…And Breathe! Wellness, the Nation, and Holistic Reproductive Practitioners in India
Adhvik Shetty
Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry September 3, 2026 DOI: 10.1007/s11013-026-10021-4 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Garbh Sanskar practitioners across nine Indian cities |
| Key findings | Argues that Garbh Sanskar practitioners combine soteriological and wellness logics to cultivate enriched reproductive subjects as part of a therapeutic nation-building project, using wellness to address anxieties of modernity, suggest civilisational exceptionalism, and express national aspirations. The author proposes that this exemplifies a "bio-spiritual therapeutic politics" in which wellness operates as reproductive governance. |
Abstract
Garbh Sanskar (GS) is an Indian holistic reproductive programme that claims roots in ancient Ayurvedic and yogic traditions while drawing upon contemporary wellness practices and international health policy. GS centres offer breathwork, guided meditation, and counselling to expectant and hopeful couples. This article draws upon interviews with GS practitioners across nine Indian cities to examine how these practitioners use wellness discourses to articulate strategies of individual and national improvement. I argue that GS practitioners seek to interweave soteriological and wellness logics to produce enriched reproductive subjects for a therapeutic vision of nation-building. This project uses wellness to assuage the anxieties of modernity, suggest civilisational exceptionalism, and articulate aspirations for the nation. Together, GS illustrates the emergence of a bio-spiritual therapeutic politics where wellness is part of reproductive governance.