# Leela Square 39: Plane of elimination (apana-loka) Meaning

Square 39 in Leela is the Plane of elimination, apana-loka. It represents apana, the downward air of the body that carries away what is no longer needed. Johari teaches that bringing it into harmony rejuvenates. It is a plain square in the fifth row, asking the player what it is time to release.

## Meaning

In Johari's commentary, apana is the downward air of elimination, and harmonising it rejuvenates. Yoga describes several vital airs, each with its own direction. Apana moves down and out: it governs exhalation, cleansing and everything the body sets aside so that it can stay healthy.

Apana-loka means the plane of apana. It follows square 38, the plane of prana, and the pairing is deliberate. Prana brings life in; apana makes room for it by letting go. A body that only takes in and never releases cannot stay in balance, and the same is true of a mind or a life.

The square belongs to row 5, Man Becomes Himself, linked to Vishuddha, the throat chakra, whose element is ether. Ether is space, and this square is about creating space. Before the player can become fully themselves in this row, something old has to be allowed to leave: a habit, a grudge, a role, an outdated picture of who they are.

The teaching is that release is not loss. Renewal depends on it. Square 39 invites you to look at what you are still carrying out of habit and to let it go without drama, the way an out-breath leaves the body.

## On the board

Square 39 is in row 5, between 38 Life energy and 40 Circulation. Players reach it by a throw from the squares below, from 33 to 38, except 37, whose arrow carries a player away. No arrow or snake ends here and none starts here, so it is a plain square. The player remains for the turn, considers what to release, and continues with the next throw of the die.

Gita 4.29 is the verse for this square: prana and apana are offered into each other, and letting go is as sacred as receiving. Its episode is the quarrel of the five vital breaths, in which each breath claims to matter most until all see that the body depends on their cooperation.

## Questions

- What is it time for me to release?
- What do I keep holding on to only because it is familiar?
- What new thing could enter if I made room for it?

**What does square 39 mean in Leela?**
Square 39 is the Plane of elimination, apana-loka. It stands for apana, the downward vital air that governs exhalation and cleansing. Johari writes that harmonising it rejuvenates. In the game it invites the player to let go of what is no longer needed so that something new has room to arrive.

**What is the difference between prana and apana in Leela?**
In Leela, prana at square 38 is the life force and in-breath that brings energy in, while apana at square 39 is the downward air that carries away what is spent. They sit side by side because they work as a pair: receiving and releasing together keep the body, and the player, in balance.