Balancing the Samana Vayu Flow in Body

 

 

Samana Vayu is one of the five vayus which are responsible for energy flows in our body. The other four being the Prana Vayu, Apana Vayu, Vyana Vayu and Udana Vayu. These air flow are the driving forces of energy and life in body. Samana Vayu is centred around the navel (the Manipura Chakra).

 

The primary objective of the Samana Vayu is to be a concentrating, absorbing and consolidating force. As the name suggests, it seeks to bring about ‘samana’ or equilibrium to the body. The main function of this vayu is to collect all prana energy absorbed through breath, food, sensory perception and mental experiences. It processes these to empower all aspects of life. It plays a vital role of separating the nutrients from the toxins in the body.

 

As is the case with other vayus, Samana Vayu also gets imbalanced. When it functions normally, we are at the best of digestion, vitality and have a feeling of balance at every level of functioning. This also gives us mental peace. However, when it gets imbalanced, the mental peace and harmony is disturbed. There is restlessness and agitation in the body. This impacts digestion and assimilation and the separation of toxins from nutrients is also affected. There are increased chances of having problems of diarrhea, gas, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcers, colitis, anger, depression or aggression, etc. Therefore, as can be seen, whole body is affected.

 

These imbalances can be corrected with regular practice of certain asanas, breathing exercises and even use of hand mudras.

 

Yoga asanas which are helpful for correcting Samana Vayu imbalances are following:

• Marichy asana
• Matsyendra asana, which is a specific way of doing The Spinal twist.
• Paschimottana asana.
• Parivritta Parshvakona asana which is also called the Revolved side angle pose.
• Utkata asana, also known as Chair pose in English.
• Jathara Parivartana asana, called Reclining abdominal twist in English
• Nava asana, called Boat pose in English

These poses shall be practiced regularly to attain the benefits of regulating and controlling the Samana Vayu and be healthy.

Besides, there are certain breathing exercises, called Pranayama, which can also help in regulating the flow of this energy. Experts opine that Surya Bheda Pranayama is helpful in this respect. This is also called the Sun Breath in English. Corresponding to this breathing exercise is the Uddyana Bandha (the abdominal lock). This is very effective in ensuring that the vayu flow gets regulated in the best manner and the body is able to function at its best level.

Another natural way of correcting this imbalance is that of using the Samana Vayu Hand Mudra. In this mudra, the thumb which signifies Fire element touches all the other four finger tips. This hand mudra can be done at any time of the day and even while walking or sitting in any posture. However, it is important to remain mindful about doing this mudra and try to notice the energy flows through the fingers. This helps in settling down the imbalance of the vayu.

There is a need to take out time from busy schedules to do these practices for bringing about balance in energy flows in the body.