Fourth limb of Raja Yoga - Pranayama

Up till now I explained three limbs of Raja Yoga which deal with gross level of your body and mind. Today I will briefly explain the more important part of Raja Yoga Sadhana - Pranayama.

Pranayama means the act of controlling Prana and Prana means the vital life force. (Actually in English language there is no correct single word to explain the meaning of Prana). The physical act of Pranayama consists of a series of breathing exercises. Because of this physical process many people wrongly equate Prana with breath. But remember that Prana and breath are not the same. The purpose of Pranayama is to gain control over thought waves and finally achieve the state of Samadhi.

The ancient Indian Yogis scientifically studied the human mind and body and realized that if you control breath you can control your thought waves and vice a versa. They further found out that breath is just one of the form of Prana. To concur Prana they used breath as a first step. This fact can not be understood by mere study of theory. You must practice Pranayama in order to understand what it means. After continuous and un-tire  practice Yogi can control Prana even without controlling the breath.

Pranayama is a very vast topic and I will be writing a separate series on it in coming weeks. Till then keep visiting.