Fire nourishes the body from its station in the head. The vital breath—the prana—circulates within this cranial fire, and it is this that spreads around the body.

That entity is the world self, the primeval person that comprises everything: mind, intelligence, self-consciousness, the elements and the sense faculties.*

185.5

And so fire is circulated to all parts of the body by means of the prana. By means of the samdna, the breath stationed in the upper part of the body, each of the breaths is made to reside in their specific areas. The apana—the breath that goes down—abides in the fire that is found in the bladder and the anus. It circulates there and empties the body of urine and excrement.

According to those who know the supreme self, the single breath that operates when a person exerts himself, performs any deed or makes a show of strength is the udana—the breath that moves upwards. The wind found in all the joints of the bodies of men is said to be the vyana, or diffused breath.

185.10

The samana circulates the fire that is diffused in all the constituent parts of the body; it continually moves fluids, juices and humors around. Situated between the apana and prana, and joined to both of them, this fire is found in the navel and digests food thoroughly.

There is a channel that begins in the mouth and leads down to the anus—that which is called the anus being found at its end. All the channels of a person’s body arise from this central channel. When all the different breaths meet they mix together and heat is produced. This heat ________