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Breathing for healing: umoya as repair
This dissertation explores the therapeutic potential of breath as both a biological and spiritual practice within the context of decolonial healing. Drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives from biomedicine, indigenous healing, and the medical humanities, it argues that breath, conceptualized throu...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English English |
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Humanities Education Development Unit
2026
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| _version_ | 1869483679211847680 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Jardine, Mila |
| author2 | Levine, Susan |
| author_browse | Jardine, Mila Levine, Susan |
| author_facet | Levine, Susan Jardine, Mila |
| author_sort | Jardine, Mila |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | This dissertation explores the therapeutic potential of breath as both a biological and spiritual practice within the context of decolonial healing. Drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives from biomedicine, indigenous healing, and the medical humanities, it argues that breath, conceptualized through the isiXhosa term umoya—meaning breath, air, wind, and spirit—offers a powerful framework for holistic repair. The study is grounded in the life histories of two South African medical doctors, Dr. Ela Manga and Dr. Anesu Mbizvo, whose trajectories from biomedicine to holistic practice illuminate the limitations of reductionist models of health. It also incorporates narratives from other practitioners and participants within the Breathwork Africa community to examine how conscious breathing is understood and enacted in diverse contexts. The central research question guiding this study is: How does the concept of umoya inform the use of conscious breathing as a mode of repair among South African practitioners and participants of Breathwork Africa, and how does this approach address the limitations of traditional biomedical frameworks? The dissertation demonstrates that breathwork can foster internal restoration, emotional regulation, and relational and collective well-being, while also bridging multiple healing systems. By situating umoya as a reparative tool, this work contributes to Health Humanities by advocating a more inclusive, decolonial model of health that recognizes the interconnectedness of body, mind, spirit, and environment, and highlights the potential of breath to address historical, social, and emotional dimensions of health in post-colonial contexts. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/43353 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | English eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-07-01T04:02:49.804Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Humanities Education Development Unit |
| publisherStr | Humanities Education Development Unit |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/43353 Breathing for healing: umoya as repair Jardine, Mila Levine, Susan Umoya breathhing healing This dissertation explores the therapeutic potential of breath as both a biological and spiritual practice within the context of decolonial healing. Drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives from biomedicine, indigenous healing, and the medical humanities, it argues that breath, conceptualized through the isiXhosa term umoya—meaning breath, air, wind, and spirit—offers a powerful framework for holistic repair. The study is grounded in the life histories of two South African medical doctors, Dr. Ela Manga and Dr. Anesu Mbizvo, whose trajectories from biomedicine to holistic practice illuminate the limitations of reductionist models of health. It also incorporates narratives from other practitioners and participants within the Breathwork Africa community to examine how conscious breathing is understood and enacted in diverse contexts. The central research question guiding this study is: How does the concept of umoya inform the use of conscious breathing as a mode of repair among South African practitioners and participants of Breathwork Africa, and how does this approach address the limitations of traditional biomedical frameworks? The dissertation demonstrates that breathwork can foster internal restoration, emotional regulation, and relational and collective well-being, while also bridging multiple healing systems. By situating umoya as a reparative tool, this work contributes to Health Humanities by advocating a more inclusive, decolonial model of health that recognizes the interconnectedness of body, mind, spirit, and environment, and highlights the potential of breath to address historical, social, and emotional dimensions of health in post-colonial contexts. 2026-06-23T06:45:46Z 2026-06-23T06:45:46Z 2026 2026-06-23T06:42:44Z Thesis / Dissertation Masters Masters http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43353 en eng application/pdf Humanities Education Development Unit Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Umoya breathhing healing Jardine, Mila Breathing for healing: umoya as repair |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Breathing for healing: umoya as repair |
| title_full | Breathing for healing: umoya as repair |
| title_fullStr | Breathing for healing: umoya as repair |
| title_full_unstemmed | Breathing for healing: umoya as repair |
| title_short | Breathing for healing: umoya as repair |
| title_sort | breathing for healing umoya as repair |
| topic | Umoya breathhing healing |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43353 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jardinemila breathingforhealingumoyaasrepair |