The Sheath Of Vitality
In the West we have only a few close equivalents for the Sanskrit word prāṇa, and they are odic force, actinic force and energy. But prāṇa is not really a form of energy or a force; it is the sum total of all energy, all force, in its various manifestations. Science has proven that all matter is in vibration, that the difference in these vibrations are what gives matter its form. At one time scientists believed the atom to be the smallest unit within matter, but progressively smaller units have been discovered. When the smallest subdivision of matter is reached, prāṇa, or pure energy, remains. Prāṇa is the sum total of energy, because the whole material universe is, in a sense, manifested from it.
The odic prāṇic sheath is the health body, prāṇamaya kośa, hovering just within and through the physical body, extending out from the physical body about two to five inches. Odic prāṇa is physical vitality. Actinic prāṇa and willpower are one and the same.
You have probably read of cases of suspended animation, men buried alive for hours or days without air or food. When this actually occurs and it is not faked, it is usually due to the control of prāṇa. After extensive training, odic force can be stored in a static state in the body and then used in the absence of air or food, for it is the essence of air or food. Some animals that hibernate do this as well. Frogs have been found buried in earthen mounds in the United States and are said to have been hibernating there hundreds of years without food, water, or air, yet once liberated they showed every sign of life. And man can do it, too, with proper training over a long period of time. This, of course, is not a complete unfoldment of the meaning of life. It is only the conquest of the second aspect of man, odic prāṇa.
Breathe deeply in and out, in and out, in and out. As you breathe in, feel as though you are pulling odic prāṇa into you as well as air. As you breathe out, feel as though you are sending out the air, but keeping the odic prāṇa in the body, all the time storing it in the solar plexus. Soon you should begin to feel full of energy, solid and stable.
Here is another exercise. Select a dimly lit place that you can use as a background against which to view your hand, such as a closet. Open your right hand, in which you have been storing odic prāṇa, and hold it against the dark background. With your eyes half open, gaze at your hand relaxed. Don’t try too hard. You should be able to see the odic prāṇa around each of your fingers. It will be seen as a cloudy, vaporous substance. If you are in perfect health, the odic prāṇa will be clearer and more readily apparent. Some sensitive yoga students can see the odic prāṇa around the physical body of people.