Practice, Prana, and Particle Physics
The Yogic Body is a vessel full of prana (the life force)
As someone who studied biology and graduated in the traditional medical system, I’ve always been fascinated by the model of the body that the ancient yogis came up with. They didn’t have X-rays or MRI’s or even microscopes. They practiced meditation and methods of breathing and body postures, and based entirely on what they could feel they came up with ideas about how the body functions.
The yogis located the seat of the life energy in the centre of the chest (the heart is the home of the prana) and they believed that the body contained approximately 72, 000 “rivers” of energy called nadis. The nadis are very similar to the meridian lines of acupuncture, and current research on the structure and alignment of connective tissues seems to suggest that there are correspondences between lines of biomechanical pull and some of these meridians.
Yoga was designed to move energy around, with the goal of shushing our crazy minds
Of all the nadis, three are of particular importance: the shushumna nadi runs through the centre of the body and encompasses the spine. On either side are two secondary channels, the ida and the pingala. The ida represents the expansive, fiery energy of the sun, and is associated with the masculine. The pingala represents the quiet, receptive energy of the moon, and is associated with the feminine. The ida and the pingala spiral around the central channel and intersect with each other six times, similar to a strand of DNA. Each of these intersection points holds an energy centre or “chakra.” The yogis believed that to achieve health and longevity it was necessary to move the energies of these channels and chakras in specific ways, and they developed techniques and body positions designed to do just that.
The goal of moving this energy around was to still the mind, and once the conscious mind was quiet; our true, interconnected, divine nature could shine through. (I stumble over the use of the word divine here, but I can’t think of a better one). The resulting mind-state is known as Samadhi, a state of bliss where there is no longer a separate sense of self.
Part of the reason I am so fascinated with this is because most people who practice yoga and meditation seriously will have experienced times where there are strange sensations in the body. These feelings are temporary, and they can be distracting, but they often correspond to the symbolic body map that the ancients came up with. Of course this could be a case of mind over matter (although the more we understand about healing and placebos the more clearly we can see that mind and matter are the same thing). Regardless, in spite of my skepticism, I really think they were on to something.
The body consists of layers of energy according to the yogic model.
The yogis refer to the “energy body” as the “subtle body” as opposed to the “food body.” They actually distinguished four layers of energy held within the physical body, but I’ll save that topic for another day.
As physicists discover new particles and types of energy/matter that we could never fathom before, and scientists discover ever more about the effects of meditation and exercise on the brain, I think it’s quite possible that many forms of energy work, like yoga, therapeutic touch and reiki will one day have an explainable foundation that will meet the standards of scientific research. In the interim we can explore these models with curiosity and a sense of adventure—heading into the frontier of the body with an open mind and an explorer’s heart.
Have you ever had experiences of energy moving or strange sensations in your body during a physical or meditation practice? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
