Hindu Medicine c8.123

c8.123

The wind is centered in the lower part of the body. The two winds which reside in the upper part, prāṇa and udāna, effect functions belonging to their sphere: the swallowing of food, the uttering of speech, singing, and so forth. Not a particle of either kind of wind is thought to go into the region of the lungs, supplying the body with fresh air from without. The very terms, “blowing forward” and “blowing upward,” denote that the inhaling function, in both cases, is considered of minor significance or none at all, compared to the outgoing and exhaling function. Inhaling seems to be regarded somehow as an indispensable, rhythmical movement of contraction which allows for the subsequent effective activity of these breath forces in expanding.