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I hope the next 20’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.
4 THOUGHTS
1. That’s It
“If we only practice when all the outer conditions seem nice but not when people are noisy, or when there are problems, or when we are feeling ill, or something adverse comes up, then we don’t know how to practice. We have to learn how to use our life—everything in our life—as our practice. That’s it.”
– Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, The Heroic Heart
Yep, that truly is it 👏
2. “I’ve Been Helping the Wheat Grow”
“Once upon a time in China, there was a farming family, and they were having dinner. The oldest son came in late, and they asked him, ‘Why are you late for dinner?’
‘Oh,’ he said, ‘I’ve been helping the wheat to grow.’
They came out the next morning and all the wheat was dead. It turned out that the son had pulled each stalk up a little bit, to help it grow.”
– Alan Watts, Still the Mind
Here is a little humor wrapped around a powerful message. As Watts puts it, “The point is that growth always occurs in a being as it does in a plant, and it is perfect at every step.” 👏
3. After 8 Years, Bruce Lee, & Gravity for Your Practice
1. After 8 years of practice, I’ve never been able to watch my breath without changing it. That’s the point. That is the lesson.
2. Laughter is like the Bruce Lee “be like water” of breathing exercises: it flows effortlessly, forms to any situation, and, given enough time, will erode any obstacle in its path.
3. Intention is gravity for your practice.
4. Wholeness and Holiness
“Psychological wholeness and spiritual holiness never exclude the problem from the solution. If it is wholeness, then it is always paradoxical, and holds both the dark and light sides of things.”
– Richard Rohr, Falling Upward
We must accept all of ourselves—even the parts we dislike and want to change—if we are to truly experience wholeness 🙏
1 Quote
“Deep breathing is our nervous system’s love language.””
1 Answer
Category: Tidal Volume
Answer: This type of breathing, often used in singing, aims to keep your ribs expanded while slowing the ascent of the diaphragm to elongate the breath cycle.
…
(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)
…
Question: What is appoggio breathing?
In good breath,
Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”
P.S. I wish I could be nonchalant but…
Breathing and Mediation Instructors:
Check out the Breath Learning Center. It’s a mountain of modern science and timeless wisdom. It’s summarized, organized, easy to read, and immediately actionable.
If you want to supply those you help with the best program possible, the wisdom and science in the Learning Center will be invaluable to your practice.
The Breathing App for Diabetes
This is the first program specifically made for people with diabetes to help manage their stress through breathing and mindfulness practices. In addition to the amazing program inside the app, we have some really neat things coming up, so sign up now!
Amazon Associate Disclosure
I’ve been recommending books for almost 6 years. Yet somehow, I just discovered that I could be an Amazon affiliate [face-palm]. In any case better late than never. Now, any Amazon link you click is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. So, if you’d like to support my work, buying books through these links is helpful : )
* An asterisk by a quote indicates that I listened to this book on Audible. Therefore, the quotation might not be correct, but is my best attempt at reproducing the punctuation based on the narrator’s pace, tone, and pauses.