Spirit and breath
In Sanskrit, the word prana means energy, or life force, and it is also the same word used for breath. In China, qi has the same meaning. The Chinese system of conscious breathing is called qigong: qi, meaning “breath,” and gong, meaning “work.”
In my first breathwork session with Louie Hamner, he also taught us that the greek word for breath is “pneuma,” which is the same word for “spirit.” And in Hebrew, the word “ruach” means “breath” or “wind,” which also connotes “spirit,” and is sometimes used in conjunction with Elohim and Yahweh, or Jehovah. It is Yahweh’s power through His ruach that breathes life into His creation.
In the book of Genesis, God breathes into Adam the breath of life, or his spirit. In John 20:22, the resurrected Christ appeared to his disciples and “breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” Even the name, the Holy Spirit, could also be interpreted as the Holy Breath.
Pres. Russell M. Nelson taught,
“The word for repentance in the Greek New Testament is metanoeo. The prefix meta- means “change.” The suffix -noeo is related to Greek words that mean “mind,” “knowledge,” “spirit,” and “breath.”
Thus, when Jesus asks you and me to ‘repent,’ He is inviting us to change our mind, our knowledge, our spirit—even the way we breathe. He is asking us to change the way we love, think, serve, spend our time, treat our wives, teach our children, and even care for our bodies.”
Brigham Young taught, “The Elders of Israel…live beneath their privilege; they live continually without enjoying the power of God. I want to see men and women breathe the Holy Ghost in every breath of their lives, living constantly in the light of God’s countenance.”
The name Yahweh itself carries profound significance in association with breath. This beautiful passage is from Sandra Thurman Caporale of the Memorial Church of Christ in Houston:
“There was a moment when Moses…asked God what his name is. God was gracious enough to answer, and the name he gave is recorded in the original Hebrew as YHWH.
Over time we’ve…added an “a” and an “e” in there to get YaHWeH… But scholars and Rabi’s have noted that the letters YHWH represent breathing sounds, or aspirated consonants. When pronounced without intervening vowels, it actually sounds like breathing.
YH (inhale): WH (exhale).
So a baby’s first cry, his first breath, speaks the name of God.
A deep sigh calls His name – or a groan or gasp that is too heavy for mere words.
Even an atheist would speak His name, unaware that their very breathe is giving constant acknowledgment to God.
Likewise, a person leaves this earth with their last breath, when God’s name is no longer filling their lungs.
So when I can’t utter anything else, is my cry calling out His name?
Being alive means I speak His name constantly.
So, is it heard the loudest when I’m the quietest?
In sadness, we breathe heavy sighs. In joy, our lungs feel almost like they will burst. In fear we hold our breath and have to be told to breathe slowly to help us calm down. When we’re about to do something hard, we take a deep breath to find our courage.
When I think about it, breathing is giving him praise. Even in the hardest moments!
This is so beautiful and fills me with emotion every time I grasp the thought. God chose to give himself a name that we can’t help but speak every moment we’re alive.
All of us, always, everywhere.
Waking, sleeping, breathing, with the name of God on our lips.”
These beautiful truths and concepts have given me an added awareness of the power of breath and enhance my experiences with yoga, meditation, and breathwork.
In my first breathwork practice (full account here), my thoughts turned toward the earth and her breath — the breath of the waves of the ocean, the inhale of the sunrise and daylight and the exhale of the sunset and night, the inhale of spring and summer, the exhale of fall and winter — and I felt deeply connected to all of it.
My breath. The earth’s breath. The breath of life. The breath of God.