Prana Academic Paper Summary
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Published: April 25, 2008
The concept of vital energy is
transversal to many cultures and used with different aims, the most common of
with being the pursuit of universal truths and the pursuit of physical and
psychic well-being. It can be represented by different words in different
cultures: For the Hindus it is prana, whose concept appeared first on Vedic texts
to describe the cosmic energy which is, at the same time, the universal vital
force imbedded in all beings and things and the total sum of all the energies
in the Universe and of all forces of Nature and Life. Through Yoga, the concept
has its application on an individual’s body and, hence, health. Specially one
of the Yoga methods, Pranayama, the concept has one of its most striking and
material applications: The practice of breathing exercises promotes the
entrance of prana
in one’s body. The practice of this method (as well as of other Hindu
practices) was demonstrated by various studies as having improved the health
and well being of regular practitioners. The existence of prana by itself, however, was jeopardized
by studies that demonstrated the incapacity of it being detected by people who
were meant to detect it, and by studies that showed a clear
anatomical-physiological explanation to the medical improvements observed in
Hindu practices.
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