P
i ana vidya is a powerful psychic technique. It is therefore im portant that the novice prepare slowly, carefully and under expert guidance.The im m ediate aim o f p ran a vidya is to awaken and direct prana consciously. By developing a subtle awareness you are able to perceive and gain know ledge o f the
h,mire o f prana, leading to new dim ensions o f aware- ness. Prana vidya is concerned with both the expansion ol consciousness an d th e awakening o f p ra n a , which I ventually transform s into m editation and perfect union.
Seen in this light, the healing aspect o f p ran a vidya is of
mmondary importance. T he ultim ate aim is to transcend the pi.mamaya kosha, the bio-plasmic or light body, for then die dorm ant energies o f the chakras and o f kundalini will ,uvaken.
Prana vidya is the culmination of many years of yoga
Iii ;״ lice. Technically it sounds simple, and it is, for those who li.ive awakened prana shakti and evolved their awareness.
However, for most people the practice is elusive. Without ihe basic foundation, you may practise for years and never
M liicve the true experience.
!,reparation is essential. Before attem pting the practices nl prana vidya, mastery o f certain yogic techniques is I •!•initial. Prana vidya requires receptivity and sensitivity in prana, proficiency in pranayama, the ability to visualize
the eyes and check that you have fully returned to norm al waking consciousness.
Returning prana from ajna: O ne should make sure that at the end o f the practice the prana is returned to m ooladhara from ajna.
Loss of personal prana׳. O ne danger in perform ing psychic healing on others is that prana may be lost unless one knows how to protect and replenish it. Placing oneself inside a protective symbol before sending p ran a out is a helpful technique at the level o f pranam aya kosha. However, an individual also interacts at subtler levels. Consequently, one must have some connection to a higher source. If one reads the accounts o f different psychic healers, one will find that they all had some link with a divine power. Throughout the healing process, the awareness must be m aintained that ‘I am not the doer.’ One should try to feel oneself as an instrum ent for the cosmic healing energy to flow through.
Disease transfer: Many healers suffer from sickness due to transference o f disease. Many benign and compassionate healers have suffered for that reason. If a psychic trans- ference takes place, the healer must know how to remove it. If one feels oneself as the doer in any action, one attracts the karma of that action. Therefore, the healer should learn how to maintain contact with the eternal source of prana and surrender all efforts to the source.
Need for discrimination׳. Disease, suffering, ageing and death are all p art of life and evolution. Prana vidya for oneself or others may not always be appropriate, therefore discrimination must be cultivated and applied.
Voga nidra
I Iu־ practice o f yoga nidra is necessary primarily because il leaches one how to relax. O ne may know that the body is tense and feel stiffness o r tightness in different areas, yet mil know how to relax deeply. Perhaps one can relax one’s muscles; however, tension still remains inside. In yoga nidra one learns how to relax at a much deeper level: not ju st I lie physical body, but the pranic body, the emotions, the mind and the psyche. When there are tensions in the body, rmotions and mind, the energy flow is blocked. D epending on I he am ount and kind of tension, it can be so blocked that one becomes chronically ill. It is very difficult to practise prana vidya if one is in such a condition that one is unable to access the required am ount o f energy. Yoga nidra also leaches one to direct o n e’s awareness to, and develop l.imiliarity with, the different parts of the body. This is essential in prana vidya, which involves directing prana to specific body parts and organs via the psychic pathways.
Prana nidra
Pi ana nidra is a technique o f pratyahara that works directly with pranamaya kosha. In practice it is similar to yoga nidra. In addition to bringing about a state o f pratyahara, withdrawing of the m ind from the senses, p ran a nidra also develops pranic sensitivity and balances or harmonizes the pranas. Both these aspects are crucial for success in prana vidya. Usually in the beginning, prana is experienced as Im ins of uncontrolled energy, such as tingling or sensations ul warmth in the body. In prana vidya, control and direction I if energy is developed, which requires the ability to perceive I in rents of prana flowing within the pranic body. Prana nidra develops this pranic awareness in a systematic way.
Plana may be directed to the physical organs and systems;
du■ pancha pranas: prana, apana, samana, udana and vyana;
ilu• nadis: ida, pingala and sushumna; and the chakras.
Prana nidra is recom m ended as a preparatory practice (see ( liapter 10).
prana as well as having a thorough knowledge of the physical body. A wide range o f yoga practices are recom m ended in order to prepare the body, m ind and pranas. Success in the practice of prana vidya depends on proficiency in these preparatory techniques.
Hatha yoga
T he practices o f hatha yoga rank first as preparation for the p ran a vidya practices, firstly, for developing a steady body and secondly, for attuning the pranam aya kosha. With steadiness o f body and balancing o f prana, the m ind auto- matically becomes calm and steady, and is able to achieve a higher meditative state.
Asanas remove all pranic blockages and stimulate the chakras, helping to rebalance and raise the level o f prana in the different areas o f the body.
Pranayama is essential to prana vidya. Ujjayi pranayama, the psychic breath, is used during the practice to facilitate the awakening, distribution and withdrawal o f prana. O ther pranayam as are also used to systematically purify and rebalance the nadis and awaken the prana.
Bandhas are psychic locks used to raise the level of prana and reverse the direction of pranic flow. For example, m oolabandha reverses the downward flow of apana and sends it upward, while jalan d h ara and uddiyana bandhas reverse the upward flow of prana and send it downward.
This reversal causes apana and prana to meet at samana and brings about an awakening o f the prana in that area.
Madras are gestures or practices that redirect the prana or concentrate it in one location, preventing the dissipation of energy. For example, by folding the tongue back in khechari m udra, vishuddhi chakra, the throat centre, is awakened. The sacral centre is stimulated by contracting the urethra and the anal sphincter muscles in vajroli and ashwini mudras respectively, awakening the energies connected with swadhisthana chakra.
Kriya yoga practices utilize and channel the physical, pi.mic, psychic and m ental forces. In doing so, these ii.ilural forces are harm onized and refined, leading to the awakening o f one’s own being. Subtle and direct perception is developed through kriya yoga. In this way, kriya yoga mliances the depth and experience of prana vidya.
When the preparatory and purification process has been I ompleted, the direction o f prana becomes as natural and spontaneous as breathing. (Full details o f these practices
« ,in be found in Tattwa Shuddhi, Kundalini Tantra, Dharana htirshan and other books published by Yoga Publications
II ust, Munger, Bihar.)
M editation
Kaya sthairyam, or body steadiness, is im portant, as the aspirant must be able to sit in a steady posture for some time to experience and visualize the movement of prana. Physical movement tends to break the concentration and the inner vision will be lost.
Japa is an im p o rtan t practice, as according to the tantra shastras, m antras have the power of healing. If the power of m antra is added to the distribution o f prana, as is dem onstrated in the practice in C hapter 16, the healing power o f p ran a vidya is greatly enhanced. Only those mantras given by the guru, or universal m antras such as Om, So-Ham, the M aham rityunjaya m an tra o r Gayatri m antra should be used. Gayatri is the m antra for awakening prana; for self-healing, use your personal guru m antra.
Regular practice of ja p a and anushthana, prolonged m antra repetition, awakens and perfects the power of mantra.
Ajapa japa is essential for developing awareness o f the nadis and breath, im p o rtan t keys to p ran a vidya.
Awareness of the psychic passages and the psychic breath must be mastered so they can be used spontaneously while awakening, distributing and withdrawing prana.
Visualization and concentration practices develop the ability to perceive and experience the internal plane, which is too subtle for the external senses to grasp. In the beginning, prana vidya visualization focuses the powers of will, concentration and imagination to create a mental image of a particular part of the body or organ being infused with energy.
Chidakasha dharana is necessary because the movement of prana is visualized, not within physical matter, but within the psychic space o f the body. O ne must develop awareness, not only o f chidakasha, the mental space, but also o f sthulakasha, the whole body space, an area in which the movement of prana can easily be seen.
Chakra shuddhi and tattwa shuddhi practices complete the preparation for prana vidya by purifying and awakening the chakras and the tattwas.
visualized in the form of white light particles, similar to the luminous light display of sparklers, yet confined and flowing u ii Inn the nadis. Initially, prana will be visualized purely I used on imagination. However, in the advanced stages the
>n luai vision and personal experience of prana is required.
The next practice deepens and refines awareness of ilie chakras. Throughout the practices o f prana vidya, the iliakras are visualized as shining points o f light. They are Humiliated and awakened in order to attain this clarity of v ision. During this process, dorm ant energy is liberated and the chakras are purified.
The pancha prana practice directs the awareness to the unique flow of each of the five major divisions of pranic I iiergy: prana or sthula prana, the vital energy that moves upward from the diaphragm to the throat; apana, the vil,il energy that moves downward from the navel to the
Iiciineum; samana, the vital energy that moves from side to in le in the abdomen; udana, the vital energy experienced .is spiralling flows of light in the extremities; and vyana, t he .ill pervading flow of vital energy. (See Appendix A for a ili.igram o f the pancha pranas.)
In the final practice, thepranamaya kosha or pranic body ,is a whole is developed and intensified.
PRACTICE I : YOGA NIDRA FOR DEVELOPING