Last updated: December 21, 2023
What Does
Samana Vayu Mean?
Samana vayu (known as “balancing air” in English) is one of the five vayus that make up prana. Samana vayu is believed to exist in the abdomen with the navel as its energy base and oversees the digestion of everything from food to thoughts.
Balancing the samana vayu while practicing yoga poses not only promotes physical strength, but also helps the practitioner move closer to their spiritual aspirations.
Yogapedia Explains Samana Vayu
Samana vayu oversees agni, the fire of purification. The energy force of samana vayu is thought to occur in a spiraling motion. In addition, the manipura chakra is associated with this vayu and processes all that the body consumes: food, thoughts, emotions and breath. This internal fire (agni) is believed to be burning (and processing all that is taken in) correctly when prana and apana unite in the samana vayu.
Many yogis seek to balance this vayu through pranayama practice. During pranayama, matching the length of both inhales and exhales causes prana to meet apana. In addition, yogis can help balance the samana vayu by ensuring good digestive health through a healthy diet.
During These Times of Stress and Uncertainty Your Doshas May Be Unbalanced.
To help you bring attention to your doshas and to identify what your predominant dosha is, we created the following quiz.
Try not to stress over every question, but simply answer based off your intuition. After all, you know yourself better than anyone else.