Addressing a high-level Think Tank organized by World Forum for Ethics in Business at the European Parliament in Brussels, the spiritual master spoke about the incredible benefits of powerful breathing techniques in mental health disorders.
“When the mind is calm and clear, people are better equipped to make informed decisions with an understanding of the interconnectedness of life. The key to accessing this inner calm lies within our own breath. Our breath has the power to regulate emotions and thoughts, reduce anxiety, and eliminate stress and tension,” Sri Sri Ravishankar said.
The Think Tank, which was held to find solutions and discuss the ubiquitous mental health impact of growing global challenges of polarization, social unrest, violence, economic and political uncertainties and climate change, was attended by 200 participants including mental health experts, stakeholders, academicians and policy makers and members of European Parliament.
He called upon everyone to work towards de-stigmatizing mental health illnesses and the need to build social connections to ensure that no individual who is depressed or undergoing poor mental health feels unattended to.
Expressing concern over the fallout of poor mental health, the spiritual master said, “It is appalling to see in the last few months, about 600 mass shootings have happened in the US and this is not normal, and the cause for this gun violence in many cases has been found to be poor mental health.”
Speaking on the occasion, Santosh Jha, ambassador of India to Belgium, said, “The problem of mental health has been something that has come to the fore during the Covid pandemic even more at a global level. India is a country which through its ancient forms has had an awareness about it and solutions around it which we are very much willing through our efforts to bring it to the rest of the world.”
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has been a global advocate for mental health for the past 43 years, with his techniques for stress-relief and better mental health being practiced by over 500 million people across 180 countries today. His work has been driven by the conviction that inner peace and the individual’s mental health and wellbeing are the basis for outer peace and societal prosperity.