Apana Vata, Samana Vata, vyana vata, Udana vata, Prana vata

The five vatas

Vata ( vayu ) is known by five different names according to its five important functions. They are prana vata, udana vata, vyana vata, samana vata and apana vata

Prana vata

Prana vata is responsible for all the vital functions in the body like those of the heart, respiration , pushing the swallowed food down the gullet, and so on . vagbhata says its seat is the head from where it courses down to the throat and thorax. According to charaka even the actions of spitting, sneezing and belching are initiated by the workings of the prana vata.

Udana vata

The act of speech, which involves the movements of the respiratory, laryngeal, lingual, pharyngeal and other muscles, and other actions requiring energy and strength are initiated by the upwardly moving udana vayu. Udana means that which courses upwards.

vyana vata

The chief duty of the vyana vata is to to control the movements of the body. The circulation of the Rakta dhatu all over the body winking flow of sweat and blood from the body outwards, yawning, ejaculation of semen and so on are all possible due to the workings of the vyana vata

Samana Vata

The chief function of the samana vata is to stimulate the pachaka pitta or Antaragni ( digestive fire) which helps digestion. It also aids in separating out the essences of the assimilated food. The regulation of the flow of sweat, urine, menstrual blood and semen is also carried out by the samana vata which moves about in the various body channels.

Apana Vata

The function of this vata, whose movement is mainly downwards, is to facilitate the excretion of faeces and urine and ejaculation of semen. It also bears the foetus down during delivery. According to charaka, its seats are the lower parts of the body including the lower part of the intestine, umbilicus, groin, urinary bladder, penis, testes and so on .