Breath of Life

Island air is incredible. Breathing in fresh, clean, cool, moist air catches your attention with it’s novelty considering we live in Reno, which is dry high mountain desert air. We are just back from a vacation in Maui, a Hawaiian island, causing me to reflect on the differences in the environment and differences in my breathing.

That’s not the only reason I am thinking about breath. Several people in my life (life coach, nutrition coach, massage therapist, and counselor) have invited me to consider breathwork at various times. I rejected their invitation. Until now.

Our breath represents our connection to self and changes over time, yet its impact on our life and health cannot be understated. Breath is automatic and natural to life. Quality of breath, appreciation of breath, and optimizing breath are choices we can make with intention. Read on and enjoy these random and fascinating ways of considering breath.

• Breath in the Bible

• Breath of fresh air

• Counting breaths

• Aloha defined

• Book of breath

Breath in the Bible

Without breath, there is no human life. This is by God’s design. Man was created when God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. As an authority, the Bible is very clear in the second chapter of Genesis.

Genesis 2:7 “…then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”

We have life when we are breathing and that life is given to us by God when we are born. Later we see breath again in the book of John when man is born again of the spirit.

John 20:22 “And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

Human life and spiritual life both are breathed into us from God. These are two powerful examples of breath in the Bible.

Breath of Fresh Air

Have you heard of the saying “breath of fresh air”?

People used to say “breath of heaven” or “breath of spring”. I like those too. Especially this time of year when spring invites me to consider new life everywhere I look. Referencing heaven and spring was common in the 1800s. Subsequently those two idioms have gone away and “breath of fresh air” has taken hold.

“Breath of fresh air” is a saying that means new and refreshing. It makes me think of when an object or a person comes into the space and adds energy or life. A bouquet of flowers brings novelty or refreshment to a space. A giggling child is a breath of fresh air after an intense work day. Think of your own examples of what brings refreshment to your mind, body, and soul - your personal “breath of fresh air”.

Counting breaths

Once I started practicing breath work, I became aware of the number of breaths in specific increments of time. You can affect the number of breaths per minute based on the type of breathing you intentionally choose. Different times of breath take differing amounts of time and offer various benefits. For example 4-7-8 breathing is inhalation of 4 seconds, holding for 7 seconds, and exhalation of 8 seconds for a total of 19 seconds, resulting in approximately 3 breaths a minute. Compare that to breathing in for 4 seconds and out for 4 seconds, resulting in approximately 7 breaths a minute. those are dramatically different and would have different benefits in the organs and systems of the body.

According to James Nestor, a journalist and author of Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, the average person has 20 breaths per minute and 670 million breaths in a lifetime.

Aloha Defined 

While in Maui, the customary greeting “Aloha” made me curious about the meaning and story of the word. So I did what most Americans in 2023 do - a Google search where I found this definition and information.

Aloha: a Hawaiian word used when greeting or parting from someone

Aloha means love and fellowship, which I find beautiful.

When I found the spirit behind Aloha, I was blown away.

The term aloha derives from Proto-Polynesia and dates back to the early 1800's. When broken down, the literal translation of the phrase translates to [Alo] meaning 'presence' and [Hā] meaning 'breath. ' Together the word aloha translates to 'The presence of breath' or 'breath of life.

Keep in mind that I was reading the book Breath the morning before my Google search. I call that divine timing.

Book about Breath

I highly recommend James Nestor’s book (short synopsis below) if you like narrative non-fiction books.  Journalist Nestor comes to this topic when two situations occur - a visit to his doctor about breathing issues and research interviews with free divers. He says that this book is not “new” information but “lost art” and shows multiple examples evidencing people‘s awareness of the importance of intentional breathing. The evidence is compelling, especially the mouth breathing test he and another middle aged man conduct. The related measurements and conclusions are hard to ignore. Also included are comprehensive endnotes that could keep you reading and watching instruction videos for extended study and practice.

I learned so much reading this book. I already knew I suffered from shallow breathing which impacts my quality of sleep and my ability to train to run again injury free. I had accepted that as related to age and unchangeable. After reading the book, I have hope that with intention I will see improvement in my sleep and fitness levels.

Thanks for coming along and look at these five different aspects of breath that I find fascinating. Maybe I just want to go back in time to the 1800s (or before) since much of what was practiced then feels like a breath of fresh air to me. In the meantime, whether on an island or in the high mountain desert, I’ll be breathing with intention and truly living. I invite you to do the same wherever you find yourself. Aloha!