The role of Udana in practice
February 11, 2024Constantly flowing through day and night, breath moves in and out of the body without us even thinking about it.
Physically breath replenishes oxygen in the body and removes wastes, as well as stabilising the nervous system when we breathe consciously in pranayama practices.
There’s a more subtle aspect of breath as well, an energetic aspect called prana. There are five aspects of prana – pran, udana, vyana, samana and apana – that all have a distinct role in the body.
At times it might feel right to move focus of practice to the function of prana called udana, “the upward moving air”. Udana is our main positive energy, it governs speech and self-expression and assists in developing our consciousness.
Udana is stimulated in the body through backbends, and one asana that can cultivate this energy is Eka Pada Bhekasana (one legged frog pose) 🐸
Physically Eka Pada Bhekasana is about blending strength and flexibility in the body. Creating a shape that is your unique expression of this asana, the heart is open and courageous.
Energetically uplifting, Eka Pada Bhekasana helps to raise the body’s vibration to create lightness, creativity and inspiration ❤️
Our invitation to you is to explore this asana in practice and notice – how does this feel inside? How does my breath feel? Can I observe the upward movement of energy in your body?
In this way you can use your asana and pranayama practice as a tool to access the more subtle aspects of yoga 🙏