What did David Powlison believe about the validity of physiological interventions like deep breathing exercises as a part of comprehensive biblical counseling?
We find a specific, significant answer to that question in The Journal of Biblical Counseling, 32:3 from 2018, both in David Powlison’s editorial, Slow Growth, and in Todd Stryd’s article, “Take a Deep Breath”—How Counseling Ministry Addresses the Body.
Take a Deep Breath
Throughout his article, Stryd consistently affirms the biblical validity of carefully incorporating deep breathing exercises into a comprehensive embodied-soul approach to biblical counseling. For example:
“Thus, the aim here is to give due attention to our bodies because they are relevant to thoughtful Christian living, and to locate breathing interventions within a biblical-theological framework. This task requires us to navigate extra-biblical information while remaining faithful to the core tenets of our Christian commitments” (63, emphasis added).
“Our Christian anthropology appreciates the reality that breathing exercises can reduce the production of stress hormones, stabilize the heart rate, and balance the levels of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the blood stream. These play a significant role in bringing the body and soul back into balance. The bodily mechanism of breathing can be purposefully leveraged to reestablish equilibrium. Regaining balance physically can help us draw upon our faith and God’s principles, promises, and counsel” (66, emphasis added).
“Yet, addressing the body is not in conflict with our Christian commitments because of the fundamental unity between body and soul. Equipped with wisdom from above as our foundation and starting point, we don’t have to sidestep the body in our care for Kate, or anyone else. The act of breathing in a strategic, attentive manner can be practically embedded into the way we help people live out their goals of love, virtue, and righteousness. We can use every resource at our disposal to achieve the goal of our faith. The Christian pursuit of body/soul balance does not belittle the utility of attentive breathing, but at the same time pursues much more. God’s people are encouraged to use both body and soul to pursue the kingdom goals of loving God and loving our neighbors” (74, emphasis added).
What does Powlison think of Stryd recommending deep breathing exercises as one part of comprehensive biblical counseling?
Slow Growth
At the time of Stryd’s article, Powlison served as the Executive Director of CCEF and as the Editor of the Journal of Biblical Counseling. In his Editorial, Slow Growth, Powlison outlines eight “significant growth points” that had emerged over the first fifty years of the modern biblical counseling movement under the dual leadership of Jay Adams and John Bettler.
Powlison then segues into his introduction of current issue of The Journal of Biblical Counseling. He has this to say about Todd Stryd and the other authors of articles in that issue.
“As we finish out our 50th year of ministry, we are happy to offer some of the fruit of that slow, maturing growth. I am delighted that all of the Featured Articles in this issue are written by the up-and-coming generation of biblical counselors at CCEF” (9-10).
Notice what Powlison does here.
- He identifies Stryd’s article on the legitimacy of deep breathing exercises in biblical counseling as among “the fruit of the slow, maturing growth” of the foundational work done by Jay Adams and John Bettler.
- Rather than being contrary to nouthetic biblical counseling, Powlison sees deep breathing exercises as a sign of continued positive growth in the biblical counseling movement.
Powlison, who had final editorial control over what was written in The Journal of Biblical Counseling, then summarizes and affirms Stryd’s article on deep breathing exercises as a legitimate physiological intervention in biblical counseling.
“Speaking of stress and anxiety, what about adults? How do we help them? Is it OK to teach breathing techniques as part of helping people calm their bodies when they experience extreme stress? In his article, ‘Take a Deep Breath’—How Counseling Ministry Addresses the Body, Todd Stryd explores the place that breathing techniques can have in a Christian’s care and ministry. He shows how and why a counselor might make a breathing exercise part of biblical counseling with a distressed person” (11, emphasis added).
Powlison confirms that biblical counselors are soul physicians of embodied-souls. He affirms the legitimate, valuable, biblical role of deep breathing exercises as one part of comprehensive biblical counseling.
The Rest of the Story
You can read Powlison’s editorial here: Slow Growth.
You can read Stryd’s article here: “Take a Deep Breath”—How Counseling Ministry Addresses the Body.
You can read my longer summary of the editorial and of the article here: Deep Breathing Exercises and Biblical Counseling.
