Do You Know What is Suffocating Your Spirit? - Wellness for Body Mind Spirit

By Phil Sarpong

Have you ever thought about what happens in your body when you breathe in and out? A significant organ of the body responsible for breathing, as many people know, is the lungs. The lungs are part of the body’s respiratory system, and they perform the essential functions of taking inhaled oxygen and diffusing it into the blood. At the same time, carbon dioxide eliminates from the body.

Even before the air gets to the lungs, it must move through the nasal cavity, pharynx, and larynx. Then the air travels down into the lower airways, reaching the trachea, primary bronchi, and bronchial tree. Inspiration or air breathed in is caused by the external intercostal muscles contracting. As they contract, they force movement of the ribcage up and out while at the same time, the diaphragm moves down. This process creates negative pressure caused by the diaphragm moving down and allows air to travel into the body.

The lungs are held to the thoracic wall and also expand with the ribcage while breathing in. While inspiration involves many muscles, expiration is a simpler process where the lungs’ natural elasticity forces air out.

The structure of the lungs gives it a pyramidal shape. The right and left lungs are each separated by lobes. The right lung has three lobes, while the left has two lobes. Both lungs have what is called a bronchopulmonary segment that divides the lobes into parts. These are the target for arteries that supply the sections with blood.

Blood circulation is vital because once oxygen acquires in the lungs, it transports to other body areas. Pulmonary arteries take deoxygenated blood to the capillaries. Pulmonary veins take oxygenated blood back to the heart, which finally carries this energy throughout the body.

I promise this post is not a college course about anatomy and physiology. Still, I believe that knowing and understanding basic concepts about the human body can connect you closer to your Spirit.

1 Corinthians 6: 19-20

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”

This scripture talks about our human bodies being temples of the Holy Spirit. Life is genuinely beautiful. Every human being has this in common; you had no control over being born or when you die. We have a body—a body in which we possess. What you put into your body, say to your body, and breathe into your body matters.

Air is what we breathe to keep us alive. Without oxygen, we would die. It’s interesting, not one of us can see air with our own eyes, but we know it’s there. Just like we know gravity exists, air does indeed exist. We can’t see our spirits, but it is also there. It fuels our desires, diffuses into our bodies, and produces the spiritual energy it takes to stay alive and breathing.

Smoking a cigarette produces several toxins that cause harmful effects on the lungs. Those effects can cause breathing issues, rising inflammation, and reduced elasticity, which means a more substantial likelihood of lung collapse. As spiritual beings, the air you breathe matters. The people you surround yourself with that feed you constant negativity suffocates your Spirit’s ability to live. Who you listen to also matters. Second-hand smoke causes cancer, just the same as smoking. Even if you don’t inhale personal toxic negativity, who are the people around you exhaling their negativity onto you?

The only way to breathe in the fresh air is to get away from the smoke. The first rule of breaking these habits is to remove yourself from the environment or remove it from your situation. This situation can be challenging, and it certainly is easier said than done, but sometimes, the healthier we live physically, the better we can feel spiritually and vice versa.

2 Timothy 1: 7

“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.”

We can make healing choices that include fighting physical problems through accountability, treatment plans, counseling, therapy, vulnerability, and meditation. I’ve seen from my life and many others that fighting negativity with a combination of physical and spiritual tools provides the best opportunity to overcome addiction. There is something powerful about giving your Spirit the environment it needs to breathe. It’s important to fill your body and your mind with a clear conscience. Without the proper spiritual oxygen, your Spirit will eventually die.

Genesis 2:7

“Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”

What caused Adam, the first man, to be fully alive? The Bible says that God breathed into his nostrils. That air traveled through the nasal cavity, the pharynx, and the larynx. Then the air moved down into the lower airways, where it reached the trachea, primary bronchi, and bronchial tree. The oxygen diffused into his lungs and transported to the rest of his body—life created at that moment.

If spirituality can create physical, then what does that mean for us? It means that if you believe in the supernatural, then anything is possible. Your physical circumstance does not have to limit your spiritual power. And if you choose to live in the Spirit, specifically God’s Spirit, then He can breathe new life into your situation just as he did for Adam. He can breathe new life into your relationships, into your marriage, into that addiction, into any problem that arises because He has the Spirit that created life in the first place.

Romans 15:13,

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”