Breathing, again, & Blood Pressure

I know I have written about breathing more than once before. Please allow me the grace for another reflection on this.

When I started working with a trainer, he kept reminding me to breathe. I often had my rhythms backwards, exhaling when I should inhale and vice versa. He explained to me that I should be exhaling when I am contracting my muscles and inhaling on the release. Okay, that sounds good, and actually familiar advice from others who work out.

Sitting in our midweek prayer time in the Chapel, centering on the presence of God among us, my thoughts have often turned towards the rhythm of my breathing. It is as important during centering prayer as it is during exercise. I have spent some weeks reflecting on the connection and trying to understand it.

Working out is exercise that requires a discipline. Centering prayer, or any type of prayer for that matter, is also exercise that requires discipline. When I work with my breath during midweek prayer, I can help my body and my mind to relax and settle into God’s presence. This too is familiar.

What I have pondered lately on my breathing during both my workouts and my time of centering prayer is why it is important to exhale when the muscles are contracting. I asked my trainer this. At first, he talked about the importance of the rhythm and actually doing it, but I asked again specifically why is it important to exhale then. Ah, it is mainly to help control the blood pressure to keep it from elevating too high. He also said it is not as crucial for people who do not have cardiovascular issues, but for those who do, it is vital. I listened to that because I inherited a familial tendency towards high blood pressure.

The connection in my time of centering prayer has been revealing itself to me lately. When I seek to center on God’s presence, I definitely need to contract my spiritual muscles to let go of distractions and barriers, and I need to relax my intake to allow God’s Spirit to move within and through me. By exhaling as I pray, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,” I am intentionally moving away from distractions and barriers. I pause at what I think of as the bottom of my breath to emphasize the release of those things that would keep me from focusing on God. Then as I inhale, I pray, “have mercy on me, a sinner,” staying open, not tense or stressed, to allow God’s Spirit to fill me with mercy.

John 20.22:

When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.