A Simple Guide to Breath Prayers

You may have heard of the benefits of deep breathing and breath prayers for your health over the years. In daily life, it is easy to feel overwhelmed or struggle with anxious thoughts. One way to combat that is through breathing.

This is not just the typical breathing we do to stay alive. The breathing that benefits us most is intentional and focused. When we feel anxious about something our body responds automatically in a variety of ways. These are often connected to the fight or flight mechanism. In times of stress, our bodies respond by increasing heart rate. This can trigger shallow, rapid breathing.

Unfortunately, that response often intensifies our stress level, causing us to spiral into anxiety, fear, and overwhelm. “Breathing is the bridge between the brain and the body.” (Jennifer Tucker)

As we look at improving our mental health, especially as believers, the idea of breath prayers is intriguing.

Why breath prayers are helpful.

Understanding breath prayers shouldn’t be complicated. It simply takes the concepts we know about the physical and mental impact of breathing and combines them with the benefits of focusing on spiritual truths.

Breath prayers focus on both your breathing and your thinking at the same time. Deep breathing exercises help engage the parasympathetic nervous system, slowing your heart rate and breathing, and helping you to calm down. And by turning your thoughts away from the negative worries and intentionally toward Truth, you can begin to calm your mind, shift your focus and “let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” (Romans 12:2) – Jennifer Tucker

What is breath prayer?

Breath prayer involves intentional breathing combined with a prayer or Scripture. They are short and provide an opportunity to slow your breathing and focus on a prayer, faith concept, or Scripture. Doing this addresses the physical and mental aspects of your well-being as well as the spiritual.

When you do a breath prayer, you focus on a predetermined thought, prayer, or Scripture while you breathe in and then another while you breathe out. For example, you may focus on a Bible verse. When you breathe in you think about the first part of the verse and when you breathe out you think about the second part of the verse. Similarly, you can do this with a spiritual truth or a prayer.

By nature, these are short and focus on things that will uplift your soul. This allows you to be attentive to both your breathing and the focused idea while reaping the benefits of the practice.

A how-to guide for breath prayer.

As a practice, breath prayer is simple. Breathing in with prayer or idea + breathing out with prayer or idea = breath prayer. To help you practice breath prayers, go through these steps:

1. Breathe in slowly and focus on the first part of a prayer or Scripture.
2. Hold your breath for a beat.
3. Breathe out slowly and focus on the second part of a prayer or Scripture.

Tips to maximize the benefits of breath prayers.

To reap the full benefits of breath prayers, it is important to be intentional about your breathing in a way that may be foreign to you. You also need to choose an idea, scripture, or prayer before you get started. This will prevent distraction as you participate in the practice.

Here are some tips that will help:

• Choose a short prayer, scripture, or faith-based idea to focus on and write it down. You can find examples online if you’re having trouble. Simply search for breath prayers and look at images. Then choose one that feels helpful or encouraging.
• Inhale and exhale slowly. This is part of what calms your body and mind.
• Inhale through your nose. Allow your lungs to fill with air. You should focus on allowing your abdomen to expand. This allows you to breathe deep into your lungs.
• Exhale through your nose or your mouth slowly. This should take longer than your inhale. Allow your body to gently push all the air out of your lungs.
• Focus on the prayer or scripture during both the inhale and the exhale. You can read it from a piece of paper. As you repeat the breath prayer and remember the words you want to focus on, you can close your eyes.
• For an additional pause, you can hold your breath for one to three seconds between your inhale and your exhale.
• Repeat this process 3-10 times.

Next steps.

Try incorporating breath prayers into your day. You can set a reminder on your phone to do it at certain times or you can connect it with a certain activity like washing dishes or driving. Find what works for you.

For more help incorporating this and strategies, reach out to our office. The Christian counselors at California Christian Counseling would be happy to help you on your journey toward wellness.