PHILOSOPHY

Breathing is living. Life is a continuous flow of energy.

Pneuma, the ancient Greek word for breath, refers to ‘breath of life’ in Stoic philosophy. Just like Psyche, also ancient Greek, translated often with the words spirit and soul.

The difference between Pneuma and Psyche can be explained through Stoic philosophy. The Stoics believed that all living beings as well as inanimate objects are pervaded and encompassed by Pneuma. Whereas the Psyche organizes the individual with its thoughts and feelings, the mind; Pneuma is the active principle that organizes both the individual and the cosmos. As such, Psyche can be understood as a part of Pneuma, with Pneuma being the condition for life. From this perspective, Pneuma is the life force that connects and animates everyone and everything.

We are then no longer just a self-organized organism with a body, thoughts and feeling, but we are also embodied and in direct interaction and exchange with our surroundings and larger environment. We are not merely alive, life is also everywhere around us.

This holistic approach is also integrated in my therapeutic work, where both psychological counseling and breathing therapy, tailored to individual needs and desires, complement one another and in this way addresses the various layers of a person.