Life force energy
We are not just a physical body…..
What is Prana and why it is integral to LIFE.
When I was nursing, there were a handful of occasions where I was privileged to be present as a persons spirit left their body. As their life force dwindled and the animating presence which had made them ‘them’ left, what remained was a body devoid of life, spark, energy.
A body that quickly began the process of decay, warm flesh turning cold, skin colour evaporating and taking on a dull grey hue. Fluids sometimes draining out and where there was once a flow of breath, nothing. No movement of air, a lifeless form.
It’s a very humbling experience to witness the passing of a life. It’s a sacred experience which teaches us that we are indeed finite in this human form. Death to a body comes, with a finality that often shocks us.
So what is this animating life force?
Prana, chi, mana, mauri, Qi. Different cultures have different names for it. In the yogic tradition we refer to it as Prana. Prana is the intangible flow of energy which activates us and animates our human form.
I say intangible but if you pause for a moment, and rub your hands together creating warmth, what do you feel? Heat? A tingling sensation? And if you slowly separate your hands directly after rubbing them, do you 'sense' something in the growing space between your hands? This is prana! You may feel it as sensations of warmth, coolness, tingling, buzzing, light or heavy.
Prana exists in everything. From the air we breathe to the food we eat. The creatures we share this planet with. The mountains, forests, rivers and oceans and to the planet itself. It influences the thoughts we think and the emotions we feel. It can be turbulent and scattered creating a kind of internal chaos, or centred and calm, bringing peace and tranquility.
Prana moves and changes constantly.
As we develop an awareness of our own prana, we can build our vitality, our immunity, our inner strength. We can become clear and creative thinkers who are emotionally stable, flowing with life as it is.This empowers us to make wiser choices and direct our energy in ways that benefit ourselves and others.
Dru is an intelligently designed yoga therapy, which gently dissolves tension, stress, “dis - ease” (which becomes disease). Dru holds the potential to release trauma. To transform unhelpful and potentially harmful beliefs which may exist below our level of consciousness. These unconscious beliefs are the drivers of our behaviours.When our unconscious beliefs, many of which began early in life, are rooted in fear, we can unknowingly self sabotage ourselves.
Practices within Dru give us the opportunity to re wire our neuroplastic brains and create new pathways, more healthy beliefs and a deep sense of security and trust. This impacts our relationships, including the relationship we have with ourselves. Our life choices and our sense of meaning, purpose and consistent contentment. No matter what lifes throws our way.
Dru practices such as:
Postures and Sequences (movement)
Breath techniques (pranayama meaning to control prana)
Deep rejuvenating Relaxations
Meditation to shift + transform energy so we can tap into our own personal energy reservoirs.
Free up energy which was previously inaccessible due to blockages in the subtle pathways of energy called nadis, and the spinning vortices along the spine called chakras. When the nadis and chakras are freed of dense pockets of energy we become lighter, freer and more at ease with our life situation.
We become resilient, we increase our empathy, our dynamism and compassion, our awareness shifts so we understand that our power comes from within us. Power that moves out into the world in a balanced way, power in balance with peace and love.
When freed from dis-regulation, tension and stress, we simply return to our natural state. Yoga is that, it’s not actually just an interesting shape we make with our body, it’s a way of being in harmony with everything.
All the practice we do is to return to our natural state of yoga (unity).So prana is life! It is a ubiquitous essence without which, we cannot survive.Therefore the growing and sustaining of our prana is vital to our holistic health and well-being.
Dru empowers us with many tools and techniques to revitalise and rejuevinate our prana so we can live in a state of dynamism, harmony, confidence, clarity and calm.
Author - Rebecca Foster, Nurture Soul
