Breathe and Behold

St. Martin’s Summer 2026 Tuesday physical and spiritual practices pilot program

Summary

Consistent with the call for holistic faith formation in St. Martin’s strategic plan, we are piloting a Breathe and Behold program to integrate the body (somatic practice) with the heart and mind (spiritual practice). The inspiration is the Hebrew scripture concept of nephesh (נֶפֶשׁ) which tells of a deep connection between our physicality and spirituality.

Sacred Rhythms Series Excerpt

The Living Breath: The word commonly translated as soul in the Bible is much debated. The Greeks thought of a soul as a ghost trapped inside our bodies. But in Hebrew, your soul—Nephesh (נֶפֶשׁ)—is incredibly physical. It literally means “throat” or “neck.” It represents the unity of your body and your breath.

In Genesis, man didn’t receive a soul; he became a living Nephesh. You aren’t called to bring a disembodied spirit to your work—you are to bring your whole, physical, breathing self. To Work with Nephesh is to recognize that your physical presence and your literal voice matter. We bring our souls to our Work to breathe life into the world, honoring the fact that we are living beings, not machines.

Scripture for Reflection: “then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being (Nephesh).” (Genesis 2:7, NRSV)

Yoga Portion

Sam Pullen. asanaswithsam@gmail.com

Spiritual Practices Portion

The aim is to introduce distinct, historically rooted disciplines that directly counteract the specific pathology of modern life: its insistence that our worth equals our performance and its habit of making us conform to a frantic pace. We are working to reverse the slide into emotional starvation and distance that plagues relationships, both with God and one another.

By pairing traditional spiritual practices with somatic yin yoga, we are using the open, settled state of the body to plant deep spiritual seeds. The hope in this work is that we generate a more profound hunger for spiritual practices that lead us deeper into embodying St. Martin’s strategic plan which calls the community into deeper practice in two main areas:

Commit to cultivating spiritual depth by becoming disciples of Jesus. Disciples are people who live Jesus’ daily rhythms as our own. These rhythms include: study of scripture, prayer, rest, and community.
Commit to cultivating spiritual depth in our interactions by practicing Holy Listening modeled by Jesus. Holy Listening focuses on jointly discerning the wisdom and will of God. Through listening and speaking, we share both holy invitation into deeper relationship and holy challenge to turn away from wrong and destructive behaviors.

Week 1: The Groaning of Creation & The Cry of the Flesh

Practice: Modified Lectio Divina (Benedictine Monastic Tradition)
Text: Romans 8:18-27
Focus: Naming the fractures. After an hour of physical attention in somatic yin yoga, the body is attuned to its own “groans.” We use this text to connect our personal exhaustion and the world’s decay to the intercession of the Spirit.
Movement:
- Question After Reading 1: What is decaying?
- Question After Reading 2: What are you longing for?
- Question After Reading 3: What are you waiting for God to reveal?
Closing: Sharing of insights and intention for the coming 5 weeks