Thanks Yogani for your thoughtful reply. I will have to digest all that you have said here, because I do not understand it fully right now. All I am saying is that, for me at least, one practice naturally transitions into the next and I find ever deepening levels of both awareness of prana and fullness of prana, and this naturally leads like a natural progression, into a deep meditative state, samadhi, where egoic function and body awareness seem to totally dissolve away, into a fullness of universal consciousness and unity with all of nature and all that exists, and I become totally at one with all beings, all trees, all rocks, the sky, and for a time, whether an hour or two, there is an almost-impossible-to-describe Unity. That is all I am saying, within the limitations of human thought and language of descriptive expression.
My love to you Yogani,
John
Hi John:
That is wonderful, and no one can deny your experience, least of all me. 
Nevertheless, I think is is important to remain clear about the distinctions between pranayama and meditation. The traditions that have smooshed them together into a singular concept and practice have often done so at a cost to their practitioners, which can be seen in results over the long run.
Another way to look at it is to say:
Pranayama is the control and enlivenment of prana.
Meditation is the transcendence of prana.
Is there some overlap? Yes, certainly. But one function cannot replace the other. By whatever means, we need both functions operating in daily practice to move forward toward enlightenment.
The guru is in you.
PS: It might be helpful to look back at your practices over the years and see how much has been meditation and how much has been prana/energy-related practices. I recall you have been very strong on mantra use in the past. Could it be your pranayama is doing so well in transcendence now because of your background in meditation? Often times, present experiences on our path are not so much about what we have been doing lately, but more about what we have been doing over the long term in the past – laying the groundwork for breakthroughs with minimal additional cultivation required. In other words, we get ripe.
Teachers sometimes make the mistake of focusing too much on the “what I have done lately” (epitomized in the saying, “Be here now!”), rather than the forgotten years/decades of effective practices that have formed the foundation of purification and opening that can now be enjoyed in the present with a little bhakti, pranayama, self-inquiry, whole body mudra, or whatever.
Just some food for thought…
Whatever the case may be, it is suggested to keep things in balance going forward, and enjoy!
I would humbly like to resurrect this thread because I re-read the book (Prana Pranayama Prana Vidya) mentioned above.
I benefitted so much from doing the spinal breathing loop in terms of an invigorating of the prana currents, that it just seems real exciting to me to maybe someday be able to develop the pranic healing skills inherent in us all. Maybe some self interest involved too, because by learing to direct the prana consciously, one can do self healing as the first step, and then fulfil that old boy scout promise to always be a help to others when the situation arises.
I have been doing the “variant” of spinal breathing mentioned in the book, where one goes up by the frontal channel and down the sushumna, and also the other practice of going up pingala dropping off prana at Ajna and then going back down the central sushumna channel to Muladhara to repeat the cycle. Then when there is a noticable throbbing at Ajna of energy accumulation, radiating that energy out into the world on the inhalation of air from ajna as an expansion, and a contraction or relaxation of that energy back into ajna on the exhalation. I really love that idea of radiating love outwards from ourselves into the world. Just a humble attempt at spreading some of that healing energy to our town and our country and the world and the oceans…
Comments gladly accepted!
x.j.
Hi XJ,
It is easy to do what you are seeking, you just need the belief and knowledge.If meditating you will also find the healing energy is much stronger and increases with more purification.I was given ‘The Love Empowerment’ a few years back which is a very poweful tool also for radiating love.
L&L
Dave
Moderator note: Topic moved for better placement
Hi x.j., This is a wonderful and timely thread. So I’m interested in these teachings, though I am not familiar with them. I bought the book and will read it. I am, however, capable of self-healing using prana and healing others even at a distance. Two things I would like to mention about this.
First, pranayama is a preparation for meditation. It quiets the body into slower cycles, slower heart beats, slower breathing etc. It does so while it heats up kundalini. Meditation is where one becomes aware of the power of the will, beyond the scope of limited ego. Until one has gained a level of insight into truth the ability to direct prana will not be available. When the nature of our relationship with life as omnipresent within the cosmos becomes apparent to us, then we can heal. We will experience prana collecting at the forehead, and will it anywhere in our own bodies or anywhere else. Many may not agree with me, but kundalini is really illusory and a limiting idea. Indeed there is a nervous system and we should develop it, but when we finally sense the omnipresent nature of the essence of life, our prana and our kundalini are everywhere too. My experience with kundalini is that it’s origin is driven by our desire. We might believe that kundalini rises from the groin, but it could just as easily flow from the heart outwardly. It could also generate from the stomach, the head, the hands or whatever. Life has no form.
Secondly, faith alone is sufficient to heal others. Even an uninitiated non-yogi with strong faith can will a healing of self and others. Why is that? The transcendental experience of altered states of consciousness are also illusory. This is purely my view. You can disagree if you want; I won’t argue with you. I offer you food for thought, as my experiences are that of a ferrell cat. Suffice it for me to say that strong bhaki, as you say here, leads from the unlimited spiritual power of the heart. From the heart, not ajna we tap immense power flowing through the cosmos. The forehead provides the insight and the understanding to know what and how to do it. It provides the mental account for the truth. Non-yogis arrive at the healing power of faith due to many experiences. I’m not talking about blind faith. Perhaps, someone saw a sign or witnessed a miracle and realized the Cosmos is alive as a supernatural person and is communicating with them, calling them. So the faithful non-yogi “saw” the truth realized that miracles are real. The fire of passionate faith ignites and generates great power from the heart.
My ability comes from both yogi practice, and when I left practice into my path of worldly experience, I saw the reality of faith healing. I survived many things by willing it. Now, I realize that these feelings of prana in different locations in the body are more or less signs for you to “see” the potential of your power. These are there to boost your faith. At some point, it is important to know that these feelings are caused by your willing them.
Why is it you don’t already know you can heal anyone right now? Why do you suffer even one day with illness? You don’t have the faith. If you want to have it, then imagine the intense feeling of prana in the palm of your hand. Spend five minutes doing nothing but willing an intense feeling of prana in the palm of your hand. Otherwise feel the prana collecting in your forehead, then feel it pouring like water into your hand. If you can feel that, then you can heal someone. You can also do many other things besides healing someone, but they’re dangerous. Make sure your intentions are altruistic and you will heal the world and your self in it.
Disclaimer: My view has evolved since I began tantra practice 30 years ago. Recent vision has put me more into the camp of interdependent origination and emptiness, i.e., buddhist view. I find it a more accurate view capable of more sophisticated descriptions of the “never never land.” YMMV. Gracias.
WE ARE THE COSMOS!
TMS
Like I said above, I have been working on some of the techniques mentioned in this book lately. Recently I opened the book at random ot page 376. The title of the section is EXPANSION AND RELAXATION.
It reads, “…the psychic body is expanded on inhalation and relaxed on exhalation. …The entire consciousness, …should rally around expansion and relaxation. …Total awareness, total attention should be on expansion and relaxation.”
I layed down and for several hours I observed the prana expanding and stretching out the psychic body on inhalation and then it relaxed back down towards the skin level on exhalation. I have loving thoughts about some people I have encountered during the day, and this dwelling on the heart, caused an enhancement of the expansion, and relaxation.
I sense that the psychic body is an envelop over the physical body and actually stretches out with the inhalation. It seems to me that the progression of this practice day after day, is to not only increase the capacity to observe the expansion, but to actually stretch the psychic body so it swells out further and further beyond the physical limits of the skin surface. This will have a permanent effect of stretching the envelop out, …until the sheath becomes fully expanded into…the golden egg. Comments on this?
x.j.