'Breatharian' says she fasts for up to 97 days – 'The more I breathe the less I need'

A so-called breatharian has spoken out about her controversial lifestyle, which sometimes sees her fasting for as many as 97 days in a row.

Audra Bear, 25, is an advocate of breatharianism, also known as pranic living – a lifestyle practice of going without food and in some cases without water.

Prana comes from a Sanskrit word meaning “life air”.

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There is something magical about conscious, controlled breathing that brings you with a face to face meeting with yourself, it brings you back to the core of your being,” says Bear of her lifestyle.

“Breathwork helps you to realise who you are and what you need or don’t need. I never intended to ‘quit food’ I just started practising for 40 minutes a day and after about five days I no longer had a hunger for dense foods. My first fast lasted 97 days,” she told Metro.

“My favourite way of receiving pranic energy is through conscious breathing. Breathwork is the base of healing and detoxification for the physical and emotional body, 70 per cent of toxins in the body are released through respiration.”

While pranic living is by no means mainstream, there are other notable examples of people following this lifestyle.

Californian woman Camila Castello opened up back in 2017 about following a breatharian lifestyle throughout her nine-month pregnancy, eating just five times during this period.

Fasting is something of a hot topic this week, with supermodel Naomi Campbell announcing yesterday that she sometimes goes more than a day without eating.

But is this a healthy practice? “Anyone considering this should talk to their doctor as it may not be suitable for everyone particularly for diabetics on insulin or breastfeeding women,” Dr Sonal Shah, NHS GP and lifestyle medicine expert, told Yahoo UK.

Pranic living is not endorsed by the NHS. Always consult a medical professional before making fundamental changes to your diet.