The Fifth Limb of Yoga: Pratyahara

Understanding Vyana Vayu: The Omnipresent Energy that Integrates All Vayus

Vyana vayu, often called “omnipresent air,” is the prana vayu that integrates and coordinates the other four vayus—prana, apana, samana, and udana. Unlike the other vayus, which are associated with specific areas of the body, vyana vayu is present throughout the entire body and even extends outward, influencing the energy field or aura surrounding us. Vyana vayu is the glue that holds the other energies together.

Understanding Samana Vayu: The Balancing Energy of Digestion and Assimilation

Samana vayu, often called “balancing air,” is the prana vayu that sits at the intersection of prana (the inward/upward-moving energy) and apana (the outward/downward-moving energy). This central force unites the two energies, creating balance in both body and mind. Located at the navel, samana vayu governs agni, the digestive fire, which is the fire of purification. When prana and apana unite within samana, agni burns optimally, supporting the body’s ability to assimilate and process what it receives.

Make Your Practice Your Own

Do you ever find yourself in yoga class struggling to maintain a pose, or to get into a pose, or to keep up the pace during flowing sequences? Do you notice your mind gets agitated with thoughts like, “Why can’t I just keep up,” “Will I ever be able to do this pose,”...

Understanding Apana Vayu: The Downward and Outward Flow of Energy

Apana is the prana vayu that governs the downward and outward flow of energy from the body. It is the energy of release, responsible for physical elimination, as well as the release of mental and emotional waste. Apana vayu plays a crucial role in keeping us clear, balanced, and grounded.

Take Your Practice off the Mat

The yoga practice is designed to promote a feeling of calm, peace, and equanimity. The movements are fluid and synched to the breath. The mind finds relative ease and less distraction. The atmosphere is usually relaxing. While the environment in which we practice yoga...

Understanding Prana Vayu: The Inward Movement of Life Force

The individual prana vayu, not to be confused with the entire category of prana vayus, represents the specific movement of prana, or life force, inward into the body. Prana vayu governs the intake of energy through breath, food, drink, and even through mental and sensory perceptions.

Finding Calm amidst Chaos – On and Off the Mat

The hustle and bustle of the holiday season brings with it a seemingly contradictory mix of joy and distress, love and fear, compassion and selfishness, and love and disdain. Life gets busier and expectations run high as time runs out. Emotions go up and down, to do...

Eat Mindfully This Holiday Season

The holiday season is upon us with busier-than-ever schedules, endless to-do lists, and one get together after another with delicious, rich, waist-expanding foods at our fingertips. It’s easy to see how the average person gains 5 to 10 pounds during the holidays. Food...

Improve Your Posture with Yoga

Through the practice of yoga we become more aware of how we hold our bodies—how we stand, how we walk, and how we move about. This awareness takes, well, practice. In yoga class we work on lengthening the spine with a stable, engaged core while lifting and opening the...

Sangha at The Yoga Sanctuary

At The Yoga Sanctuary, you will find more than a yoga studio. You’ll find a community of like-minded individuals and friends who come together to practice, learn, and grow. This coming together with shared intention is known as sangha, or community.

Yoga for Digestion

The practice of yoga, especially asana and pranayama, not only supports our structural physical health, but also the internal physical health of our organs. One particular internal benefit of yoga is the support of digestive health, governed by the Manipura Chakra....

resistance, meet ease

The practice of yoga brings an array of experiences and feelings. Many are pleasant, and some, well, not so pleasant. The not-so-pleasantness shows up as resistance—physical, mental, and emotional resistance. This is a natural part of the practice. The tendency is to...

When Yoga Class is Full…

Sometimes all we want is a nice quiet space to practice yoga. We come to class and set down our mat in the perfect spot—with plenty of space in every direction. We enter a relaxing posture as we wait for class to begin. Then, someone sets down her mat to our right, closer than we might like. Then, someone else sets their mat down to the left, closing in. Soon, the entire room fills up with mats squeezing closer and closer together until it seems like no one else could possibly fit—until someone else does.

Yoga in Your Daily Life