Scripture
How can I, your servant, talk with you, my lord? My strength is gone and I can hardly breathe.
Daniel 10:17 NIV
Spiritual Focus
“The earth inhales God, why should we not do the same?” St. Thomas Aquinas
Devotion
As I was growing up, when I was upset my mother would counsel me to “take a deep breath and count to three.” Invariably I would become calmer, if only temporarily, but enough so that I could tell her what was troubling me. In pausing to find my breath I could move, beyond the feelings that were overwhelming me, back into the moment and into the relationship in which I could talk out my problems and respond to my mother’s soothing words.
Finding our breath can be difficult, especially when we’re caught up in strong emotions, but Scripture teaches us that in doing so we’re enabled to “hear” the voice of God. The Hebrew word ruach can be translated either as “breath” or “spirit” and appears throughout the Hebrew Scriptures nearly 400 times. In Genesis, where God’s life-giving breath is pictured as ruach, life is said to be “breathed” into clay. Similarly in the New Testament, the Greek pneuma can be translated either as “breath” or as “spirit.” In the book of Acts the presence of the Holy Spirit appears as pneuma. There is wisdom in these historic words, whose double meanings direct us to find God through our breath.
Like the ancient Jews and Christians, yogis have long understood the connection between breath and spirit. The yoga practice of pranayama is often viewed as breath practice, but it is more than that. Pranayama, as it is best understood, is the movement of God-breath, of spirit, in our being. It can be used to energize—brahmana—or calm—langhana, depending on the breath pattern that is practiced. But no matter the pattern, it is in the attention that we bring to our breath, that we find our strength and spirit. It is in being mindful of our breath, that breath and spirit combine and transform into Holy Breathing.
Breath Prayer
Inhale | Ru-
Exhale | ach
Focus Pose: This week, take your yoga practice off your mat. Select a day, set a timer, and every few hours throughout the day pause and intentionally take three full, slow breaths. Note the many different places where you can pause and, with awareness, breathe: in the car, at the office, while doing dishes, or in line at the grocery store. Don’t worry about doing it “right”; bring no expectations of spiritual presence but simply take the time throughout one day to bring attention to your breath and observe yourself doing so. Be like the earth: inhale God.
