Research

Myths and Cultural Significance of Breathing
Breathing is often intertwined with themes of life, death, and the divine across various cultures. Here are some notable examples:
Key Concepts in Different Cultures

Myths and Legends

• Greek Mythology: The concept of breath is often associated with the soul. The Greeks believed that the breath was the essence of life, and when a person died, their breath departed, symbolizing the loss of life.
• Native American Beliefs: Many tribes view breath as a sacred gift. The act of breathing is often linked to the spirit and is considered a way to connect with the Creator.
• Hindu Philosophy: In Hinduism, breath is closely related to the concept of Pranayama, which involves controlling breath to achieve spiritual enlightenment and physical health.

Breathing as a Vital Force

• In many traditions, breath is seen as a vital force or spirit. This perspective emphasizes the importance of breathing not just for physical survival but also for spiritual and emotional well-being.

**Soul = Breath in various languages **
The word for soul meant breath in every ancient language. The Sumerians called it zi. The Egyptians called it ba. The Sanskrit speakers of the Indus Valley called it atman, the Hebrews nephesh, the Greeks psyche. The Romans split it into two: anima and spiritus. Every single one of these words originally meant the same thing: breath, wind, the air that moves through a living throat and stops moving when life ends.
https://www.crazyalchemist.com/mysteries-esoterica/when-breath-became-soul/

In Sanskrit, “prana” means both breath and life force. In Hebrew, “ruach” signifies both breath and spirit, while “Yahweh,” the sacred name of God, is often said to mirror the sound of inhalation and exhalation, symbolizing the Holy Spirit in every breath. The Greek “pneuma” and Latin “spiritus” also intertwine breath with divinity.

Sacred breath across cultures

• Yogic breathwork (pranayama): Ancient yogis in India developed pranayama techniques to control and extend the breath, facilitating deep meditation and spiritual awakening.
• Tibetan tummo breathing: Used by Buddhist monks to generate internal heat and enter profound states of meditation.
• Amazonian and Andean traditions: Shamans in South America incorporate breathwork into sacred ceremonies to cleanse the body, commune with spirit allies, and journey beyond the physical.
• Hawaiian ha breath: The word “ha” means breath in Hawaiian, reflecting its role in the spiritual practices of the islands, including Ho’oponopono.
• First nations and indigenous North American traditions: Many tribal practices integrate deep breathing into song, dance, and ceremony, honoring breath as a means to connect with ancestors and the Great Spirit.
  https://www.brainzmagazine.com/post/the-history-of-breathwork-and-indigenous-origins-evolution-and-the-prophecies-of-our-time

Breath practice rhythm in religions
“resonant breathing” or Coherent Breathing.

• The sa ta na ma chant, one of the best‑known techniques in Kundalini yoga, also takes six seconds to vocalize, followed by six seconds to inhale.
• The deep, slow breaths taken during this khechari each take six seconds.

• In 2001, researchers at the University of Pavia in Italy gathered two dozen subjects, covered them with sensors to measure blood flow, heart rate, and nervous system feedback, then had them recite a Buddhist mantra as well as the original Latin version of the rosary, the Catholic prayer cycle of the Ave Maria, which is repeated half by a priest and half by the congregation. They were stunned to find the average number of breaths for each cycle was “almost exactly” identical, just a bit quicker than the pace of the Hindu, Taoist, and Native American prayers:

• 5.5 breaths a minute.
  https://www.spiritualityhealth.com/articles/2020/05/26/breath-as-prayer

**Standard bench dimensions **
15″ to 20″ deep, and 18″ to 20″ tall

9/12/25
**McConnell Gallery measurements **

**Height of entrance? **

Projector

• Model: BenQ LU710
• Brightness: 4000 Lumens
• Resolution: 1920x1200
• Full specs: ++https://www.projectorcentral.com/BenQ-LU710.htm++

Room used to be school classroom
It was the whole school, small number of students

Where floor stained by window used to be a radiator

White plinths
5 or shorter white blocks
6 of taller plinths

South facing windows
Sun hitting space from open to close
Light on floor starting 9am

**Room size **
About 25’ - width of room
23’1” + 175.5 (14.6’) = equals full length of room near windows
About 38’ long
So roughly 25’ x 40’ gallery

Windows
15.5” - depth of window boxes (white counter in front or windows)
28.4” - height from floor to window box counter b
98.1” - width of window (measuring from one end or white counter to another)

**One window grid (two of these chunks per section, 3 sections) **
46” wide
119” or 9’11” tall
119-120” from white boxes ceiling (not actual ceiling, box that comes down) to window counter

Single Pane of glass
14.25” x 17.75”

**Light track frame in middle of room ceiling which is holding lights on track **
121.5” exactly or
10’ from light track frame to floor
10” from light frame to bottom of light
Scrolls should be no taller than this so that they hover at same top

**Hallway wall opposite gallery **
118” height of clean wall opposite gallery
14’10” width of that wall between open doors

**Hallway Wall facing gallery **
8’3” width from left edge to electric panel
6’ width form electric panel to double doors
87” tall from electric panel to floor
10’ width from double doors to funny window box

**Funny window box in hall facing gallery **
71” / 5’11” - width of inside of funny window box across from gallery
45.5-45.75” - height of inside of funny window box
13” - skinniest depth of window box
Then there is deeper cutout 37” deep , 35” wide

**Lobby **
2 rods for hanging
11’ roughly length of one of rod
2.5-3’ apart