Why We Breathe
A Yoga Documentary
Why We Breathe is a documentary about Yoga that was filmed over a period of six months as the crew traveled across the US to discover what drives yoga practictioners to practice. WHY WE BREATHE was born out of the desire to understand what drives people to get involved in and become passionate about this system of techniques that has been defined as “a spontaneous state of wonder.”
A lot of people are originally drawn to yoga for the health benefits. People are interested in getting in shape and looking fit. But once they discover the spiritual benefits, and all that it entails, they begin to see yoga as more than just a fitness routine.
Yoga is an ancient Indian body of knowledge that dates back more than 500 years. The word “Yoga” came from the Sanskrit word “yuj” which means “to unite or integrate.” Yoga is about the union of a person’s own consciousness with universal consciousness.
Ancient Yogis believed that in order for man to be in harmony with himself and his environment, he had to integrate the body, the mind, and the spirit. These three become integrated when emotion, action, and intelligence are in balance. There is a way to achieve and maintain this balance. The ancient Yogis taught that this is done through exercise, breathing, and meditation. These are the three main Yoga structures.
Yoga offers a huge potential for growth and heightened awareness. When you start to practice it, you soon realize that the more you go to yoga classes, the better you feel. It helps you focus on your own thoughts and empowers you to break patterns and tendencies that no longer serve you. It helps you discover your purpose and feel better. And when you feel better, you behave better.
For this documentary, experienced Yogis are asked why do you do yoga? Why keep doing it? Why do you love it? Their answers to these questions give us insight into the possibilities that yoga can offer. So let go of your judgment, step into the moment, and breathe.
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perhaps a good advert for western yoga schools to attract people who know really nothing about yoga… tho its by far not a wide representation that expresses “why we breathe” from the various aspects of YOGA in which people practice…. thus a doc to display the various “voices” of yoga…
the physical practice/aspect/hatha (from Raja yoga), is just a mere pinch of what Yoga offers… Tho all too often, it’s only what the greater % of Westerners know due to Yoga Inc…
Yoga, also dates back with it’s lineages to pre-B.C. I guess, expressing above that it dates back to over 500 years ago, is correct, but safe? It would be nice to have heard from people expressing their practices from Bhakti, Jnana & Karma Yoga in which they find/develop awareness & “union”…
No disrespect to the director, tho I only comment here in respect to the wonderful Science & Philosophy of which Yoga offers… Commerce, has really scarred much of it in many ways the past 20 years… And such is capitalism, and the persuits of “career” yoga peeps and stylish model magazine yoga magazines.. :-)
Too many young babes and guys – not one of them is saying anything meaningful – their discussions are all about how they feel about yoga, but there was nothing informative, nothing that grounds the yoga in the world of experience.
A much, much better video is “Yogawoman.”– Sorry guys, I don’t know any that are about guys only – Yogawoman is a lovely movie about what yoga is and how it acts in life and in the lives of people who do it.
On YouTube there are videos of Nicki Doane, an expert yoga professional. Guys can check out David Life and Sharon Gannon, who have been working in the yoga world since the 60s – they are the real deal.
Another video is “Enlighten Up!” It is about a guy who volunteers to become a yoga subject. The most interesting aspects are the travel to India where he meets many, many yoga practitioners. There is amazing footage of Buddhist and Hindu devotees performing sacred acts.
On this website, Documentary Storm, there is a video called “Yoga, Inc.” This movie reveals the business side of yoga as it has been taken over by unscrupulous people who prey upon those who have deep emotional needs for some sort of personal affirmation, from elsewhere other than from their own guiding compass.
Excellent film for a reality check. I have quite a different viewpoint than the other comments – this is the reality of what yoga is about spoken from the heart by very insightful teachers, whose names are scarcely mentioned (so it is hardly a self-promotion effort). The men and women nailed it beautifully – the greatest gift of Yoga is to give you the possibility of ever increasing control over the self-chatter and judgmental attitudes by which we destroy our tranquility and that of others.
The requirement is that you stop thinking and listen to what each person says to understand a coherent theme that is the root of unhappiness and the mess the world is in.
My congratulations to the Producers and everyone of the teachers who all looked straight into the camera and
independently elaborated upon the fundamental problem of being a human striving to be humane.
Thank you
Dr. Jonn
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