Greetings,
Here are 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer to reflect on this holiday week.
4 THOUGHTS
1. Breathing is a Universal Skill
Most skills you learn in soccer don’t make you better at baseball.
Most skills you learn in tennis don’t make you better at hockey.
But the skill of breathing is universal, applicable in every domain, available every second of every day.
2. A New Foundation for the Pillars of Health
"Sleep is more than a pillar; it is the foundation on which the other two health bastions sit. Take away the bedrock of sleep, or weaken it just a little, and careful eating or physical exercise become less than effective, as we shall see."
- Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep
Beautifully said, but I would go a step further and state that breathing is the bedrock of healthy sleep. Remove correct (nasal) breathing at night, and even excellent sleep hygiene becomes less effective.
Of course, breathing isn’t a cure-all that replaces the other health pillars. But, it is the foundation on which they all sit. We’d be wise to make it a solid one.
Related: Three pillars of mental health: Good sleep, exercise, raw fruits and veggies - Note the portion about sleep quality versus quantity.
P.S. This thought also brings to mind James Nestor, who said, "No matter what you eat, how much you exercise, how skinny or young or strong you are, none of it matters if you’re not breathing properly."
3. "Take a Long, Deep, Deliberate Breath"
"Deliberate breathing is a simple, but powerful, skill you can practice every day...It can be used to improve your performance…and/or speed up your recovery." (my emphasis)
Here’s a quick read from Army Ready and Resilient. I don’t think I’ve seen a more succinctly written article on the benefits of breathing. Their advice for starting a daily practice, including the amount of time per day, is quite perfect.
Great to see this being brought to those who serve and protect.
Enjoy the quick read.
4. Ready for Change? Replace Positive Thinking with Positive Action
How we think change occurs:
Positive Thinking ("I want to begin a breathing practice soon")
Positive Speaking (Tell friends, "I’m starting a breathing practice")
Positive Action (You sit down with a phone app and start breathing)
How it usually happens:
Positive Action (You experience a change from breathing)
Positive Speaking (You share your experience with others)
Positive Thinking (You strive to understand how it happened)
Interestingly, we focus most of our energy on positive thinking and positive speaking, when all we need is positive action.
1 QUOTE
"Breathing is a tool that enables anyone to perform better in every aspect of life. We can’t emphasize that enough."
- James Loehr & Jeffrey Migdow, Breathe In, Breathe Out
1 ANSWER
Answer: This device has been measuring peoples’ breath to assist law enforcement since the 1950s.
…
(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)
…
Question: What is a breathalyzer?
In good breath,
Nick