Breathing for healing: umoya as repair

Jardine, Mila

Breathing for healing: umoya as repair

Thesis / Dissertation

2026

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

Humanities Education Development Unit

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Abstract

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.