When Breath becomes Air

In the book “When Breath Becomes Air”, breath stands in for life.

This is a touching book published posthumously on a neurosurgeon who had diagnosis of metastatic lung cancer during his residency years and how during his last stages, he chose to take off his oxygen and BiPaP mask, to hold his infant daughter for the last time.

Many parallels can be drawn with the yoga practice, which cannot exist by itself, but in totality with life.

The difference between “air” and “breath” is mostly semantic: breath is simply air that had once flowed through a living human. In a yogic sense, breath is Consciouness while air is the Self, with truly no division between breath and air. Think about it, what dies and what is dying.. as in the book.

Breath is prana. The Chinese call it chi, the Polynesians mana, the Amerindians orenda, and the ancient Germans od. All those words refer to the same thing: “life force” or “vital principle” or more commonly known as “energy”.

The eight limb path of yoga consists of yamas (restraints, moral disciplines or moral vow) , niyamas (positive duties or observances), asana (posture), pranayama (breathing technique), pratyahara (withdrawl of senses), dharana (focused concentration), dhyana (meditative absorption) and samadhi (bliss or enlightenment).

Pranayama is an essential part of the gateway or path to Bliss/ infinite Joy.

This is a nice read on pranayama in one of the minor Yogakundalini Upanishads of Krishna- Yajurveda https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/tmu/tmu32.htm

Namaste