By Martine, The Netherlands
Table of Contents
Introduction
Students and youth represent the next generation with unlimited possibilities to express and discover; if they are exposed and guided in the right direction.
In this blog, we will explore how life is currently unfolding for this group, the challenges they face, and what can be a solution to support them in evolving as unique individuals. If this happens, the future of humanity will naturally move in a positive direction, benefiting many generations to come.
What is youth, and who is a student?
Youth and students are often mentioned as one group and understood in a certain fixed way. Let’s take a closer look: what do we really mean by ‘youth’? And who is a ‘student’?
Youth refers to someone young in age, full of energy and potential for expression, that much is evident. But what makes someone a student? A student is someone who can channel that energy through the ability to truly learn and express.
If one doesn’t know how to connect with that energy or express it, the energy is wasted. But when there is a willingness to learn, the possibility to benefit arises. To be able to learn means to be able to receive with clarity, not through coloured interpretations or fixed conclusions, but by listening and receiving unconditionally. Only then can it be called true learning, and only then does one become a true student.
Problems of today’s youth
If we observe today’s youth, we see a two-sided challenge:
- They lack the ability to receive what needs to be received
- They lack the ability to stop what should not be received
In other words, they are unable to connect with what supports their expression, and equally unable to disconnect from what hinders it. This leads to a growing gap between their potential and their reality.
Today, students are being conditioned to seek answers only outside, whereas real understanding must arise from within.
The ability to express can’t be learned from books, found on the internet, or explained by AI. You can’t download a connection to your energy and install it.
True Self-expression and the ability to channel inner energy is something that can only be learned from within.
Yet, this inner learning has long been absent from our education systems, and today, more than ever, the orientation is outward. The disconnection from one’s own inner being is growing stronger.
What is the solution?
The solution lies in Pranayama. It is not something new that is added from outside. Instead, it is a process of uncovering what was already present but remained unnoticed, unused, or misunderstood. It offers a way for youth to connect with their true potential and express it consciously in the world.
Through the practice of Pranayama, students and youth begin to receive what they already have, through themselves, within themselves. It restores a connection that was lost, a connection to one’s full existence. Pranayama opens a possibility for Self-expression.
How is Pranayama a solution?
By bringing subtlety into the physical, the body layer, a connection with the pranic layer becomes possible. From here, an effective Pranayama practice can begin. This supports the much needed shift from outside to inside. Pranayama practice is practical and accessible, and when practiced properly, a natural change follows. Anyone who starts to practice in this direction can experience the effect and naturally feels motivated to create space for practice. The pranic layer is also directly connected to the mind and therefore can bring a shift from only receiving from outside to connecting with the inside. A connection with the Self, the consciousness, will become possible, and the clarity mentioned before as the essence for real learning will start to come.
A regular and authentic Pranayama practice can bring:
- Confidence
- Health and vitality
- The ability to channel energy in the right direction
- Clarity in life
Why is this missing today?
The problem is not with the youth. The energy is there, the readiness is there. What is missing is the direction. Today’s education system is focused on implementing information. It teaches how to gather, but not how to see. It tells students what to do, but not how to listen. In such an environment, there is no space to connect with one’s Self.
Youth is left to wander between expectations, comparisons, and confusion. When this happens, the energy that was meant to express begins to deviate. Then begins the search outside for what can only be found within, running behind temptations and distractions, being easily influenced in the opposite direction. All this creates a bigger distance from the inside with anxiety, restlessness, emotional instability as common effects among students and youth.
To know the true Self, to connect with the consciousness is the only way to evolve. To bring this into our education systems is the needed shift and Pranayama is a tool to change this.
Real learning begins
As we see now, real learning, the ability to receive with clarity, supports knowing how to channel the available energy and express it. When awareness in this direction is brought into our education system, only then real learning can begin. Then, true Self-expression becomes possible.
Atma Jnana, the knowing of the Self, becomes the core of education. Everything else serves only as support in this direction.
Real learning is not an accumulation of facts but the awakening of a real student, one who understands the art of learning.
A simple practice, a powerful start
Pranayama is a practice that brings clarity.
With simple steps, it supports the ability to receive what is needed and to leave out what is not. It brings connection to the inner layers, beyond the physical, otherwise not experienced.
This connection becomes the base for direction in learning, in expression, in life.
A shift for youth from problems to opportunities
The challenge many young people face today is not a lack of intelligence or energy, but the absence of a way to direct it. When what needs to be received is missed, and what should be left out is held onto, real growth and evolution cannot happen. But all of this can shift.
When clarity is present, energy finds its path. The ability to receive and express becomes natural. Education turns towards Self-knowing. What once appeared as a problem becomes the ground for real growth, towards expression of the true Self.
Pranayama opens a new space for Self-expression. As mentioned earlier, it brings the ability to channel energy in the right direction, and the essential clarity for real learning to happen. It offers a way for youth to connect with their true potential and express it consciously in the world.
About the author
After exploring various paths in life, ranging from playing the French horn professionally and planning and programming for cultural centers, to organising congresses and events for local government and teaching Yoga to children, Martine eventually settled in India with her husband and daughter.
Realising that understanding one’s true Self is the ultimate purpose and the key to a joyful life, Martine dedicates her time to applying ancient wisdom in everyday living. She chose to embrace a Yogic way of life, under the guidance of Sage ViGo.
