My first introduction into Swara Yoga was in India, attending Yoga School in an immersion course. Prior to my first induction, I had no previous awareness that my nostrils took turns being dominant or that this had anything to do with which tasks I could perform more effectively or how my psychology was affected by such. The thought had just never crossed my mind, nor the wisdom, my path.
Prana is, quite simply, life. It is the life force, nourishing body, mind and soul both literally and figuratively. Prana flows within the body by way of breath (the element of air), but also enters the body by the other four elements: earth, water, fire and the ether. The ether, or space, is the element of the soul. It is the element we aim to embody during meditation, as we move inward to find space. Prana is essential to accessing this endless space, and so we prepare for the process of locating space by practicing pranayama.