Are breathing exercises okay?

[aspen]

So frustrating
I wrote a long post on another thread twice and cannot post it

 

[Madad21]

Did ya manage to post it?

 

[michaelvpardo]

I know of a course taught by Ravi Shankar a Hindu guru that teaches breathing exercises, a family member practices and
swears by it.
And it's true the more oxygen in your body the better, it's supposed to heal quicker etc.
So here we have a dilemma, do we practice something that works because God created us that way or do we reject it
because some eastern guru teaches it ?

Breathing properly is healthy, but your post is inaccurate. We need oxygen to live, but too much oxygen is toxic (our air is normally a mixture of primarily Oxygen, Carbon dioxide, Nitrogen, and much smaller amounts of other gases. Excess oxygen in the brain causes migraine head aches. People prone to anxiety attacks often hyperventilate and are likely to pass out: the quick remedy is breathing in and out of a paper bad to raise the CO2 levels in the blood and restore the PH balance (acidosis and alkalosis are both bad for us.) With regard to your question, consider Genesis chapter 3: Eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil "worked" for Adam and Eve, and as a result sin and death entered the world.

 

[cjamison]

Breathing properly is healthy, but your post is inaccurate. We need oxygen to live, but too much oxygen is toxic (our air is normally a mixture of primarily Oxygen, Carbon dioxide, Nitrogen, and much smaller amounts of other gases. Excess oxygen in the brain causes migraine head aches. People prone to anxiety attacks often hyperventilate and are likely to pass out: the quick remedy is breathing in and out of a paper bad to raise the CO2 levels in the blood and restore the PH balance (acidosis and alkalosis are both bad for us.) With regard to your question, consider Genesis chapter 3: Eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil "worked" for Adam and Eve, and as a result sin and death entered the world.

In what ways would 'meditation' or breathing exercises be considered 'sinful'? Cultivating a deeper relationship with yourself and caring for yourself, which meditation is meant to develop, is a good thing. Or not?

 

[This Vale Of Tears]

I think some Christians, who believe everything they do is inspired by God, don't realize when they're being motivated by something else such as xenophobia. Eastern yoga, breathing, meditations, and Tai Chi are strange and foreign, therefore they must also be demonic. I say, not necessarily so.

 

[aspen]

I tend to believe that Christianity offers most of the good aspects of eastern religions within its own history. I remember being attracted to Eastern meditation when I was younger because I had no idea that Christians had been practicing contemplative prayer for centuries. Once I read Christian history between Jesus's resurrection and Martin Luther, I found so many things I used to belief I had to find outside Christianity.

 

[This Vale Of Tears]

I tend to believe that Christianity offers most of the good aspects of eastern religions within its own history. I remember being attracted to Eastern meditation when I was younger because I had no idea that Christians had been practicing contemplative prayer for centuries. Once I read Christian history between Jesus's resurrection and Martin Luther, I found so many things I used to belief I had to find outside Christianity.

The Bible says that those of us in Christ have been given "all things". It's why I'm amazed at how we bunker down and assume everything outside of our tiny little sphere belongs to Satan. It's ours for the taking. All of it.

 

[Madad21]

I've tried two in and one out, but that never stuck

 

[michaelvpardo]

In what ways would 'meditation' or breathing exercises be considered 'sinful'? Cultivating a deeper relationship with yourself and caring for yourself, which meditation is meant to develop, is a good thing. Or not?

It's not the exercise that's sinful, but meditation becomes an area of temptation when we believe that there is something that we can do that will make us "more godly" as a personal achievement. For example, reading scripture with understanding is good, but considering "understanding" to be our achievement rather than a gift given by the Lord to us and through His word is self deception and pride at work in our hearts.
Also consider that Eastern techniques for meditation focus on breathing with the intent of clearing the mind (of worldly thoughts). Some forms of meditation use words and images as mantras which may stimulate the imagination (and God's word says that our imagination is only evil all of the time) and may make us susceptible to suggestion by external forces, spiritual or otherwise: This sort of meditation utilizes a kind of autohypnosis which is all the more powerful when generated by our own thoughts. Do you want your behavior modified by external forces?
I prefer internal suggestions in the form of the promptings and teaching of the Holy Spirit, but you can only experience this if you've been born again.
Jesus' voice is the only voice that I want to receive and we train ourselves to hear that voice by reading His word and meditating upon His revealed will, with prayer and seeking His desire rather than our own. That takes some level of discipline on our part, but if we don't make time for Him, He'll make the time for us and sometimes in less than pleasant circumstance. In all things we need to find wisdom. Everything that we do has some consequence, so its far better to seek what's best rather than what we simply believe to be good, and only the Lord knows what is best for us in the long run.
I hope that my response isn't obtuse and is in some way helpful to your own understanding.