Page:Hatha yoga - or the yogi philosophy of physical well-being, with numberous excercises.djvu/156

156 water he drinks—Prana properly distributed as well as mere muscular development in physical exercise—Prana as well as heat from the rays of the sun—Prana as well as oxygen from the air he breathes—and so on. This subject of Prana is interwoven with the entire Hatha Yoga Philosophy, and must be seriously considered by its students. This being the case, we must consider the question, "What is Prana?"

We have explained the nature and uses of Prana in our little book, "The Science of Breath," and also in our "Yogi Philosophy and Oriental Occultism," more generally known as "The Yogi Lessons" (1904). And we dislike to fill the pages of this book with what may seem to be a repetition of that which has appeared in our other books. But in this instance, and a few others, we must reprint what we have already said, for many people who read this book may not have seen our other publications, and to omit any mention of "Prana" would be unfair. And, then, a work on Hatha Yoga without a description of Prana would be absurd. We will not take up much space in our description and will try to give only the gist of the subject.

Occultists in all ages and lands have always taught, usually secretly to a few followers, that there was to be found in the air, in water, in the food, in the sunlight, everywhere, a substance or principle from which all activity, energy, power and vitality was derived. They differed in their term and names for this force, as well as in the details of their theories, but the main principle is to be found in all occult teachings and philosophies, and has for centuries