In the Taittreya Upanishad the pranic body is said to be the link between the gross and subtle. There is a big discussion about it. Prana or the pranic body is like a bridge between the two sides of a river. In kundalini yoga and in tantra this pranic body is considered to be the lower pranic body, because this pranic body is composed of ida and pingala energies and its derivatives. Therefore, in kundalini yoga and in tantra, they talk about the great prana, the mahaprana.
This grand prana or mahaprana and kundalini are the same. That means that when the awakening of kundalini begins, the higher quality of pranic energy is accumulated. This pranic body is considered to be the higher body. That means there are two stages of life. One is the animal life and the other is ourselves or the higher life. Animals and men have a pranic body, but this pranic body is an inferior manifestation of prana and when we talk of prana through the philosophy of yoga and tantra, you are talking about energy and not something metaphysical.
This prana is present in each and every part of the body in certain quantities, in certain frequency. Because of this pranic energy, the physical body has activity. The physical body in itself is inert, but there is a correlation, an interconnecting link between the pranic body and the gross body. Therefore, prana finds an expression. If there is no physical body, prana cannot express and if there is no prana, the body will not function.
In the universe the pranas are present everywhere, not only in the form of positive and negative ions but in us and everywhere. Through meditation, pranayama and mantra you can connect yourself with the universal prana. Therefore, prana is an energy which is everywhere and one can definitely connect and link oneself with that pranic body.
The superior pranas are conducted by pingala nadi but they are controlled by ajna chakra. In this respect, I will make a reference to a very small Upanishad called Prashnopanishad. This Upanishad concerns this question and there are sections on prana and the pranic body. It is said that there are two important realities in this physical body – one is consciousness and the other is prana. Consciousness and prana are the two wings of a bird. Through the practices of asana, pranayama, meditation, bandhas and mudras, you can change the prana in different parts of the body.
1983, Barcelona, Spain