A Language your Body Understands

It’s all too easy for us humans to forget just how miraculous the systems within our bodies are. Consider everything it took to keep you alive while you were sleeping last night. All the operations that had to keep running smoothly to ensure that you not only survived while you were unconscious, but that your body was actually rested and revived. These automatic systems are hardwired into us—we don’t need to tell them what to do! In fact, there are very few “dual-control systems”- bodily functions that operate automatically but can also be consciously controlled. Can you guess what they are?

Think back with me to a time when you felt completely overwhelmed, anxious, or stressed- even after the stressful event had passed and the problem had been solved. You tell a friend or partner about what you’re feeling, and they reassure you: “There’s no need to be stressed! Everything is fine.” It’s likely this statement did very little to actually ease the anxiety, overwhelm, and stress you were experiencing. This is because our minds, while remarkably sophisticated, speak a different “language” than our bodies. Our minds can accept a statement as true, while our bodies remain unconvinced. We have to send our bodies the message, “everything is fine,” in a language they can understand.

This is the magic of the breath- our primary dual-control system (The second is blinking, which—now that I’ve mentioned it—you’ve probably become hyper-aware of). Our breath acts like a translator working with two foreign diplomats. It relays a message from one party to the other in real time, ensuring that everyone understands the message and, hopefully, comes into agreement.

Our bodies are constantly being bombarded with stressful stimuli. Loud noises, bright lights, a hurried pace—all of these little stimuli, though they become routine for our minds, can gradually build up within the body and manifest as physical and emotional distress. By actively engaging with our breath, we can send the message “You are safe, you can relax” to our bodies in a way that prompts a response.

Science has proven this; studies show a daily, 5-minute breathwork exercise significantly reduces anxiety, increases our capacity for stress management, elevates mood, and lowers respiratory and heart rates.

While modern science affirms the power of breathwork, the sacred significance of breath is not a new concept. In the Christian tradition, breath is deeply symbolic. Scripture says, “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life” (Job 33:4), and “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). Breath is often associated with the Holy Spirit and seen as a source of life. For Christians, the opportunity to engage with our breath is doubly advantageous because we are not only communicating with our bodies—we are communing with God.

While there are many resources available for engaging with breathwork techniques, I find that simplicity is often strongest. A simple “box-breath” is a great place to start. To do this technique, start with an inhale for a count of four, hold your breath for a count of four, exhale for a count of four, hold for four, and repeat. As you are counting, you can imagine a small ball running along the outside perimeter of a square, with each count of four covering one side of the square.

Here’s a tip: Many breathwork exercises also encourage breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth, especially with a slightly longer exhale. This is because a slow, extended exhale helps activate the parasympathetic nervous system—the body’s “rest and restore” mode. This simple shift in your breathing pattern signals safety to your nervous system and can gently calm racing thoughts or stress responses.

Integrating faith into this practice is quite easy and surprisingly impactful. Simply choose a short scripture or phrase that is meaningful to you. For example: “The Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need.” On the inhale, speak the first portion of the statement in your mind (“The Lord is my shepherd”), and on the exhale, complete the statement in your mind (“I have everything I need”).

Here are some of my personal favorites to use for this practice:

Holy Spirit / Lead my mind

In this moment / I am deeply loved

Every part of me is here / Every part of You is here

This practice is a way to make the psalmist’s bold statement—“I will praise the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips”—real for us.

When we turn our attention to the breath, we are not just calming our bodies—we are awakening to the present moment. The breath invites us out of the swirl of “what if” and “what next” and gently brings us into “what is.” In doing so, it makes space for us to notice the quiet ways God is already near. We often look for God in the dramatic, the loud, or the miraculous, but Scripture reminds us that God can also be found in the still, small whisper. Practicing intentional breath is one of the simplest, most profound ways to return to that whisper—to the here and now—and to the abiding presence of the One who gives us life, one breath at a time.

Research and Resources:

Othership Breathwork App: Contains a large library of guided breathwork exercises, with specific exercises for sleep, stress, panic, relaxation, etc.

How We Feel App: An “emotions diary” that also contains guided breathwork exercises.

Pause App: Contains a library of guided meditations on scripture with an emphasis on stillness and breath.

Balban et al., (2023). Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal. Cell Reports Medicine, 4(1), 100895. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100895