The Transformative Power of Breath: Music, Alternative Therapy, and Medieval Practices of Contemplation
Palgrave studies in literature, science and medicine 2021 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-74443-4_6 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 2 |
| Key points | Proposes that breath control techniques from modern brass pedagogy and Holotropic Breathwork provide evidence for the transformative power of breath in medieval English contemplative exercises. |
Abstract
Abstract In the absence of information about the role of breathing as part of the contemplative exercises of medieval English mystics, this essay investigates instead modern-day breathing practices as advocated by teachers of brass instruments and modern-day spiritual movements. Arnold Jacobs and Michel Ricquier offer information about breathing techniques for the use of brass musicians that share revealing characteristics with proponents of Holotropic Breathwork, itself influenced by pranayama, the art of breath control. The evidence gathered, once applied to the practice of short-word contemplative exercises encouraged by fourteenth-century mystics, provides ground-breaking information on the transformative power of breath in medieval contemplation.