Abraham Maslow

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Cry More, Full Victory, and Three Gift Ideas for Breathers

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Reading Time: 2 min 4 sec

I hope the next 31’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.


4 THOUGHTS

1. Full Effort is Full Victory

“The result is not the point; it is the effort to improve ourselves that is valuable. There is no end to this practice.”

– Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind

This is a nice reminder that we can only control our effort, not the outcome. And fortunately, it’s the effort that counts.

This brings to mind Gandhi, who says, “Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment. Full effort is full victory.”

2. Choosing Effective Responses for Healing

“By learning to be present and to stay connected with your body and mind and what is happening in the present moment, you have your best chance of understanding your own experiences ... Out of that understanding, you will make the most effective response for healing.”

- Jeffrey Brantley, MD, Calming Your Anxious Mind

This is perhaps one of the most powerful benefits of any breath-focused practice. By teaching you to stay connected with your body and mind, you find clarity in the present moment, allowing you to “make the most effective response for healing.” 👏👏👏

3. Cry: Your Breathing Will Thank You

Did you know there’s a natural neti pot—a natural way to flush your nose with warm salt water? Yep, it’s crying.

Tears go through a duct draining into the nose (which is why people often need a tissue when upset). In fact, the solution of neti pot mixes is supposed to match the composition of tears:

“To capitalize on this fact, the nasal wash should be done with water that is of the same composition as tears. It should be exactly that salty, and it should be at body temperature.”

- Rudolph Ballentine, MD

That blows my mind. So, the next time you need a cry, let it out. Your breathing will thank you 😊

4. Three Gift Ideas for Breath Nerds Like Us

Treat yourself or ask a loved one for one of these:

  1. ViO2 Mouth Tape: Honestly the best tape I’ve used. Super neat design. They sent me some to try and now I’m a fan. I will definitely buy them from now on.

  2. iCalm: By now, you know I love these (I buy monthly). If you make a one-time purchase, use NICK20 to get 20% off. If you set up a recurring subscription, you automatically get 20% off.

  3. Breathing is Cool Sweater: A must-have for winter. I wear mine every chance I get. I have even been asked where I got it twice while at the grocery store, which made my day both times 😊

1 Quote

“The great lesson from the true mystics…is that the sacred is in the ordinary, that it is to be found in one’s daily life, in one’s neighbors, friends, and family, in one’s back yard.””
— Abraham Maslow

P.S. and I would also add in one’s breath : )

1 Answer

Category: Philosophy

Answer: Perhaps by mistaken etymology, Plato and Aristotle at one point related this to the soul or process of thinking.

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(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

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Question: What is the diaphragm?

In good breath,

Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”


P.S. Venn diagram of my life

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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.

 
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Emotional Balance, Why Mindfulness, and Moving Beyond a Calm Mind

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4 THOUGHTS

1. Improve Emotional Balance with the Breath-Wind-Mind Connection

“Each time a gust of wind blows over the ocean, ripples and waves cause movement and agitation on the water’s surface. However, when the air is calm, so is the water. It is just so with the mind. The more often we breathe, the more agitated the energy of body and mind becomes. By breathing less frequently, we begin to achieve elemental harmony.”

- Anyen Rinpoche & Allison Choying Zangmo, The Tibetan Yoga of Breath

This beautiful analogy reminds us that the calmer we breathe, the more peaceful our minds. For this reason, the authors also say:

“As the [breath] is brought into balance and becomes more stable, neurotic tendencies lessen and even begin to disappear.”

Balance our breath, and we balance our emotional states.

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P.S. Ironically, I find not balancing my breath the most balancing. For example, I often use slightly longer exhales and left-nostril breathing to elicit emotional equanimity. So play with it and find what works for you 🙏

2. The Liberating Power of Breath Awareness

“Breathing awareness is not just about calming the mind—a common assumption among meditators not familiar with this method. Rather, the breath helps you maintain full attention, enabling you to see with greater clarity and accuracy the true nature of all forms: everything that arises passes away. The implications of such insightful seeing can be profound and liberating.”

- Larry Rosenberg, Three Steps to Awakening

Here’s an excellent reminder that breath awareness—the most foundational of all mindfulness techniques—can be used to go beyond just “calming the mind.” It can help us “to see with greater clarity and accuracy the true nature of all forms.”

That sounds like a worthy goal to me 🙏

3. Why Mindfulness is a Part of All Breathing Practices

Almost all breathing practices start with breath awareness (this usually annoys me because I just want to get to the “good stuff,” lol).

But here’s why it’s so important: Without mindfulness, the benefits of the breathing practice will be minimal at best.

  • We need mindfulness to notice when we actually need breathing.

  • We need it to observe how our breathing reflects our emotions.

  • We need it to notice if the practice is actually helping in our lives.

Embrace mindfulness, and watch the power of any breathing method you use grow exponentially.

4. Abraham Maslow’s Teaching Philosophy (how can you use it?)

“Maslow viewed the role of the teacher, therapist, and parent as horticulturists, whose task is to ‘enable people to become healthy and effective in their own style.’ To Maslow, this meant that ‘we try to make a rose into a good rose, rather than seek to change roses into lilies. . .It necessitates a pleasure in the self-actualization of a person who may be quite different from yourself. It even implies an ultimate respect and acknowledgement of the sacredness and uniqueness of each kind of person.’”

- Scott Barry Kaufman, Ph.D., Transcend

 

I absolutely love this, especially: “We try to make a rose into a good rose, rather than seek to change roses into lilies.” 👏👏👏

How might you apply this philosophy in your life, or in your role as a teacher or parent?

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1 Quote

“And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.””
— Rainer Maria Rilke

1 Answer

Category: Breath Awareness

Answer: Bringing awareness to your breathing uses this sense, which means something like “sensing internal signals from your body.”

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(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

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Question: What is interoception?

In good breath,

Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”


P.S. That is such a great deal

* 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.

Sign Up For The Breathing 411

Each Monday, I curate and synthesize information from scientific journals, books, articles, and podcasts to share 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer (like "Jeopardy!") related to breathing. It’s a fun way to learn something new each week.

 
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Better Attention, Lasting Joy, and How to Age Successfully (in 5 min)

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🎧 Listen Instead of Reading 🎧

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4 Thoughts



1. How to Age Successfully, in Just 5 Minutes

“As such, DSB [deep and slow breathing] represents a practical, low-cost exercise that can be performed anywhere in order to promote successful aging.” <—sounds good to me 😊

- Nature Scientific Reports 2021

This study found that just 5 minutes of slow breathing at 6 bpm (4 in/6 out) increased HRV and reduced anxiety in younger and older adults.

The conclusion: Breathe slower, age better.

2. Why Slowing Down Leads to Better Attention

“But when you practice moving at a speed that is compatible with human nature—and you build that into your daily life—you begin to train your attention and focus. ‘That’s why those disciplines make you smarter. It’s not about humming or wearing orange robes.’ Slowness, he explained, nurtures attention, and speed shatters it.”

- Johann Hari, (inset quote Guy Claxton), Stolen Focus

A broad range of studies shows that when we do any practice that slows us down—whether it’s breathing, yoga, or tai chi—our attention improves.

Here we learn why: we’re moving at a pace “compatible with human nature.”

Slowness nurtures attention. Speed shatters it.

3. The Confidence Cycle: How to Get Good at Breathing

In The Confidence Gap, Russ Harris provides 4 steps to “get good at doing anything” <— 🙏 Here they are, with my wording to apply them to breathing:

  1. Practice the skills: Consistently practice the breathing techniques that interest you. You have to practice to get good—no way around it.

  2. Apply them effectively: Test them out in real life. Apply them when you’re stressed at work, before a presentation, or before sleep.

  3. Assess the results: Did they actually help? Did they make things worse? (I can’t tell you how many times breathing didn’t do anything for me, or how many times it was a life-saver. Find what works for you.)

  4. Modify as needed: Make changes based on what worked well and what didn’t.

Then, of course, repeat the cycle—but only for the rest of your life : )

4. A Secret to Finding Lasting Joy with Your Breathwork Practice

One day, we’ll think we’ve found the answer to our problems with slow breathing. Then, we might become obsessed with Wim Hof. Until, of course, we discover that alternate nostril breathing is what we’ve been missing 😂

But here’s the secret: that’s actually the point. It’s the endless ways we can use our breath that make it so special.

So let’s celebrate how wonderful it is that there’s a breath for everything. That our practice can change as we change. And let’s use it in our lives in whatever way is right in this moment, happily knowing that it won’t last forever.


1 QUOTE

“The most fortunate are those who have a wonderful capacity to appreciate again and again, freshly and naively, the basic goods of life, with awe, pleasure, wonder and even ecstasy.”

- Abraham Maslow

1 ANSWER

Category: Heart Rate Variability

Answer: The discovery that pulse rate varies with the breathing cycle was first reported by Stephen Hales in this year.

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(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

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Question: What is 1733?

In good breath,

Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”

P.S. Most people don’t realize this

 
 

* 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.

Sign Up For The Breathing 411

Each Monday, I curate and synthesize information from scientific journals, books, articles, and podcasts to share 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer (like "Jeopardy!") related to breathing. It’s a fun way to learn something new each week.