(א) אֱלהַי. נְשָׁמָה שֶׁנָּתַתָּ בִּי טְהורָה הִיא. אַתָּה בְרָאתָהּ. אַתָּה יְצַרְתָּהּ. אַתָּה נְפַחְתָּהּ בִּי.
(ז) וַיִּיצֶר֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֜ים אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֗ם עָפָר֙ מִן־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה וַיִּפַּ֥ח בְּאַפָּ֖יו נִשְׁמַ֣ת חַיִּ֑ים וַֽיְהִ֥י הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ חַיָּֽה׃
(ב) וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָיְתָ֥ה תֹ֙הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְה֑וֹם וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם׃
(ד) רֽוּחַ־אֵ֥ל עָשָׂ֑תְנִי וְנִשְׁמַ֖ת שַׁדַּ֣י תְּחַיֵּֽנִי׃
(יג) וִֽידַעְתֶּ֖ם כִּֽי־אֲנִ֣י יְהוָ֑ה בְּפִתְחִ֣י אֶת־קִבְרֽוֹתֵיכֶ֗ם וּבְהַעֲלוֹתִ֥י אֶתְכֶ֛ם מִקִּבְרוֹתֵיכֶ֖ם עַמִּֽי׃ (יד) וְנָתַתִּ֨י רוּחִ֤י בָכֶם֙ וִחְיִיתֶ֔ם וְהִנַּחְתִּ֥י אֶתְכֶ֖ם עַל־אַדְמַתְכֶ֑ם וִידַעְתֶּ֞ם כִּי־אֲנִ֧י יְהוָ֛ה דִּבַּ֥רְתִּי וְעָשִׂ֖יתִי נְאֻם־יְהוָֽה׃ (פ)
(א) ונפש השנית בישראל היא חלק אלוה ממעל ממש, כמו שכתוב: "ויפח באפיו נשמת חיים" (בראשית ב, ז), ו"אתה נפחתה בי" (ברכת אלהי נשמה), וכמו שכתוב בזוהר: "מאן דנפח מתוכיה נפח", פירוש, מתוכיותו ומפנימיותו, שתוכיות ופנימיות החיות שבאדם מוציא בנפיחתו בכח.
(1) The second soul in Israel is truly "a part of God above," as it is written: "and he blew into his nostrils a soul of life"(Genesis 2:7); "And You blew it into me." (Siddur, Morning Prayer). It is written in the Zohar "he Who blows, blows from within him," that is to say, from his inwardness and from his innermost being. For it is of his inward and innermost vitality that a man emits through blowing with force.
Behold the image of G-d are ascending and descending upon it" (Genesis 28:12)
These are the breaths that ascend and exit the body, by means of the ladder.
(ג) וַֽיְעַנְּךָ֮ וַיַּרְעִבֶ֒ךָ֒ וַיַּאֲכִֽלְךָ֤ אֶת־הַמָּן֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר לֹא־יָדַ֔עְתָּ וְלֹ֥א יָדְע֖וּן אֲבֹתֶ֑יךָ לְמַ֣עַן הוֹדִֽיעֲךָ֗ כִּ֠י לֹ֣א עַל־הַלֶּ֤חֶם לְבַדּוֹ֙ יִחְיֶ֣ה הָֽאָדָ֔ם כִּ֛י עַל־כׇּל־מוֹצָ֥א פִֽי־יְהֹוָ֖ה יִחְיֶ֥ה הָאָדָֽם׃
(טז) וְשָׁמְר֥וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל אֶת־הַשַּׁבָּ֑ת לַעֲשׂ֧וֹת אֶת־הַשַּׁבָּ֛ת לְדֹרֹתָ֖ם בְּרִ֥ית עוֹלָֽם׃ (יז) בֵּינִ֗י וּבֵין֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל א֥וֹת הִ֖וא לְעֹלָ֑ם כִּי־שֵׁ֣שֶׁת יָמִ֗ים עָשָׂ֤ה יְהֹוָה֙ אֶת־הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם וְאֶת־הָאָ֔רֶץ וּבַיּוֹם֙ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י שָׁבַ֖ת וַיִּנָּפַֽשׁ׃ {ס}
על כל נשימה ונשימה שהוא נושם צריך לקלס להקב"ה, שנאמר: "כל הנשמה תהלל יה."
Beginning To Become Aware of Your Breathing How does one begin to feel and become aware of his breathing? One needs to set aside time for this and sit quietly, and start exhaling and inhaling, with calmness. Pay attention to the breathing, and listen, slowly, to the breathing. Then you will begin to feel the breathing. Quiet time is necessary for this. If, a person is harried (either by being mentally anxious or physically bombarded by something) then there is no chance that he will be able to feel his breathing and become aware of it. But, if a person sets aside just 5 minutes a day, or even 3 minutes a day, and tries to become aware of each breath that he breathes during this time, then not only when will he become aware of his breathing, but he will begin to feel a more inward kind of feeling as he is exhaling and inhaling.
For breath goes out from him, from below to Above, and returns to him from Above to below. Certainly with ease one can join the Divine part within man to its root.
The reason that the Heavens sometimes cloud over without reason is because there are clouds that cover the Mind, as is mentionned in the Tikkunim. The dispersion of the clouds is by breath, namely the movements - the way one moves during prayer.
For the movements come from the lung which corresponds to breath, as is mentioned several times in the Zohar and the Tikkunim.
There are 1080 parts to an hour, corresponding to the 4 lettered name which has 1080 letter permutations. These 1080 parts of the hour correspond to the 1080 breaths that a person breaths each hour. Each breath corresponds to one of the letter permutations of the 4 lettered name, giving life to each breath. Thus "Not by bread alone does man live, but each individual shall live on that which comes from G-d's mouth. (Deut 8:3)
One who truly wants to return to Hashem, may He be blessed must transform himself into a new creature. Know that in a sigh one can transform oneself into a new creature.
A human cannot cease to breathe. For each moment that he breaths, he exhales and inhales air. This is the essence of his being. The air is rooted above.
When one sighs he releases himself from the channel of impure air and connects himself to the channel of pure air. By means of a sigh for ones transgressions, an individual can release himself from the root of impurity and connect himself to the root of holiness.
When breath is inhaled in preparation for speaking, then the realm of thought becomes great and expansive.
Manipulating the breath can alter how we feel, accounting for as much as a 40 percent variance in feelings of anger, fear, joy, and sadness, according to findings in the journal Cognition & Emotion. The breathing instructions used to evoke joy in the study? “Breathe and exhale slowly and deeply through the nose.”
2. Weight Loss
Breathing practices increase levels of leptin, a hormone produced by fat tissue that signals the brain to inhibit hunger, according to research from Shirley Telles, PhD, director of the Patanjali Research Foundation in Haridwar, India.
3. Better exercise stamina
A cardiologist at the University of Pavia, Italy, compared a group of mountaineers who practiced slow breathing an hour a day for two years before attempting to climb Mount Everest to a group who didn’t. The breathing group reached the summit without needing the supplemental oxygen the other group did, and their blood and exhalation samples showed they were using 70 percent of the surface area of their lungs, an amount that maximizes the O2 taken in.
Just one session of relaxing practices like meditation, influenced the expression of genes in both short-term and long-term practitioners, according to a Harvard study. Blood samples taken before and after the breathing practices indicated a post-practice increase in genetic material involved in improving metabolism and a suppression of genetic pathways linked with inflammation. Since chronic inflammation has also been associated with such deadly diseases as Alzheimer’s, depression, cancer, and heart disease, it’s probably fair to say that better breathing may not only change your life but may also save it!