Participant: Yesterday I went to my family doctor because I was having anxiety, it seems. He told me to do breathing exercise and accordingly I started doing it but the more I am doing it, the more it is creating resistance within me toward it and in some moments i feel like an utter idiot doing this. It is creating dullness and lethargy.
Parth: See, this whole business of breathing exercises – it's an unfortunate simplification of something profound. Today, everyone is talking about breathing techniques, and they call it an exercise. But let me ask you, is your breath an exercise? If you think so, you've missed the point. Your breath is your life. It is not something you do; it is something that is happening. If you turn it into an exercise, you are creating patterns, repeating loops that might bind you even further. This is why, someone who doesn't know about the dynamics of breathing and how the human mechanics work, should not prescribe it or else it can create disasters.
All these so-called exercises stem from what we have always known as pranayama. But somewhere along the way, the depth of it has been lost. Instead of touching the core of what prana is – the very source of your vitality and life – we have reduced it to techniques, routines, and, unfortunately, commerce. It's like plucking a single thread from a grand tapestry and calling it the whole picture.
And yes, I know, some people are hesitant to speak of the origins of these practices. They want to sound scientific, modern, sophisticated – because they fear being dismissed. This is not wisdom; this is survival dressed up in borrowed clothes. If your intelligence is limited to maintaining appearances and earning a livelihood, then tell me, is that really intelligence? Or is it just another struggle for survival that has gone deep into your head?
We must understand that when we speak of pranayama, it is not just about breath control. It is about how you can expand your prana, the very life energy within you, so that life happens in its fullest possibility. This is not something you do; this is something you allow. But to allow, you need to step beyond these borrowed ideas and superficial practices.
The tragedy is not that people are doing these exercises; the tragedy is that they have forgotten the source. They do not see that these practices are tools for liberation, not just mechanisms for calming their nerves or managing their stress. Without this awareness, even the most profound tools can become entangling.
So, the question is not about breathing exercises or pranayama. The question is, are you willing to look beyond your current compulsions? Are you willing to touch the depth of what it means to be alive? If you are, then we are not talking about techniques; we are talking about a possibility – a possibility of living as a full-fledged human being.
Do not make life into a business, nor turn wisdom into a product. Life is not a transaction; it is an exuberance. If you allow it, it will overflow in ways you cannot imagine. But first, you must stop running this endless race of survival and look within. There, the real breath of life waits for you.
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