In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind. Job 12:10 ESV
As Christians who practice yoga, when we learn about pranayama as “life force,” we often quickly leap to the breath of God as our life force. It’s an easy leap to take. Consider this line from the song In Christ Alone: “From life’s first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny.” Life, and the end of it, is marked by breath. When an infant is born, it cannot survive apart from the mother until it has taken its first breath. That first breath determines life or death. On the other end of that continuum, when someone dies, we say, “They took their last breath,” and we understand that to mean their life here on earth is done. Our first and last breaths mark our life here on this earthly plane.
So, intuitively, when we say the Spirit or breath of God is our life force, it makes sense to us. But what if we explored this more fully concerning scripture, specifically scripture rooted in its original language?
Jody Thomae
Having traveled the dual paths of ministry and body-based work for over two decades, Jody Thomae is the author of several Bible Studies geared towards worship, creativity, and embodiment, including Jesus In My Practice; Voices of Wisdom in the Body; and the soon-to-be-released O My Soul. She leads retreats, workshops, and training at her private lakeside studio in North Central Ohio. Be sure to visit Jody at the 2024 Christian Yoga Expo as a speaker and in Vendor Village, where she will sign books and sell prayer beads.