5 Vayus of Vata Dosha

Energy/Crystals | Learn Aryuveda

Let’s start with the word prana. Some of you may know the word prana as energy or breath, it can also mean movement and life.

In Ayurveda, there are 5 governing Vayu’s which hold the elemental essence of prana. These 5 vayu’s are energy centers within our body which push this life force in, out and around our bodies. Vata (elements of ether and air) dosha is the main Dosha among the three doshas. It governs Pitta (fire element with a splash of water) and Kapha (elements of water and earth) and it is the prime driving force behind all the body activities. The 5 types of vayu’s with their element are:

1. Prana Vayu – ether 2. Udana Vayu – air 3. Samana Vayu – fire 4. Vyana Vayu – water 5. Apana Vayu – earth

Each of these Vayu’s have a particular set of organs and body systems that correlate to one another.

1) Prana Vayu is responsible for the senses, such as creative thinking, reasoning and enthusiasm. This vayu is one of the most important because it’s mainly stimulated in the head. Prana Vayu governs the circulatory area of the mouth, throat, sense organs, chest and vital organs. It can be related to the crown charka. Prana is also the vayu responsible for connecting our heart with our brain, connecting intelligence and mindfulness. Prana Vayu when circulating, moves downwards through salivary glands, pharynx, trachea, lungs, heart and stomach. There it helps function inhalation, exaltation, engulfing, burping, spitting and sneezing.

2) Udana Vayu is the only vayu with an upward movement. It mainly circulates in the chest, thorax, chest cavity, heart and lung. Udana Vayu is placed in the respiratory system and it is responsible for breathing, quality of voice, memory and movements of thought. Think of the throat charka when referring to this vayu. The main site of Udana Vayu is in the heart and lungs. The heart and lungs supply nutritious blood too every part of our bodies. Udana Vayu circulates in the body where it functions to do any work that requires energy or strength. Stimulates our enthusiasm, skin colouration, and mindfulness that is power of retention of information, power of reproduction of information called as memory and mind stimulation.

3) Vyana Vayu is the vata intelligence which circulates the whole body. This circulation component pumps the heart to beat. Vyana Vayu moves through channels conveying nutrition, blood and oxygen. This movement of Vyana is also responsible for voiding waste products like urine, stool, sweat, and other organs of the body related to digesting our food. Almost all controls of the body and maintenance of tissues are harnessed in the Vyana Vayu.

4) Samana Vayu is located at the stomach, liver and intestines. Harnessing our digestion and absorption of nutrients. Samana Vayu is best friends with our digestive fire called Agni. Samana Vayu takes food inside with the help of prana and udana vayu. At the stomach, it helps and supports digestion of food, distribution of food into large intestines where it is expelled out with the help of Apana Vayu. Located at sacral or solar plexus area for visual.

5) Apana Vayu is in the lower abdomen and pelvis. Governing conception for both men and female, menstruation, large intestines and elimination system. This is our down and out motion of circulation. This can be related to the root chakra for visual.

If Prana does not flow with each Vayu, it creates imbalances with a chance of diseases forming within organs. Lots of meditation and movement practices are taught knowing to open these channels of prana to allow the force of life to push through the body. Without prana we would have no life. No life, we would not exist.

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