breath, energy, life, spirit = self-discovery through yoga
Michael L. Smith: I no longer have the beard
Prana Journal has existed since April 2004, but I have been around a lot longer, more like 60 years. But this blog really represents the culmination of a long-life search. I really got serious about changing my approach to life and re-examining many of my fundamental premises. Yoga and meditation were tools in the self-discovery process. Prana Journal is a running account of my learning process in yoga, pranayama, meditation and other related disciplines. I don’t write as an expert, but rather as an engaged student who gains better understanding by articulating what he has learned and sharing it with others.
Prana is a Sanskrit word that has multiple meanings. It literally means “to breathe forth.” It can also mean “breath of life, breath, respiration, vitality, vigor, energy, power and spirit,” with a nod to Peter Rosen’s excellent book, The Yoga of Breath, a Step-by-Step Guide to Pranayama. It is the all-pervading vital energy or life force of the universe.
One of my early interest was the Art of Living Foundation and its spiritual leader, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and that is probably why most visitors come to this site. The kriya practice was my access point to yoga. I’ve been less active with the local AoL groups in the DC area in recent years.
I practice in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, and I try to comment on the yoga scene in the area, though not as much as I’d like.
