How often do you think about breathing? It may be obvious to state that breathing is even more important to your well-being than food or water. I cannot live without breathing, neither can you. We all need oxygen to live, to think, to function properly.

However, we all started, even Jesus (as a human being) without breathing as we know it. At least not using our lungs to breathe-just like the first living beings in the primordial ooze.  Those little cellular structures were breathing through diverse ways (i.e., gills, osmosis, primitive lungs) that brought oxygen from the atmosphere into their bodies to grow and live.

We didn’t breathe until we were born. For most of us, we don’t think much about breathing until we find ourselves in distress than we think about it a lot.

I have started a yoga class. Primarily, I started it to be able to bend over and pick up stuff off the floor. However, a critical part in the practice of yoga is breathing, paying attention to how you are breathing and where you want to send the breath to ease the tightness in different areas of your body. It is quite a revelation, and it is quite miraculous.

My instructor, Jae, leads the class through various yoga moves and instructs us to pay attention to our breath as we direct it to a specific part of the body. She admonishes us to pay attention to the difference that the breath makes in doing the move and feeling the stretch.

At the end of the class, Jae leads us in a brief meditation. Once again, breathing comes to the forefront. Payng attention to my breathing and concentrating on her dialogue, brings me to a state of contentment and contemplation.

During a recent meditation, I made a distinct connection between breathing and the Holy Spirit. In Genesis 2:7, God breathes life into Adam,-we became alive through the Breath of God. That Spirit stays with us with every breath that we take. Concentrating on the act of breathing keeps me in constant contact with the Spirit of God.

Breathing-another valuable gift from our God who loves us unconditionally. Who is with us every day of our lives. Who we can connect with in a very intimate way with every breath that we take. How can anything go wrong?

Treat yourself to this beautiful hymn, “Holy Spirit, Breath of God”, as you begin or end your day, or even in the middle and be renewed. Take 5 minutes, listen to the words and be reminded of how God works in your life. How God loves you unconditionally.

Terri