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Prāṇāyāma ((サンスクリット:प्राणायाम) ) is a Sanskrit word meaning "extension of the ''prāṇa'' or breath" or "extension of the life force". The word is composed from two Sanskrit words: ''prana'' meaning life force (noted particularly as the breath), and ''ayāma'', to extend or draw out. (Not "restrain, or control" as is often translated from ''yam'' instead of ''ayāma''). It is a yogic discipline with origins in ancient India. ==Etymology== ''Prāṇāyāma'' (Devanagari: ') is a Sanskrit compound. V. S. Apte provides fourteen different meanings for the word ''prāṇa'' (Devanagari: , ') including these:〔Apte, p. 679.〕 * Breath, respiration * The breath of life, vital air, principle of life (usually plural in this sense, there being five such vital airs generally assumed, but three, six, seven, nine, and even ten are also spoken of)〔For the vital airs as generally assumed to be five, with other numbers given, see: Macdonell, p. 185.〕 * Energy, vigor * The spirit or soul Of these meanings, the concept of "vital air" is used by Bhattacharyya to describe the concept as used in Sanskrit texts dealing with prāṇāyāma.〔Bhattacharyya, p. 311.〕 Thomas McEvilley translates ''prāṇa'' as "spirit-energy".〔McEvilley, Thomas. "The Spinal Serpent", in: Harper and Brown, p. 94.〕 Its most subtle material form is the breath, but is also to be found in blood, and its most concentrated form is semen in men and vaginal fluid in women.〔Richard King, ''Indian philosophy: an introduction to Hindu and Buddhist thought''. Edinburgh University Press, 1999, p. 70.〕 Monier-Williams defines the compound ' as "(m., also pl.) N. of the three 'breath-exercises' performed during (''See'' ', ', '".〔Moner-Williams, p. (706, left column. )〕 This technical definition refers to a particular system of breath control with three processes as explained by Bhattacharyya: ' (to take the breath inside), ' (to retain it), and ' (to discharge it).〔Bhattacharyya, p. 429.〕 There are also other processes of prāṇāyāma in addition to this three-step model.〔 Macdonell gives the etymology as ' + ''āyāma'' and defines it as "''m.'' suspension of breath (''sts. pl.'')".〔Macdonell, p.185, main entry '〕 Apte's definition of ' derives it from ' + ' and provides several variant meanings for it when used in compounds. The first three meanings have to do with "length", "expansion, extension", and "stretching, extending", but in the specific case of use in the compound ' he defines ' as meaning "restrain, control, stopping".〔See main article () in: Apte, p. 224. Passages cited by Apte for this usage are Bhagavatgita 4.29 and Manusmriti 2.83.〕 An alternative etymology for the compound is cited by Ramamurti Mishra, who says that: 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pranayama」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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