Breathing is an essential body function. Just this week Open Airways Bermuda reminded us in The Royal Gazette how important proper and free breathing is for us.

The Bible actually gives breath a special meaning. Already in the first verses of the Bible, in the story of creation, it says that God’s breath or spirit was above the waters: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth. Now the Earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” (Genesis 1:1-2 NIV).

In Hebrew, the word “ruach” means breath, wind, and spirit, and in the New Testament the Greek word “pneuma” has the same three meanings. The Holy Spirit is called the “ruach ha-kodesh” in Hebrew and in Greek “pneuma to hagion”.

But not only God’s breath is important. In the second creation story starting at Genesis 2:4b, God created man from dust and “breathed” into him, which gave him his own breath, this life and a soul. In a pivotal post-resurrection moment, Jesus breathes on His disciples, commanding them to “receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22).

Breathing and mental health

It might be new to you that science discovered our breathing also has a major impact on our mental wellbeing, you could say our spirit. The good news is that there are everyday ways of life and being, including the way we breathe, that can help you feel happier and more well and allow you to develop the way God intended us to be.

As long as we breathe we are alive: breathing is actually one of the most important bodily functions. We live as long as we are breathing. When a baby is born, everybody waits for that first breath, the first cry, and at the end of life we often say: “She took her last breath.”

Like most other basic functions breathing is directly connected with the lymbic system where our emotions are at home, the stem brain. Breathing right thus can help us to live not only longer, but happier. People with breathing problems have a much higher risk of developing low mood symptoms or depression.

Breathing can change our emotional state: just by learning to change our breathing, we can experience changes in our emotional state, very positive ones, by the way. Wow, awesome, isn’t it? Breathing exercises can calm us when we are angry or anxious, and can help us to focus our thoughts rather than react without thinking.

For example, take a deep breath in through the nose for about four to six seconds, hold it, and then let it out — wait four seconds, and then repeat. Do that for three or four times.

In turn, we also have the saying “that took my breath away”, when something unexpected or negative happened, when we are outraged. Indeed, we live in times where folks may experience lots of distressing feelings and may feel less optimistic, a little more “down” than usual, perhaps irritable or tired, lacking energy for the things that use to bring us joy.

The bombarding with bad news on our media for sure does not help. Perhaps our overall stress, worry and anxiety levels leave us needing to “take a deep breath”, to reset our system.

We are wonderfully made

It is actually a time when we can learn to understand how God made our nervous system and respiratory system to work together, especially when it comes to activating circuits of resting and relaxation.

It would definitely be of help for our overall health and well being if we could practise different God-given breathing techniques to create calm, energy or more inner peace.

We are living in a time like no other. Once again we might ask ourselves how can we find some sense of balance and bring resilience back into our every day lives.

There are multiple science baked daily habits that can make a huge difference for our overall well being and spiritual health. Taking a holistic approach we know that our “brain is the hardware of our soul” (Daniel Amen, MD, in Healing the Hardware of the Soul, 2008).

Living in ongoing chaotic times when we are kept “switched on” to the negative, it can feel like even the smallest things can set us off, leaving us unduly tense, moody and less optimistic.

Maybe we notice it with others around us as well, that they are more “on edge” than usual, smiling less or not at all. We seem to be glued to our screens, whether smart phone, computer or TV, and spend less time with real people, in nature and fresh air. We need the latter to feel better.

We might read or learn on those screens a lot about health hacks every day and how essential self-care is in times like these. However, unless we act on that knowledge and change something, those health hacks are just irrelevant.

Letting sunlight into your eyes and fresh air into your lungs is on the top of the list. We are so lucky living in Bermuda. The ions from our ocean air are known to be particular healthy.

The natural ocean water can supply our body with important minerals just by soaking in the warm waters around us. Even the sun, often feared because too much ultraviolet light can damage the skin, has healing power. If you let for 20 minutes some natural sunlight on your skin without sun-blockers to build up vitamin D (not so much at lunch time, but in the morning and late afternoon hours when the sun is less intense) you build up your immune system. Together it just feels rejuvenating.

This is especially true when we are caregivers or have extremely demanding jobs and stressful lifestyles, maybe struggling with debt, habits that are draining us of energy and self-esteem. It is important to take that time, to give our breath, and thus our soul some down time.

That will not make the global news go away. So what does our faith tell us about times like these? God actually created us wonderfully and he reminds us to trust him and to allow him to strengthen us through his Spirit in times of need.

Jesus promised to carry our burden and guide us through the Holy Spirit. Let us allow those little daily shifts and habits that can improve our daily routine and mind set and give us more serenity and calm.

Let us practise gratitude, exercise breathing, and enjoy God’s creation around us and the people on our side.

We all need to feel a sense of safety and security. While the news might suggest that we are in constant danger, we are not. One of the most repeated phrases in the Bible is: “Do not be afraid!”

We actually live in very safe times and we are actually not alone. Daily practice of living out our faith with others together and looking for the fruit of the Spirit to grow in ourselves and others, will lead to a better life. What we feed will grow.

So, I encourage you to sow seeds of love and compassion and feed them daily. Begin with calming your own system with slow deep breaths. Retrain your thoughts daily and teach your mind to focus on what is good and God given, like the truth of the Gospel, that God loves you and longs to have a relationship with you through his Son Jesus Christ. Your nervous system will respond by healing, restoring, and destressing. Its peaceful and life changing.

Even non-religious scientists found that it only takes a few minutes daily to change your life and the lives of others. It is not just about being positive. It is transforming to choose to practise calming exercises daily, to breathe and overcome our fears.

It helps to put things into perspective, and not to worry about everything that happens somewhere in the farthest corners of the world. Theen we will be able to inhale courage and exhale fear.

• Karsten Decker is a German theologian with a double degree equivalent to an MTheol and MDiv. He studied in Marburg (Germany), Knoxville (USA), and Toronto (Canada) and comes from a united church of Lutheran and Reformed Churches. He was the pastor of Peace Lutheran Church in Bermuda from 2010 to 2017, and after returning from Germany is now the temporary pulpit supply at Centenary United Methodist Church in Smith’s