Vital Breath and the Five Winds (Prāṇa & the Vāyus)

Prāṇa is the life-force — the vital breath that animates body and mind, far more than mere air in the lungs. The tradition analyzes it into five 'winds,' each with a task: the inward breath, the downward-and-outward breath, the equalizing breath at the center, the upward breath, and the breath diffused throughout the body. To understand and master prāṇa is, in yogic thought, to gain a handle on both vitality and mind, since breath and mind are held to move together.