Call him naïve, but Abhishek Goel has a pretty straightforward goal in life. He wants everyone in the world to be happy.

And, what’s more, Goel is pretty sure he has discovered the path to achieving that goal: Breathing.

That’s right. Breathing.

Every emotion in life is connected to a certain kind of breath, says Goel, who for the past five years has been a volunteer with the international not-for-profit, The Art of Living. By teaching people how to breathe, explains Goel, you can teach them how to be happy.

In fact, Goel is teaching a free one-hour workshop on Wed., June 13, that for many participants will become the first step on the journey to a stress-free, happy life, he says.

The seminar, which will be held at Unity of the Lehigh Valley in Emmaus from 7 to 8 p.m., focuses on light yoga, breathing, and meditation and teaches people how to relax and makes them feel happy, Goel says.

“Once they learn it, people can do it at work, at home, anywhere. After five minutes of doing the breathing, it will help them to relax. When people do it, they like it so much, they teach their spouses how to do it, they teach their kids. Then they are more happy. They are present in the moment.”

According to a flyer about the seminar, The Art of Living was founded in 1981 by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. The flyer describes the group as a “not-for-profit, educational, and humanitarian NGO engaged in stress-management and service initiatives,” and says it operates globally in 151 countries. 

“Our goal,” says Goel, “is to have stress-free world. We do this by helping each individual at the individual level.

“We want people to be happy and if the people around you are happy, that helps you to do whatever you want to do. We want people to be living in the moment and thinking about the present, rather than being caught up in the past or thinking about the future all the time,” he says.

Goel says those interested in more information about the seminar can email him at agoel82@yahoo.com or call him at 952-356-2858

Walk-ins to the session are welcome.

And, if you can’t make the seminar in Emmaus tonight, there are additional seminars scheduled in the Lehigh Valley later this month:

• Saturday June 16
  11.30 a.m. – 12.30 p.m.
  South Side Branch Library
  400 Webster Street, Bethlehem
• Tuesday June 19
  6 – 7 p.m.
  St Anne’s Episcopal Church
  6667 Lower Macungie Road, Macungie