Healing Yoga: Deborah Devine on Improving Respiration A comical story in the Chandogya Upanishad, a sacred text dating back to 800 BC, depicts the senses as having a dispute about who among them is the most important. The ear left for a period of time, and upon its return, asked the others how they managed without him. Then the eye departed, and one by one, each of the senses left and came back asking this question. But when the breath gets ready to leave, all of them “come to their senses” immediately and concur that the breath is indeed most essential.