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I hope the next 22’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.
4 THOUGHTS
1. The “Common Currency” of Breath, Brain, and Mind
“The synchronization between respiration and slow neural activity is likely key to understanding the brain-physiology relationship. Higher degrees of coupling between respiration and brain activity likely manifest as the inverse of symptoms of panic disorder (e.g., relaxation, greater attention, and more measured thoughts). Slow rhythms thus provide a link and shared feature of respiration, neural, and mental activity serving as their ‘common currency’.”
How neat? Speed acts as a “common currency” that the breath, brain, and mind accept. This means when we slow our breathing, the brain and mind accept that as payment and slow down in return. The result is relaxation, better attention, and calmer thoughts 👏
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P.S. If you love science like this but don’t have time to read all day, let me do it for you 👨🏫. In the Breath Learning Center, I provide clear and succinct summaries of significant studies like this one. Sign up today.
2. An Overlooked Breathing Exercise
“We breathe, most importantly, to bring oxygen from the atmosphere into our bodies and to release carbon dioxide in return. Another crucial aspect of the breath, and one that is rarely discussed, is that it gives us our voice. Breathing generates speech, a fundamental element of our experience as human beings.”
– Michael J Stephen, MD, Breath Taking
Here’s an obvious yet often overlooked (for me, at least 😊) reminder that speaking is, at its core, a “breathing exercise.” This means that if we become conscious of what and how we speak, our speech can become an integral part of our practice, providing endless chances to use breathing and mindfulness to support the people we want to be.
3. Three of the Bests
1. The best healing breathing exercise? Laughter.
2. The easiest form of meditation? Laughter.
3. The purest, most universal, and most natural way to mindfulness? Laughter.
4. Move to Be Still
“We need to move to be still, and only from that place of stillness can we move well.”
– Caroline Williams, Move
Here’s a wonderful reminder that movement is critical to our breathing and meditation practices. They are two sides of the same coin: “We need to move to be still, and only from that place of stillness can we move well.” 👏
1 Quote
“We move toward understimulation if we are on the schedule of soul.””
1 Answer
Category: Nasal Breathing Brain
Answer: Nasal breathing, through its direct connection to this brain region, can influence and synchronize rhythms throughout the whole brain.
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(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)
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Question: What is the olfactory bulb?
In good breath,
Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”
P.S. no more loops
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.