Acharya Mahaprajna
Pranayam consists of three activities: to inhale fully (purak), to exhale fully (rechak) and to hold the breath internally or externally (kumbhak). In exercises involving oxygen the vital energy is charged and therefore pranayam is useful. The consciousness mixed with vital energy gets developed in direct proportion to the availability of fuel in the form of oxygen. Jain practitioners have discarded the exercise of quick pranayam. They felt it is useful to make breathing a slow, subtle and long process. The meaning of development is to allow the flow of vital energy through the nervous system. Oxygen enters the lungs up to the diaphragm. It cannot go directly through the entire body. The flow of pran, apan, udaan, vyan and saman are the flow of vital energy in the body, not oxygen. To concentrate on the vital energy and allow it to flow through the different parts of the body for its enrichment is the important aspect of yogic practice.
