Listen Instead of Reading
If you enjoy listening, you can subscribe to the audio version on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Audible so you don’t even have to look at the email 😊
Enjoy These Posts?
Reading Time: 1 min 29 sec
I hope the next 22’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.
4 THOUGHTS
1. Slow Breathing as a Positive Stressor
“Slow breathing is, in fact, a type of positive stress in and of itself, because you are making an autonomic function of your body intentional…sometimes, as you might notice, your nervous system might resist a little to the changes you are suggesting, because it is not used to being told what to do.”
– Eddie Stern, Healing Through Breathing
I love this shift in perspective. It reminds us that when we teach or practice slow breathing, there might be resistance. That’s normal. But as Eddie also says, that tension “will melt away with time, practice, patience, and a gentle approach to slow breathing.” 👏
2. An Important Thing to Remember in Learning Breath Practices
“In learning breath practices the most important thing to remember is to relax. … Self-judgment adds another layer of stress. The less you judge yourself, the easier it will be to relax and experience the benefits … Try not to evaluate or judge what is happening. Just go with it.”
This reminds me of another gem from another MD—Herbert Benson—discussing the relaxation response: “The less you worry about the results, the better. Just let it happen.” 🙏
3. A Poor Host for Disease
“…this is one of the grandest secrets of health…Research evidence today suggests that emotional immunity to negative states of mind may well be linked to physical immunity, even resistance to disease. A person who is even minded, who doesn’t get shaken if people speak ill of him or excited when they praise her to the skies – such a person, I submit, is a poor host for disease.”
– Eknath Easwaran, Original Goodness
Of course, this doesn’t literally mean we’ll never get sick or that all our ailments will suddenly vanish if we’re even minded. But, I love this idea of training our minds to be steadier—through meditation and breathing—so we can at least become “a poor host for disease.” 🙏
4. An Open Heart to Have Open Eyes
“Ancient meditation texts describe compassion and mindfulness as two wings of a bird—emphasizing that we need an open heart to have open eyes.”
- Ronald Siegel, Psy.D., The Mindfulness Solution
1 Quote
“This is the deepest paradox in all of meditation: we want to get somewhere—we wouldn’t have taken up the practice if we didn’t—but the way to get there is just to be fully here.””
1 Answer
Category: Contagious Breathing
Answer: One study found that our brains responds to the sound of this “breathing exercise” by preparing our facial muscles to join in.
…
(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)
…
Question: What is laughter?
In good breath,
Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”
P.S. me but at my breath memes
Breath Science & Wisdom Meditations for a Well-Lived Life
Learn to think, speak, and act in alignment with the person you want to be.
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.