologist Michael Levin at Tufts University has shown that bioelectric signals determine not just cellular behaviour but the entire patterning of living organisms: what grows where, in what shape, in what sequence.
Traditional Chinese Medicine calls this same force Qi or Chi. Japanese culture calls it Ki. Ayurveda calls it Prana. Wilhelm Reich called it Orgone energy. The names differ. The observation that living things are animated by something beyond their chemistry is startlingly consistent across cultures, millennia, and now, increasingly, scientific disciplines.
Prana flows through the body via channels called nadis, a Sanskrit word meaning rivers or channels. The classical texts describe 72,000 nadis threading through the body, with three primary ones: Ida (cooling, lunar, left side), Pingala (heating, solar, right side), and Sushumna (central channel, running along the spine). When Prana flows freely and evenly through these channels, we experience health, clarity, vitality, and ease. When it stagnates, becomes depleted, or flows erratically, we experience the opposite.
This is why yoga is not merely a physical practice. Every asana, every breath, every mudra, every moment of conscious attention is, in the yogic understanding, an act of working with Prana. Moving it. Freeing it. Cultivating it. Directing it to where it is most needed.
PRANA AND SPRING - WHY RIGHT NOW MATTERS
In Ayurvedic understanding, Prana is intimately connected to the natural world and its rhythms. Just as sap rises in trees in spring, just as seeds that have lain dormant through winter crack open and reach toward the light, so too does our own Prana stir and rise with the season.
Spring is traditionally understood as the season of renewal, of upward movement, of fresh energy beginning to circulate after the inward stillness of winter. If you’ve felt a sudden burst of motivation lately, a desire to clear out and begin something new, an energy that wasn’t quite there a few weeks ago, that is not coincidence. That is your Prana waking up in response to the world around it.
This is also why spring is considered one of the most potent times to establish or deepen a yoga and breathwork practice. The natural energy of the season supports it. You are, quite literally, flowing with the current rather than against it.
THE FIVE VAYUS - THE WINDS OF THE BODY
Here is where it gets beautifully specific. Prana is not one undifferentiated force; it moves through the body in five distinct directions and governs five distinct functions. These are called the Pancha Vayus (the five winds), and understanding them transforms how you understand everything your yoga practice is doing.
PRANA VAYU - Inward and upward: chest and heart centre
The primary life-giving force, the inhalation, the intake, the spark of reception. Prana Vayu governs our ability to take in: breath, food, sensory experience, ideas, nourishment of all kinds. When it is balanced, we feel alive, receptive, enthusiastic, and open. When it is depleted, we feel flat, disengaged, breathless in the deeper sense.
In yoga: backbends, chest openers, and deep inhalation work directly with Prana Vayu.
APANA VAYU - Downward and outward: pelvis and lower abdomen
The force of elimination and release; the exhalation, the letting go, the downward movement. Apana Vayu governs everything the body releases: breath on the exhale, waste, menstruation, childbirth, and at the subtler level, the release of old emotions, thoughts, and patterns that no longer serve us. A healthy Apana is essential for feeling grounded and clear.
In yoga: forward folds, twists, Mula Bandha, and long exhalations strengthen Apana Vayu.
SAMANA VAYU - Centralising and equalising: navel and digestive centre
The force of assimilation and balance; the digestive fire (Agni), the ability to process and integrate. Samana Vayu governs digestion at every level: food, experience, emotion, information. It is the great equaliser, drawing everything toward the centre and ensuring what is taken in becomes useful nourishment. When balanced, we digest life as well as lunch 😉
In yoga: core work, twists, and Kapalabhati breath (breath of fire) stoke Samana Vayu.
UDANA VAYU - Upward and expressive: throat and head
The force of growth, expression, and ascension; the voice, the will, the upward aspiration. Udana Vayu governs speech, swallowing, and the expression of our inner life outward. At the subtler level, it governs our enthusiasm, our sense of purpose, and our capacity to grow beyond our current state. A vibrant Udana is what makes a person radiant and clear in their expression.
In yoga: chanting, inversions, throat-opening poses, and Ujjayi breath work directly with Udana Vayu, which is one reason chanting Om feels so profoundly uplifting.
VYANA VAYU - Expansive and pervasive: the entire body
The force of circulation and integration; the great distributor that pervades every cell and coordinates all other Vayus. Vyana Vayu governs the circulatory and nervous systems, the movement of limbs, and the sense of our body as a unified, coordinated whole. When Vyana is strong, we feel fluid, coordinated, and fully inhabiting our body. When depleted, we feel scattered, disconnected, and clumsy.
In yoga: flowing movement, Surya Namaskar, arm balances, and full-body integration sequences nourish Vyana Vayu.
YOUR PRACTICE IS ALREADY WORKING WITH ALL FIVE
Every time you step onto your mat, you are, whether consciously or not, working with the Pancha Vayus. A deep inhale into a backbend feeds Prana Vayu. A long exhale in a forward fold releases through Apana Vayu. The heat of a core sequence stokes Samana’s digestive fire. A chant or an Ujjayi breath lifts Udana. A flowing Sun Salutation circulates Vyana through every cell.
This is why a well-sequenced yoga class leaves you feeling simultaneously energised and settled, clear and grounded, open and contained. It’s not magic; it’s the intelligent movement of Prana through a system that has been designed, over thousands of years of careful observation, to do exactly that.
Signs your Prana might need some attention this spring:
- Feeling flat or unmotivated despite the season’s upward energy - Prana Vayu needs support
- Struggling to let go of tension, of emotions, of the past winter - Apana Vayu needs releasing
- Digestive sluggishness or difficulty processing experiences - Samana Vayu needs stoking
- Finding it hard to speak your truth, feeling unexpressive or voiceless - Udana Vayu needs lifting
- Feeling scattered, uncoordinated, or disconnected from your body - Vyana Vayu needs flowing
A SPRING PRANA PRACTICE
Here is a simple sequence to work consciously with your Prana this spring, one that honours the season’s upward, expansive energy while grounding it in the body.
THE SPRING PRANA AWAKENING - 10 minutes, any time of day
- ARRIVE AND FEEL. Stand or sit quietly for one minute. Place your hands on your belly, then your heart. Feel the warmth of your own hands. Notice: is there energy here? Where does it feel alive and where does it feel still?
- THREE ROUNDS OF NADI SHODHANA. Alternate nostril breathing to balance Ida and Pingala - equalising the Pranic flow before you begin moving. (See our YouTube clip of the week for instruction.)
- FIVE SUN SALUTATIONS - SLOWLY. One breath per movement, no rushing. Feel the Vyana spreading energy through your limbs. With each inhale, reach - with each exhale, release. Prana and Apana in conversation.
- A SUPPORTED BACKBEND. Place a bolster or rolled blanket under your thoracic spine and open your chest to the sky. Breathe into the front of your body for two minutes. Pure Prana Vayu nourishment.
- CLOSE WITH A HUM. In your final resting moment, hum a single tone on your exhale three times. Feel the vibration in your chest and skull. Udana Vayu rising. Prana singing itself awake.
Spring does not announce itself with a fanfare. It arrives quietly, in the quality of light, in the new green at the tips of branches, in the stirring of something that has been waiting. Prana moves the same way: not always dramatic, not always obvious, but unmistakably alive once you know how to feel for it.
Welcome to spring, lovely. Your life force is waking up. Let’s move with it. 🌸
What's Happening In The Pantry 🧘♀️
WE have a BRAND NEW class on our Timetable 🤸♀️ Join Kat every Tuesday at 6pm for Hatha Free Flow
A creative, embodied yoga practice weaving together Hatha, Vinyasa, free movement and breathwork.
Rather than following the same sequence each week, we'll explore different ways of moving, breathing and being in the body. Some classes may feel strong and energising, others slower and more spacious, always with an invitation to listen, explore and move from the inside out.
We'll use movement, breath and awareness to release tension, lengthen and awaken the body, and support the nervous system to settle. There is space for curiosity, play and self-expression, alongside moments of stillness and rest.
Come ready to move, breathe and explore and leave with a little more space, freedom and connection.
Then stick around for Yin at 7.15 pm, a perfect evening of delectable yoga.
We have 1 last Monday night Beginner Yoga series for this year and it starts on MONDAY!!! YES THIS MONDAY!
If you know someone who's looking to get into yoga and doesn't know how or where to start, then now is the perfect time to start your campaign to get them into our awesome beginner courses. Our beginner Yoga course has been running for 12 years and is the best and most well-rounded beginner yoga course around (if I do say so myself). With a good mix of philosophy, breathwork, and, of course, physical postures, but what really sets us apart is the emphasis on finding ways to let the poses fit you rather than the other way around. Plus, all the wonderful folks who make up our amazing community.
It's also a great course to brush up on your basics and get back into the swing of things if you've been away from your yoga practice for a while...😉😊
For more information and to secure a coveted spot in this fantastic course, check out our website and BOOK NOW!!!!!!!
EXCITING MINI RETREAT
Join Karryn in November for a blissful afternoon of self-care.
Return To Self: A Mini Retreat (one-off special, so don't miss out)
This 2.5 hour retreat is all about the feel-good stretches, physically and mentally, that will help you connect with your inner peaceful nature and feel more grounded and calm in body and mind. Designed as a mini-retreat, the afternoon session will include an opening circle, breathwork, slow flow yoga (suitable for all levels), journaling (for some introspection and to challenge intrusive thoughts) and a soothing yoga nidra (yogic sleep) practice, leaving you feeling refreshed and centred.
No need to bring anything, just yourself; we will provide the rest. You will also receive a journal and pen to jot down your thoughts and experiences. This will be a small, intimate group, celebrating you and weaving together a beautiful little community of like-minded souls.
Spaces are extremely limited.
BOOK NOW to secure your spot on Sunday, November 15
3:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Head here to book all your regular yoga classes and maybe even try some new ones!
Remember, you can join us online from anywhere in the world, live or at a time that suits you, with our instant 14-day on-demand Zoom recording!
Don't forget you can also join us for a FREE meditation session every Saturday morning, and even if you can't, you can book in via Zoom and do the meditation later in the day, or every day, until the next session :)
Your YouTube Class Of The Week...
Here's a little refresher on how to do your alternate nostril breathing and also a little glimpse of Tash 8 years ago 😜
Feel free to share these vids far and wide because sharing is caring, and it helps me with the algorithm :D
With all the energy of a new season and so much love 🌸
Tash & The Yoga Pantry Team
See you on the mat 😻
P.S If you wish to receive these amazing Yogi Notes straight to your inbox, sign up HERE
You can also catch up on previous Yogi Notes right HERE
P.P.S Don’t forget to share your Yoga insights on social media with the hashtag #TheYogaPantryLife #Yogaislife #theyogapantrywithtash
Let’s spread the yoga love far and wide!
I see you, and I appreciate you. You are awesome...and don't you forget it ;) x
