Prana - the Energy keeping us alive

Hi friends, 

Welcome to my Post No.4 on Acupressure in daily routine.  In the last 2 days I saw many people showing interest in reading my posts and requested me for regular posts on this subject. I express my sincere thanks to all of you for encouraging me to present my posts regularly.  

In my previous post, you have learnt about Chi / Prana - the driving Force of our body.  You have also learnt about the factors responsible for continuous utilization & formation of this Energy by our body. 

Here i would like to make the concept of Prana (the life force) more  clearer.  Everyone of us must of heard people using the word PANCH PRANA (पंच प्राण) while narrating any horrifying incidents happened in their lives.

Yogic philosophy says that the sheath (कोषा) of Prana  i.e. Pranamaya Kosha  (प्राणमय कोषा) is made up of Five main (major) pranas, collectively known as PANCH PRANA (पंच प्राण).  They are :

1.  Prana :

Prana is the force associated with respiratory organs, speech, gullet and the muscles & nerves which activate these organs.  This sheath i.e. Pranamaya Kosha (प्राणमय कोषा) takes care of the area between Larynx and the top of Diaphragm. Prana is the force by which the process of breath in (inhalation) takes place.

2.  Udana:

Udana takes care of the area of the body above the neck.  It activates sensory organs like eyes, nose, ears etc. One of the functions of Udana is to activate thought and consciousness.  This force also activates limbs (hands & legs) and their muscles, ligaments, nerves and joints and thus helps to maintain an erect posture of the body.

3.  samana;

This force is situated between heart and navel.  It activates and controls the digestive system i.e. liver, intestines, pancreas and stomach and also  their secretions (digestive enzymes). Samana force activates the heart and circulatory system and is also responsible for assimilation of nutrients.

4.  Apana:

Apana force  is situated below the navel area and provides energy to the large intestine, kidneys, anus and genitals. This force is concerned with expulsion of waste from the body.

5. Vyana:

Vyana relates to the whole body.  It regulates all movements of the body, co-ordinates with other Pranas and acts as a reservoir for them.  

in addition to the above Five major Pranas, there are five minor Pranas.  These are known as Upa Pranas.  

Five Upa Pranas:  These five Upa pranas manifest themselves in physiological functions.

	Upa Prana	Function
1.	Naga	Belching and hiccups
2.	Koorma	Opens the eyes and stimulates blinking.
3.	Krikara	Generates hunger, thirst, sneezing and coughing
4.	Devadatta	Induces sleep and yawing
5.	Dhananjaya	Lingers immediately after death and responsible for decomposition of the body.

Each of the above five Upa Pranas functions to compensate and regulate the effectiveness of the five major pranas.

Secret of health:
The secret of health and the state of well-being is to keep all our Pranas in harmony. Imbalance of one Prana tends to make other Pranas imbalanced as all these are linked together. 

i believe that the concept of prana is now clear to everyone and hope you all liked my post. Your opinions and suggestions are always welcome and the same may please be conveyed to me on: acutherapy15@gmail.com 

With this, I conclude the present post and will comeback very soon with my new post.. 
Thank you, 
G. Srinivas

Contd....Who drives our body?

Contd....  Who drives our body?

There are many systems of the body viz., Respiratory system, Cardiovascular system, Reproductive system, Excretory system, and Immune system etc.  I will take an example of Heart, which belongs to Cardiovascular system.  Everybody knows that Heart pumps blood.  A question comes into our mind that what makes the heart to pump? As per western medicine concept , it is the SA Node which generates impulses making the Heart to pump.  

Here I do not want to make you busy in learning Cardiovascular physiology or anatomy. But, still i feel it is pertinent to explain this theory.  So, i will explain this theory in short and sweet making this topic very easy and simple to be understood by any layperson.   

What is this SA Node? 

Heart has four chambers i.e. two upper chambers (Left & right) and two lower chambers (left & right).  The upper chamber is called atrium and the lower chamber is called ventricle.  Thus, the four chambers of the Heart are Left atrium, left ventricle, right atrium and right ventricle. 

The Electrical impulses in the Heart are controlled by groups of cells called Nodes.  SA Node or Sinoatrial Node is a group of specialized cells located in the wall of right atrium (the right upper chamber of the Heart), which initiates Heart Beat. In other words, SA Node sends out regular electrical impulses from the top chamber (the atrium) causing it to contract and pump blood into the bottom chamber (the ventricle). Thus SA Node performs function of a Natural Pacemaker.

I reiterate that I do not want to keep you engaged in knowing  Cardiovascular Physiology or Anatomy. But, If SA node makes the Heart to pump by generating impulses, then who make this SA Node to perform this act?  Again, the question is unanswered!!  To get answer to such series of questions, we need to understand the concept of Chi.

What is this Chi?

Chinese have developed the Acupuncture Science and shown miraculous results to the world.  As per Chinese philosophy, there is Energy present in our body and this energy flows throughout the body continuously. Chinese called this energy Chi.  Indian philosophers called this as Prana and Indian Yogis called this Prana Wayu.  The term Chi when applied to the Human body, is called Vital Energy. This Vital force keeps the person alive. As long as Chi / Prana or the Prana Wayu exists in the body, the heart beats, the brain works, the lungs breathe.  In short, all the organs in the body keep working.  Once the flow of this Energy ceases, it is Death!!  This Chi is an invisible force and responsible for all the activities of life.  

The Energy or Chi is continuously utilized by the body and also formed continuously by two main factors i.e.

1)  Internal factor - Digested & assimilated food products inside the body

2)  External factor - Oxygen and water taken from outside.

This flow of Energy in the body completes one circle in 24 hours.  

An obstruction or any kind of imbalance in the flow of this Energy is reflected in the form of discomfort to the body showing symptoms like pain, inflammation, cough, cold, fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or any other discomfort or diseased condition depending upon the various systems of the body. Hence, whenever a person falls sick, there is a need to therapeutically manipulate this Energy to re-bring the body and mind of the person to the state of harmonization.  If Pressure is used in the process of manipulation of this Energy, it is known as Acupressure.  If Needles are used to manipulate this disturbed Energy, it is known as Acupuncture. Thus, in the process of therapeutical manipulation of the disturbed Energy of the body, various factors like Pressure, Needles, Magnets, Seeds and Colors and widely used in the practise of this Acu science and depending on the type of tool used, this method of treatment is known with the names Acupressure, Acupuncture & Sujok etc.

Friends, i hope, you are enjoying my posts. I will take you further ahead in this journey knowing the Acupressure in my next post...

Thank you......

Who drives our Body?

Hi friends,

Welcome to my post - WHO DRIVES OUR BODY? 

I will write in the simplest possible way so that every layman can understand and get benefited from my posts.  In my previous post, you all got some idea about Acupressure & Acupuncture.  

Before I talk something about Human body, I will take example of machinery.  Any machine, may it be a wall clock, a washing machine or a television - has spare parts within it and works on electricity or a battery and stops if the battery is disconnected from it. 

Now, I will talk about Human body. Human body is a unique machine. Similar to the spare parts present within a machine, Human body too consists it's internal organs. Like an electro-motive force or battery drives a machine, which force drives a Human body? How are we able to carryout all activities independently? 

Is there any battery in our body? I know, you will say NO. You can say that a  Human body is a living organism and machine is not. Hence Human Body is capable of moving and carrying out all activities without any battery." If so, then why does not a dead body move? Here you may say that the body has lost it's life and hence it will not move. 

It means definitely, there is some Energy present in us which drives our body and when this energy is separated from our body we are dead.  That's right!!!

Quite interesting topic!   I know that at this time, many questions are coming into your mind like....

What is that Energy which drives the body? Where is this Energy located in our body? What does it look like? What does it do?  What happens to this Energy when a person is dead?

I will emphasize on these questions  in my next post. Hope, you all are enjoying my posts!!

Thank you..

What is Acupressure?

1.   What is acupressure?

Acupressure is a special treatment method in which many of the diseases can be successfully treated without taking any kind of medicines, but just by pressing on some specific points of the body in a specific manner.

                            

2.   What are the benefits of getting treated in Acupressure System?

We do not need to go to the doctor for small problems, but we can treat ourselves and our family members sitting at home! You can avoid the harmful side effects of the medicines on our body and of course, we can avoid spending huge money on medicines!

3.   Which diseases can be treated with Acupressure? 

Acupressure will give relief in any pain relief related problems. Apart from this, many other diseases can be treated to some extent!

4.   On which basis does Acupressure Treatment work? 

Acupressure treatment works on the basis of Five Elements and body's internal energy. 

                              

        

5.   What is the difference between Acupressure and Acupuncture? Which instruments are used in Acupressure treatment?  

Effect of Acupressure & Acupuncture is same.  Here, I want to give an example. In a hotel, we eat with spoon or fork. But we eat the same dish with hands at our home. It is not important as to how we ate.  But, it is important that we consumed the food.  In the same way, we can use Pressure, needle, magnet while stimulating a therapeutic point.  It is important that the Therapeutic point on the body is treated.  But, it is not important as to which instrument is used for giving stimulating the point. During treatment, if Pressure is applied on a Therapeutic point, it is called Acupressure.  If needle is used, it is known as Acupuncture.  I reiterate, effect is same. 

In Acupressure treatment, Pressure, Needle, Magnet and / or colors can be used. 

So friends, with this information, I, Srinivas, take leave for now and see you again in my next post with more information on Acupressure.  

Thank you...