The Science of Breath — Heal the Physical and Connect with God's Spirit Within

Breath is not just oxygen. It is the spark of creation. It is the Spirit of God. It is the thread that connects your body to your soul, your inner world to the Divine.

I used to move through life without thinking much about my breath. It was automatic, a background rhythm to my chaotic day. I didn’t realize I was often holding it in, especially in moments of stress or fear. Unaware of the danger of shallow breathing that was keeping me in a constant state of survival, robbing me of clarity, vitality and presence.

It was during the time of losing my brother that I finally found my way to the Breath. The healing substance that helped me not just temporarily heal, but also showed me with great clarity the purpose of my existence in this lifetime. Dharma, as we call it. 

It was like coming home to something that had always been with me, quietly waiting for me to remember.

Breath: The Forgotten Bridge Between Body and Spirit

Across spiritual traditions — from the Sanskrit prāṇa, the Hebrew ruach, the Greek pneuma, to the Arabic ruh — breath is synonymous with spirit, life force, or the soul. In Genesis, it is written that “God breathed into Adam's nostrils the breath of life and he became a living being.” Breath is the first gift we receive as we enter the world and the last thing we surrender when we leave the physical realm. Yet somewhere along the way, in our modern, fast-paced, logic-driven world, we stopped paying attention to this sacred force. We treat it as mechanical & involuntary. We focus on calories, steps, schedules, and forget that the breath is the engine beneath it all. We forget that healing, peace and divine connection begins with something so simple, so close, so often overlooked.

The Science: Breath and the Body

Scientifically, the breath is the regulator of our nervous system. With every inhale and exhale, our autonomic nervous system is either being activated or soothed. When we breathe shallowly, as most of us do when we’re anxious or distracted, we remain trapped in sympathetic dominance (fight or flight). Over time, this keeps cortisol levels high, weakens our immune system, disrupts digestion, affects our sleep, and hijacks our emotional stability.

Conscious breathing, on the other hand, activates the parasympathetic system (rest, repair and digest), bringing our bodily system back into balance. Practices like coherent breathing, box breathing, and diaphragmatic breathing have been shown to

• Lower blood pressure

• Improve heart rate variability

• Reduce anxiety and depression

• Enhance focus and memory

• Regulate hormones

• Improve immune response

Your breath is literally the remote control for your internal environment.

The Psychology of Breath: Emotions Stored - Emotions Released

Our breath holds emotional memories. Often, we suppress emotions — grief, rage, fear — by holding our breath, pushing them deep into our tissues. Over time, these unprocessed emotions create somatic blocks, chronic tension and even illness.

Conscious breathing practices such as rebirthing, holotropic breathwork, or pranayama can open the door to these stored emotions and help release them — not through words, but through sensation, vibration, and bodily symptoms. Unlike the mind, which swings between past and future, the breath is always present in the now and when we are here, truly present with the breath, healing begins — not just mentally, but energetically and spiritually.

Breath as Prayer: The Gateway to God Within

There is something holy about pausing to breathe with intention. It is an embodied prayer. A remembering. A return. Every time we inhale, we receive. Every time we exhale, we let go. In that rhythm, we mirror the cycles of nature, the seasons, the ocean tides, and the divine pulse of life and death.

When I sit in stillness and let my breath guide me inward, I find that God was never somewhere out there, but quietly whispering in every breath, in every heartbeat. The breath becomes a sanctuary, a conversation with the Infinite. No words needed. Just presence.

Breath is Life. And We’ve Taken it for Granted.

In a world that sells us endless solutions to feel better, look better, be better — the breath offers itself freely, abundantly. It asks nothing in return except attention.

And yet, we forget it. We override it. We race past it.

But the moment you pause and let your breath deepen, you will find that what you’ve been searching for out there has always lived within you.

So here is my invitation to you.. today, take a moment to breathe.

Deeply. Intentionally.

Let the breath clear your mind.

Let it carry you back to the present.

And connect you back to the Source of it all…

God, within.