Homepage

SadhanaOriental Meditation and Christian Prayer

To pray with body (taking a breath)

[18] Breathing according with the forms of faith – 1 (Inhaling)

  When we breathe—which is essential for our life—along with the religious thoughts, we can strengthen our faith.
 Our heart of waiting for God could be expressed by phrases such as: "Please come, God," or "I welcome you." We inhale while using these phrases. What way of breathing would be suitable?
 Should we take a deep long breath?
 Or a small careful breath?
 Or a firm strong breath?
 Let's find the right way of breathing for each of us, adjusting the amount of air, depth, strength, length, and speed of breath.
Waiting for God means welcoming God to our place. Therefore, it is certainly appropriate to inhale while saying "Please come, God."
 After we learn how to inhale with the mind of waiting for God, let's explore more phrases that could be chanted to express our religious thoughts while inhaling.
 It could be appreciation, or praise. (When we express our appreciation, we could say "Thank you." If we praise God, we could say "Wonderful!")
 If you feel the two examples above are suitable for inhaling, you can adjust the amount of air, depth, strength, length, and speed of breath, as we did with the mind of waiting. We can find and learn the best way of inhaling for each of us.

[Return to index]