In this episode of “5 Minutes”, Dr. Svoboda discusses the Sanskrit words sukha and dukkha, their relationship to space, and how alignment affects ease, health, and the movement of prana.

The Sanskrit words sukha and dukkha begin with kha, a word that means space and is a synonym for ākāśa. Su is a prefix that means good, so sukha means good space. Dus is a prefix that means bad, so dukkha means bad space.

By extension, sukha means happiness, health, and ease. Dukkha means unhappiness, ill health, and disease.

These concepts are based on the idea that the space in your life—inside your organism, in your personal environment, and in the general environment—should be well aligned. When it is, you can experience sukha. When there is serious misalignment, the space is not well aligned with you, prana does not circulate properly, and distress manifests as dukkha.