The Idol of Breath
Breath and breathing have become a focus in our culture due to the invasion of alternative healing, the intense focus on health, and the influence of Eastern practices, especially meditation (guided, visualization, guided imagery, etc.). The use of apps on phones has only increased the information and promotion of these ideas.
Ironically, God has made man so that we breathe automatically and do not have to usually think about it. But Eastern religions and the New Age view breath as a way to reach altered states and also to spiritually cleanse one’s self. Prana (Hinduism), chi (Taoism), vital force (New Age), and other terms refer to a force that is often viewed as entwined with or manipulated by one’s breathing. With the expansion of New Age pseudoscience, there are many sources promoting practices having to do with breath, including in the church.
Since the word for spirit in Hebrew and Greek also can mean breath, there is a lot misleading and deceptive information, such as saying that breathing in and out is saying the word for God “Yahweh.” Keep in mind that context and usage determine meaning, and that because a word means one thing in one passage, it does not necessarily mean the same thing in another. Do research, use lexicons and commentaries, and any other good resources.
I am often asked about breath prayers, breathing exercises done for spiritual reasons, saying “Yahweh” is like breathing, and related issues.
The Breath of Life
The “breath of life” which is found in the New Testament only one time (Revelation 11:11), is a metaphor or picture of God giving life. It is used only for man and what God calls “living creatures,” which are animals. It is not used for plants, trees, rivers, rocks, etc. It emphasizes God as Creator and the source of life for creatures who breathe.
“Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7
“So they went into the ark to Noah, by twos of all flesh in which was the breath of life.” Genesis 7:15
“By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host.” Psalm 33:6
The Psalm 33 verse quoted above is a parallelism. The second line is saying the same thing as the first, just using different words. The point of it is that God is the Creator of everything. It is poetic metaphor/imagery. From a CANA article on Chi/qi Therapies:
The Bible tells us that God breathed life into man (Genesis 2:7; Job 27:3), that all living creatures have the “breath of life” (Genesis 1:30, 2:7, 6:17, 7:22; Psalm 104:29), and that God’s breath caused the universe (Job 33:4, 37:10; Psalm 33:6), but this breath is not a force or energy. The “breath” of God is an expression describing God’s power to create and sustain life; in fact, the Hebrew words used here are also translated as “life” or “spirit.” Man and animals breathe (are alive) because God has given them life.
God’s power to create is not man’s power nor does it belong to the universe, and God’s power is not a force to manipulate or channel, for healing or anything else. Man does not have the right to access God when he desires and to appropriate a power that he believes is God or is from God, or to appropriate a power that is from the “universe.” When efforts are made to do this, a power may be channeled, but it is not from God. In fact, the attempt to channel or manipulate such a force is the underpinning of sorcery.
Such a power is a counterfeit power or force from a personal intelligence that is evil and wants to deceive and destroy. Jesus described this personal source of evil in one place as a “thief” – “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).
I do not contest that what men call qi exists. Rather, I assert that it is not what those who believe in it say it is. It is not from God and, in the long run, it is not beneficial no matter the temporary effect, but rather, it is destructive. — From CANA article Chi Therapies
God does not have lungs or breath because he is spirit. So God does not breathe and cannot have a literal breath. There is no actual God’s breath in existence, but all who have life as living beings (men and creatures) were given that life by God.
Panentheism
Some believe that God’s breath imbues creation, a view found in panentheism (creation is contained in God and God is contained in creation but also transcends it). This would mean God is intermingling with creation, and a fallen creation at that (see Genesis 3:17-18, Romans 8:22). It would also mean that God has organic breath and is not spirit. But God is spirit (John 4:24).
There is a belief that God’s nature remains distinct from his creation, but that he acts in time and so his actions are part of creation. But this is a distinction without a difference and is still panentheism. Either God is wholly distinct from creation as the Creator, or he is not. God’s nature and actions are one.
There is no “vibrational frequency” that Is God or his breath, and the “Aum” (or “Om”) sound is from Hinduism, considered to be the sacred sound of the universe. The word “Shalom” is not connected to any Hindu word (as some mistakenly assert).
The concepts of chi (qi, ki), Hindu prana (as in pranayama, the breathing in Yoga), the vital force (Vitalism), life force, energy (as used in the New Age and pseudo-science), which are found throughout “alternative healing,” are all pagan attempts to counterfeit God because breath is often equated with divinity itself, or to wield God’s power.
But God’s power is in God, and is unquantifiable; unable to be accessed; unable to be replicated; unable to be summoned, controlled, manipulated, or channeled (for healing or for any reason); and is not part of creation.
Therefore, to seek any use of chi or the other named forces, or to seek to channel or summon the Holy Spirit as a power, whether for healing, martial arts, or occult magic, or to seek healing or any method based on those concepts, is to reject God for who he is, and is a form of occultism that opens the door for deception and even danger.
To equate chi with God’s breath or to believe that his breath is in creation is misunderstanding Scripture and worse, misunderstanding who God is.
Breathwork
The term “breathwork” usually describes a New Age activity related to spiritual views about the breath. There are many New Age theories about the breath that supposedly promote mental, emotional, and physical well-being. This is not about taking a deep breath to calm down (though that does not always work and constant deep breathing can be dangerous) or about breathing exercises for singing, playing certain instruments, or swimming. Some breathwork practices have become popular, such as Holotropic breathwork, a New Age technique started by Czech psychiatrist Stanislav Grof.
Holotropic Breathing
Stanislav Grof is on the staff of the Human Potential/New Age Esalen Institute. The Holotropic website states:
“Holotropic Breathwork® is a powerful approach to self-exploration and personal empowerment that relies on our innate inner wisdom and its capacity to move us toward positive transformation and wholeness. Acknowledging, accessing and supporting the inner healing intelligence and impulse in each individual is the essential cornerstone of this approach.The theoretical framework integrates insights from psychedelic research, anthropology, various depth psychologies, transpersonal psychology, Eastern spiritual practices, and mystical traditions of the world…<snip>
…The process itself uses very simple means: it combines accelerated breathing with evocative music in a special set and setting. With the eyes closed and lying on a mat, each person uses their own breath and the music in the room to enter a non-ordinary state of consciousness.”
“Depth psychologies” refers to the practices and views of Carl Jung. “Transpersonal psychology” is New Age in origin. Eastern spiritual practices include the breath practices in Eastern meditation.
Pranayama (Yoga)
Pranayama in Yoga could be considered a form of breathwork. The breath is considered a spiritual force:
“In Sanskrit, “Prana” means life force or energy, and “Yama” means control. So, Pranayam involves conscious regulation of the breath to increase the flow of life energy within us, such as consciously deepening, slowing down, or directing it to specific areas of the body…<snip>
…Anulom Vilom, also known as Alternate Nostril Breathing, is a simple, powerful pranayam technique that aims to bring balance to the prana shakti (flow of energy) in the body. Anulom-Vilom pranayama breathing focuses on purifying all the subtle channels of the mind and body, thereby increasing the flow of prana (life force).” Source for excerpt
Many times these New Age techniques will be taught under the guise of increasing oxygen flow to bring physical benefits. The spiritual ideas will be hidden and the claims will be disguised with pseudoscientific language about the breath, lungs, and body. Some claim that breathwork will heal. However, most of the origins of this thinking will be from Eastern spiritual practices, which deifies the breath as a spiritual power or even as god.
The Hof Method
Another influence on breathwork is the Dutch althlete Wim Hof, known as “Iceman.” His ideas for breathwork include Eastern spiritual ideas:
“Wim Hof was actually already soaking up all he could about Buddhism, zen, and yoga at 9 years old. His insatiable curiosity took him to India — the cradle of breathwork — to deepen his insights. Back in the Netherlands, he discovered another powerful natural force: the cold. Wim would eventually synthesize his accrued wisdom into what we now know as the Wim Hof Method.” Source for excerpt
Hof’s methods have been compared to Yoga’s Pranayama and the Tibetan Buddhist meditation tummo:
“As Hof tells it, his feats are powered by a simple routine of breathing exercises, cold exposure, and mental focus, known as the Wim Hof Method. The breathing is controlled hyperventilation, done in three to six sets of 30 to 40 deep breaths (strong inhale, relaxed exhale). On the last breath of each set, you exhale and hold for one to three minutes before taking a recovery breath and holding for 15 seconds. As with other rhythmic-breathing disciplines like pranayama, kundalini yoga’s breath of fire, or the Tibetan Buddhist meditation practice of tummo, it’s common to feel tingly, woozy, and, frankly, high: people have reported seeing spots and stars, kaleidoscopic lights, and other visions. It’s a bit dizzying as well, which is why you should do it seated or lying down.”
Hof was influenced by Eastern beliefs and his methods are not scientifically verified and there are many critiques of Hof’s breathwork, such as:
“The Wim Hof Method is like chiropractic, homeopathy, and acupuncture in that it pretends to be a health-and-healing system that is based on science. But more than these other dubious approaches, the Wim Hof Method comes with religious ritual and a personality cult. In the Goop Lab episode, we see how six people do the breathing exercises while lying stretched out on the floor in a circle with the feet all together in the center of the circle. In other videos, we see rituals that are mindful of baptism. Hof is always center stage. In the Goop Lab episode, Paltrow introduces him as “the living example of mind over matter.” Not much later, Hof is given prophet status when she asks him “Do you ever think about why you are the chosen person to discover this and brought it to the world?” Hof’s answer is a cliché: “I see my function now: to help millions and millions of people.” In the Goop Lab episode and in many other videos and articles, Hof recounts how he suffered a traumatic loss when he was younger and how he was a lost soul until he found redemption through The Method.”
We see here one of the common characteristics of these methods: that this technique will cure/heal/help all sorts of emotional problems, anxieties, physical limitations, etc. This type of clam is the hallmark of New Age charlatans.
Warning
Since Christians are to be stewards of what God has given us, and our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, it is crucial to be cautious. Any breath or body practice (“bodywork,” which is also based on New Age views and is very much a parallel to breathwork, including Rolfing, the Alexander Technique, and others) based on or related to spiritual views opposed to God should be avoided.
Not only can there be physical danger, but one opens one’s self up to further deception when falling for another deception. It is a progressive journey. There are other remedies for anxiety and ailments. One need not resort to unfounded spiritually based New Age practices. And health at any cost makes health an idol and is pragmatism, not Christianity.
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Rom. 12:1-2
Addendum: From Net Bible on John 20:22:
The use of the Greek verb breathed on (ἐμφυσάω, emfusaw) to describe the action of Jesus here recalls Gen 2:7 in the LXX [note from CANA: the LXX stands for the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament used by early Christians], where “the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” This time, however, it is Jessu who is breathing the breath-Spirit of eternal life, life from above, into his disciples (cf. 3:3-10). Furthermore there is the imagery of Ezek 37:1-14, the prophecy concerning the resurrection of the dry bones: In 37:9 the Son of Man is told to prophesy to the “wind-breath-Spirit” to come and breathe on the corpses, so that they will live again. In 37:14 the Lord promised, “I will put my Spirit within you, and you will come to life, and I will place you in your own land.” In terms of uimate fulfillment the passage in Ezek 37 looks at the regeneration of Israel immediately prior to the establishment of the messianic kingdom. The author saw in what Jesus did for the disciples at this point a partial and symbolic fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy, much as Peter made use of the prophecy of Joel 2:28-32 in his sermon on the day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2:17-21. What then did Jesus do for the disciples in John 20:22? It appears that in light of the symbolism of the new creation present here, as well as the regeneration symbolism from the Ezek 37 passage, that Jesus at this point breathed into the disciples the breath of eternal life. This was in the form of the Holy Spirit, who was to indwell them. It is instructive to look again at 7:38-39, which states, “Just as the scripture says, ‘Out from within him will flow rivers of living water.’ (Now he said this about the Spirit whom those who believed in him were going to receive; for the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”)
But now in 20:22 Jesus was glorified, so the Spirit could be given. Had the disciples not believed in Jesus before? It seems clear that they had, since their belief is repeatedly affirmed, beginning with 2:11. But it also seems clear that even on the eve of the crucifixion, they did not understand the necessity of the cross (16:31-33). And even after the crucifixion, the disciples had not realized that there was going to be a resurrection (20:9). Ultimate recognition of who Jesus was appears to have come to them only after the postresurrection appearances (note the response of Thomas, who was not present at this incident, in v. 28). Finally, what is the relation of this incident in 20:22 to the account of the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2? It appears best to view these as two separate events which have two somewhat different purposes. This was the giving of life itself, which flowed out from within (cf. 7:38-39). The giving of power would occur later, on the day of Pentecost – power to witness and carry out the mission the disciples had been given. (It is important to remember that in the historical unfolding of God’s program for the church, these events occurred in a chronological sequence which, after the church has been established, is not repeatable today.) — From the NET Bible
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