The Breath Of Life - A Jewish Breathwork Journey

Join Chana Mason for a Torah-rooted breathwork practice that reconnects you to neshima (breath) and neshama (soul). After a short teaching, you’ll lie down and move into a gentle, conscious, connected breathing sequence—pairing a full-body relaxation with a visualization of the Divine Name (Yud-Hei-Vav-Hei) “surrounding and filling” the body. This guided journey invites safety, nervous-system calm, and a felt sense of Hashem’s love, ending with quiet integration and a blessing from Jerusalem.

What you’ll experience: A concise teaching on “the breath of life” in Torah. Body scan and audible sighs to release shoulder, jaw, and diaphragm tension. Conscious connected breathing (nose → mouth phases) with clear cues. Yud-Hei-Vav-Hei visualization mapped to head, shoulders/arms, spine, and hips/legs. Heart-opening affirmations: receiving love on the inhale, blessing the world on the exhale. Quiet music for integration and a gentle return to waking awareness.

Transcript

This recording starts with a lesson.

To skip to the meditation,

Go to 7 minutes.

I recommend you listen to this lesson in a seated position,

Knowing that you will be lying down for the meditation itself.

Our tradition teaches us that our breath connects us to life itself,

And to the animating force of our lives,

Our soul.

When God creates the first man,

The Torah teaches us,

וַיְפָּח בְּאַפָּב נִשְׁמָּת חָיִּם And the divine breathed into his nostrils a breath of life.

נִשְׁמָת חָיִּם It's a breath of life.

Through the breath itself,

You connect to life.

And the word for breath,

נִשִׁמָת,

Connects you directly to your soul,

Your נִשְׁמָת.

And very often what we do when we want to disconnect from life,

Because we're experiencing it as being bigger than what we can handle.

One of the first things people do when they feel overwhelmed by life,

Is they stop breathing.

In the story of the Jews' enslavement in Egypt,

The language is כֹּצֵרְרֹח.

It's a constriction of wind,

Or of breath,

Or of soul.

כֹּצֵרְרֹח means all three of those words,

That when you stop breathing,

You disconnect from your soul,

And you disconnect from life itself.

Because of this,

I was deeply moved by the ability of using the breath as a way to sink deeper into our bodies,

Create more safety in our systems,

And to connect right back into the root of our soul.

So in this meditation,

I will be guiding you through a breathwork journey,

Similar to that which I guide hundreds of people through each year,

Here in Jerusalem,

And sometimes around the world.

And I'm going to invite you to join me in experiencing the aliveness and the safety of your breath,

The divine presence that exists all around you and inside of you,

And whatever memories or emotions or visions that might arise through this simple act of fully inhaling life,

And fully releasing that breath back to the divine.

In this meditation,

I will be using the four-letter name of God as written in our Holy Bible.

Yud,

And He,

And Vav,

And He.

If you are not familiar with how this word looks,

I recommend you pause for a moment now and look it up,

And take a mental photograph so you have these four letters imprinted in your mind.

We write Hebrew from right to left,

But in this meditation,

I will also be inviting you to envision this name going from top to bottom,

Where the Yud fills your head,

The He connects your shoulders and fills your arms,

The Vav stands in the place of your spine,

And that last He connects your hips and fills your legs.

It looks very much like a stickman.

So,

I invite you to have both of those formations of the divine name clearly imprinted in your mind's eye,

So that you can recall it when necessary.

I bless you with a life filled with expansive breath,

Filled with a connection to your soul,

And sweet with a taste of infinite divine love.

I invite you to lay your body down on the earth,

Or a yoga mat,

Or a mattress.

If you find that you need a pillow,

I recommend it be a very thin one,

As you want to have an airway that's as open and clear as possible.

And lay on your back,

With your arms at your sides and your feet hip-width apart,

And your energy settling into the support of the ground beneath you.

And close your eyes as you feel your joints softening into that support.

And allow your focus for the rest of this meditation to center around your breath itself.

And without trying to make it do anything,

Notice the rise and fall of your belly and chest as you breathe,

As you are being breathed in this moment,

And this moment,

And this moment.

A breath of life,

A nishmat chayim,

Makes its way into your lungs,

And it's as if a divine hand is gently holding your heart,

And pumping that breath of life into every fiber of your being.

And with every breath you take,

Allow your body to sink even more into the support of the ground beneath you,

And allow your breath to slow down even more into that relaxation,

As that breath of life makes its way into every muscle,

Every bone,

Every organ,

Inviting your entire body to settle even more deeply into this present moment.

And precious one,

Imagine that breath of life softening the muscles of your scalp,

And brow,

And jaw,

And relaxing your neck and shoulders,

And you can release any tension your shoulders may be carrying,

And invite that relaxation to roll down your shoulders,

Down your arms,

To your elbows and wrists,

And all the way to your fingertips.

And feel that nishmat chayim make its way down your spine,

One vertebra at a time,

Inviting a greater expansion in your chest,

A softening in your diaphragm,

And a loosening in all of the organs of your belly,

So that your breath can deepen even more,

And you can invite your hips to unlock,

So that wave of relaxation can roll down your legs,

To your knees and ankles,

And all the way to the tips of your toes.

So that your legs can feel even more relaxed,

And your whole body can grow heavier and heavier,

Into the support of the ground beneath you.

And I invite you now to bring a full,

Conscious,

Connected breath in and out through your nose,

Fully filling your belly all the way,

And then bringing that breath up into your chest,

And filling your chest as well,

All the way.

And then allowing gravity to do the exhale for you,

Without any effort,

Without any pushing,

Without any sound.

Fully filling your belly,

And filling your chest in silence,

And allowing gravity to exhale that breath out of you in silence,

And taking in that breath of life fully into your belly,

And your chest,

And releasing that breath back out into the universe,

As an act of surrender,

Letting gravity do its job for you.

In,

And as you continue with this conscious,

Connected breath,

In and out through your nose,

I invite you to imagine that on the wall at your right,

In the color of chesed,

Of loving-kindness,

Whatever color appears for you today,

There is a radiant yud,

Hei,

And vav,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei,

Hei Tent Vav,

Hei,

Holding you throughout this journey,

And on the wall at your feet,

In the color of Yesod,

Of foundation,

There is a luminous Yud,

Hei,

And Vav,

Hei,

Connecting you to yourself and the divine,

And on the wall behind your head,

In the color of Keter,

Of your crown,

There is a glistening Yud,

Hei,

And Vav,

Hei,

Reminding you of the royalty that you are,

And on the ground beneath you,

In the color of Malchut,

Of kingship,

There is an ever present Yud,

Hei,

And Vav,

Hei,

Holding you like a newborn babe,

And on the ceiling above you,

In the color of the Shekhinah Kedoshah,

Of the divine feminine presence,

There is a wondrous Yud,

Hei,

And Vav,

Hei,

Watching over you with so much tenderness and care,

So that you know that on all sides,

You are surrounded by divine light,

And love,

And protection.

But the divine is not just He doesn't just surround all worlds.

The divine also fills all worlds.

So I invite you to open your mouth in an Ah position,

And bring that conscious connected breath in through your mouth,

And out through your mouth.

In through your mouth,

Filling your belly all the way,

And then bringing that breath up into your chest all the way,

And then allowing gravity to do the exhale for you,

Relaxing your throat so that it's not involved in the breath,

And so that you can breathe in,

In silence,

And exhale in silence,

Allowing that fullness of breath on the inhale,

And a total effortless surrender on the exhale.

As soon as the inhale is complete,

You let go into the exhale,

And as soon as the exhale is complete,

You bring that full breath in again,

Filling your belly,

And filling your chest,

Until you release again.

And as you continue to breathe in this way,

Into your mouth,

And out of your mouth,

In this beautiful circle of the soul of life,

The Nishmat Chaim,

I invite you to imagine that hovering just above the crown of your head is the four-letter name of the divine.

And because you,

Precious one,

Were created in the image of the divine,

You can choose to invite those letters to fully inhabit your body.

So as you breathe in and out,

Open the crown of your head,

And imagine the yud coming down into your head.

And filling your head with the divine light so radiant,

It can't help but shine out of the pores of your face.

A love so radiant,

It makes you smile.

And now bring in that hay in through the crown of your head,

And feel it making its way down,

Until the top of the hay meets you between the shoulders,

And the legs of the hay fill your arms with the light that holds and heals.

A light so radiant,

It can't help but shine out of the palms of your hands.

And imagine and see if you can feel the vav slipping in through the crown of your head,

Beautifully right into your spine,

Radiating its light into the entire trunk of your body,

And filling your heart with the love of the divine.

And bring down that last hay in through the crown of your head,

And feel it making its way down and down,

Until the top of the hay meets you between the hips,

And the legs of the hay fill your legs with a light so loving and so grounding,

That it can't help but shine out of the bottoms of your feet.

And knowing that you are surrounded and filled with divine light and love and protection,

I invite you to continue this breath of living out the mitzvah,

The commandment,

Of choosing life,

By taking it in fully through this expansive breath,

An act of fully receiving divine love on the inhale,

And returning that love back to the world with your exhale,

Taking love into your heart on the inhale,

And blessing the world with your love on the exhale.

In,

In,

Breathing in love,

And breathing out blessings of love.

Breathing in joy,

And breathing out blessings for joy.

Breathing in peace,

And breathing out blessings for peace.

Breathing in connection,

And breathing out blessings for connection.

Breathing in trust,

And breathing out blessings of trust.

Breathing in beauty,

And breathing out blessings for beauty.

Breathing in abundance,

And breathing out blessings for abundance.

Breathing in faith,

And breathing out blessings of faith.

Breathing in your unique light,

And shining out your unique light.

Breathing in blessings from Jerusalem,

And breathing out blessings for Jerusalem.

Breathing in health,

And breathing out blessings for health.

Breathing in compassion,

And breathing out blessings of compassion.

Breathing in wonder,

And breathing out blessings for wonder.

Breathing in wholeness,

And breathing out blessings for wholeness.

Breathing in life itself,

And breathing out life itself.

Breathing in love,

And breathing out blessings for love.

Breathing in love,

And breathing out blessings of love.

Breathing in joy,

And breathing out blessings for joy.

Breathing in peace,

And breathing out blessings for peace.

Breathing in connection,

And breathing out blessings for connection.

Breathing in trust,

And breathing out blessings of trust.

Breathing in beauty,

And breathing out blessings for beauty.

Breathing in abundance,

And breathing out blessings for abundance.

Breathing in faith,

And breathing out blessings of faith.

Breathing in your unique light,

And shining out your unique light.

Breathing in blessings from Jerusalem,

And breathing out blessings for Jerusalem.

Breathing in health,

And breathing out blessings for health.

Breathing in compassion,

And breathing out blessings of compassion.

Breathing in wonder,

And breathing out blessings for wonder.

Breathing in wholeness,

And breathing out blessings for wholeness.

Breathing in life itself,

And breathing out life itself.

Breathing in love,

And breathing out blessings for love.

Breathing in love,

And breathing out blessings of love.

Breathing in joy,

And breathing out blessings for joy.

Breathing in peace,

And breathing out blessings for peace.

Breathing in connection,

And breathing out blessings for connection.

Breathing in trust,

And breathing out blessings of trust.

Breathing in beauty,

And breathing out blessings for beauty.

Breathing in abundance,

And breathing out blessings for abundance.

Breathing in faith,

And breathing out blessings of faith.

Breathing in your unique light,

And shining out your unique light.

Breathing in blessings from Jerusalem,

And breathing out blessings for Jerusalem.

Breathing in health,

And breathing out blessings for health.

Breathing in compassion,

And breathing out blessings of compassion.

Breathing in wonder,

And breathing out blessings for wonder.

Breathing in wholeness,

And breathing out blessings for wholeness.

Breathing in life itself,

And breathing out life itself.

I invite you now to close your mouth,

And return to a regular breathing pattern.

I invite you now to close your mouth,

And return to a regular breathing pattern.

Just 10 minutes,

As you allow the music to wash over you,

And allow your body to soak in all of those beautiful breaths,

The beauty of your soul,

Of your life,

And of your light.

I invite you now to start coming back into your body,

Ever so gently,

By wiggling your fingers,

And wiggling your toes,

And introducing a stretch,

And a yawn,

And slowly batting your eyes open,

Taking note of the light,

And shadow,

And color,

And texture around you.

And thank yourself for showing up today,

For receiving divine light,

And bringing that divine light to the rest of us,

Through your presence.

With blessings,

From Jerusalem.