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Pancha Prana: Pranic Force Fields
There are five primary forces, known as pancha prana,
I which operate in the physical body at all times. Prana shakti, the one sustaining force, assumes these five fields to enable the body to accomplish its various functions. Thus prana is experienced differently in different parts of the body simultaneously. These five forces also act on subtler levels, influencing and in turn being influenced by the mind and consciousness. The seers identified these five pranas as: prana, apana, samana, udana and vyana. The five pranas are also known as prana vayus. The term vayu is derived from the root va, meaning 'motion' or 'that which flows'. So the prana vayus represent the inherent quality of motion which energizes every action from secretion of the digestive juices to the movement of the hand. They flow through all the elements, organs and the mind.
The five pranas are responsible for creation and existence at the individual level. In human beings they are created during the first four months of development in the womb. During the first and second month, the foetus lives on the prana of the mother. By the third month the foetus has its own battery installed. By the fourth month, the five physical pranas become active with the formation of the body, and the soul enters the new body as a result of this pranic activity.
The five pranas maintain the balance between the physical and mental levels. Their physical locations are relevant in
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