The foundation of all life, of the whole universe, is the subtle life force energy that yogis call prana. You can’t see it or touch it or taste it, but prana is the subtle energy that flows through every living thing. Prana comes into the body from the food we eat, the air we breathe, and from absorbing the energies of the earth and heavens. Prana is the energy that moves through our bodies and animates our every action, from physical movement to minute biochemical processes. A dead person or animal has no prana. Creating an understanding and awareness of prana is important for practitioners of yoga.

Many people think that prana is just the breath, and although in yoga we use manipulation and awareness of the breath to build awareness of prana, prana is so much more than just air. A processed junk food meal has low prana. An organic, plant-based meal of real food of animal and plant origin is high in prana. Dirty, polluted cities have low pranic energy, and pristine, wild areas are high in prana. A healthy person with high digestive fire and a calm, pleasant disposition is of higher pranic energy than a person struggling with feelings of apathy, depression, anger, addictions and fear. Our thoughts and emotions translate into different vibrations of energy within our bodies and the lower the emotions, the lower your pranic energy.
Nurturing your inner Prana is the essence of all yoga practices particularly Pranayama (yogic breathing). For students of yoga, as we calm and deepen the breath through Pranayama we develop our connection with our inner Prana and spirit. Prana is not unique to yoga. The Chinese healers call it Chi, the Polynesians call is Mana, the Africans call it Nyama, the Russians call it Aura and our own Aboriginal people call it Alcheringa.
We share prana through the shared breath. Humans breathe about four times a minute, so we are continually inhaling air that we and other human beings have exhaled. Our atmosphere causes a total mixing of air molecules within six years. As humans, we breathe and rebreathe the same air as it circulates around the globe. So, a tiny fraction of air molecules that were exhaled by a person climbing up say, Mount Everest six years ago, will find its way into your lungs. For each of our breaths, we inhale 100 million atoms that were once inside Moses, the Buddha, Jesus Christ, Mohammed and Adolph Hitler. The memory or vibrational imprint of that life force, that prana, of these famous figures, is still there in the shared breath.
We are cultivating our prana in Yoga class over the next five weeks through a Yoga/Breathwork Intensive. As we increase our personal pranic energy, we will move into the season of Spring. Perfect timing. 
Margot Wagner
Yoga Under the Bodhi Tree
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