Ln Friday June 7, a festival advocating extreme youth, began in Occitanie in the department of Aveyron. It will be held until June 11 and for five days its followers must neither eat nor drink. A dangerous practice which alerts the authorities, The Parisian.
“Respirianism”
“Respirianism” or “pranism” is the practice of depriving oneself of water and food, part of a movement that has been widely reported in France for more than ten years.
“Respiranism is thus based on the practice of total fasting”, which constitutes a “sacred process of 21 days beyond which it is possible to nourish oneself only with air and light, a substance called “prana”, “invisible to the eyes of the uninitiated.
Increased vigilance
The Interministerial Mission for Vigilance and the Fight against Sectarian Abuses (MIVILUDES) already described “respirianism” in 2011 as “extremely dangerous”, “charlatenesque” and “conducive to mental control”.
In a press release dated Thursday, December 16, 2010, MIVILUDES maintains that it will exercise increased vigilance on this practice with strong sectarian connotations at the origin of several deaths around the world.
For Doctor Patrick Serog, nutritionist, “it’s complete madness”. “Stop eating and drinking, physiologically, it causes damage” continues the specialist. “There can quickly be a disruption, starting with a loss of protein which can lead to malnutrition and a loss of muscle mass,” he explains.
