Cure

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Nose or Mouth, 23 Years Ago, and How to Make Spiritual Progress

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4 Thoughts



1. How to Make Spiritual Progress

“[B]reath is the animated, nonphysical aspect of your being. So that when you look in the direction of breath, when you focus your attention on your breath, you are really looking at your spiritual self.”*

- Andrew Weil, MD, Breathing: The Master Key to Self Healing

This is why Dr. Weil also says that “if you do nothing other than pay attention to your breath today, for a few seconds more than you did yesterday, you have increased your spiritual awareness. You have made spiritual progress.”*

Sounds good to me 🙏

P.S. My New #1 (and 23 Years Ago)

This tape, Breathing: The Master Key to Self Healing (released 23 years ago!), will now be my #1 recommendation for anyone beginning with breathing.

It’s not “perfect,” but it’s less than 2 hrs and has basically everything we need to start a breath practice. It was one of my favorite listens in a really long time 🙏

2. Should We Exhale through Our Nose our Mouth?

This is one of the most common questions I receive. There’s no perfect answer, but here are my rules of thumb, which you might find helpful:

  • Nasal exhales: This should be the default breathing we use most of the time.

  • Mouth exhales: This can be used for (1) deeper relaxation during slow breathing, (2) learning to extend your exhales, and (3) during exercise.

3. Strengthen the Inflammatory Reflex with Slow Breathing

“It was proof that as well as slowing the heart, the vagus nerve can act as a powerful brake on inflammation. Tracey called this the ‘inflammatory reflex.’ … If the brain detects a signal via the vagus nerve that inflammation has been activated in the body, it swiftly fires a return signal to calm it down again.”

- Jo Marchant, Cure: A Journey into the Science of Mind Over Body

Here’s another reason why a regular slow breathing practice, which increases vagal tone, is so powerful: it might strengthen our “inflammatory reflex.”

Here’s to using our breath to put the brakes on inflammation, today : )

4. Two Breaths at Once

You can’t breathe two breaths at once.

So focus on this one.

And watch your mindfulness and spiritual awareness grow.

1 QUOTE

“Of all the techniques that I have investigated for reducing stress and increasing relaxation, it is breathwork that I have found to be the most time-efficient, the most cost-efficient, and the one that most promotes increased wellness and optimal health.”
— Andrew Weil, MD
 

1 ANSWER

Category: Breathing-Related Reflexes

Answer: Another critical reflex that is modified by our breathing rate is this, which keeps blood pressure within safe limits.

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(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

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Question: What is the baroreflex?

In good breath,

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

P.S. I think I’ve got her on the ropes

Breathing for Diabetes Online Course ($99):

If you love learning about breathing, want to live a healthier life, or just want to support my work, I think you’ll really enjoy this class (diabetes or not).

 
 

* 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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Heart & Breath Harmony, Hidden Life, and Two Places to Put Your Breath

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4 Thoughts



1. Two Places to Put Your Breath

For thinking:

Put your breath where your mind wants to be.

For acting:

Put your breath where your heart wants to be.

***

P.S. This was inspired by Steven Pressfield’s more explicit saying : )

2. How do Slow Breathing Practices Reduce Pain? Focus & Safety

“It’s all about attention, says anesthesiologist Sam Sharar ... If we focus on a painful sensation, it will increase our experience of that pain. But if we think about something else—something safe, pleasant, far away—the pain we feel is dimmed.”

- Jo Marchant

Cure: A Journey into the Science of Mind over Body

Slow breathing practices have consistently been found to reduce pain. This passage helps explain how: They give us something to focus on. And more than that, they also make us feel safe, which could be even more helpful.

And although this is referring to physical pain, I think these same mechanisms help explain why it’s so beneficial for emotional distress, too.

3. Our Somewhat Unusual Breathing Patterns During Sleep

In 1984, an editorial review on breathing during sleep had conclusions that were somewhat surprising (and opposite of what I expected):

  • Our breathing rate is variable, especially during REM sleep (I anticipated it would be slow and steady)

  • Our breathing volume is reduced significantly (by as much as 16%)

  • We frequently experience hypoxia (low O2) and hypercapnia (high CO2)

I guess we could say: The more we sleep, the less we breathe, the more we heal, and the longer we live : )

4. Taste the Hidden Life of Breathing

“There is a great difference between comprehending the knowledge of things and tasting the hidden life of them.”

- Isaac Penington

The breath itself is hidden life.

The more we practice, the more we taste it.



1 QUOTE

“We have to learn the art of breathing in and out, stopping our activities, and calming our emotions.”
— Thich Nhat Hanh
 

Extra: How the Heart & Breath Work in Harmony to Improve Health & Life Span

Here’s another guest blog I wrote for ResBiotic. This one is all about the heart-breath connection. I hope you enjoy the 4-minute read!

1 ANSWER

Category: Breath & Heart

Answer: The inward curve in the left lung that makes room for the heart is also called this.

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(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

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Question: What is the cardiac notch?

In good breath,

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

P.S. a button you can secretly press

Available Now:

THE BREATHING FOR DIABETES SELF-PACED WORKSHOP

If you like geeking out on breathing, or just want to live an overall healthier life, I think you’ll really enjoy this class (diabetes or not).

It’s packed with easy-to-understand science and super practical breathing advice that you can immediately start using. I hope you’ll check it out.

 
 

* 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.

 
 

Breathing for Diabetes Class, Mystics, and How to Reach the Ideal State

 
 

🎧 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 😊

 
 
 

4 Thoughts


1. Calm & Energized: How to Achieve the Ideal Physiological State

“[Breathing] allows you to function at peak energy, yet without the physical and psychological costs of anxiety and adrenaline overload. In other words, being calm and energized is not only possible through the breath, but it is also the ideal state.”*

- Emma Seppälä, Ph.D., The Happiness Track

I’m a double espresso kind of person. I got through graduate school drinking 5-hour energies 🤦🏼‍♂️ But that’s not a sustainable way of living.

Enter the power of breathing practices. They optimally fuel your cells with energy (oxygen) and activate the calming parasympathetic nervous system.

Calm yet energized: “the ideal state.”

2. How to Enter Mystical Traditions w/o 20 Years

“Do you want to enter into the most mystical of traditions and gather their fruits?  Forget studying difficult languages and going into a cave for twenty years.  Just breathe on the sofa in the morning before breakfast.”

- Wim Hof, The Wim Hof Method

This made me laugh, but it’s also pretty accurate—not just for Wim’s method. It applies to slow breathing. To alternate nostril breathing. To all the techniques.

Breathing is a shortcut into mystical traditions. All you have to do is “breathe on the sofa in the morning before breakfast.” : )

3. A Renowned Scientist on Slow Breathing and HRV Biofeedback: Why isn’t Everyone Doing It?

“It’s a nondrug treatment with very powerful effects. It’s easy to learn. Why isn’t everyone doing it?”

- Paul Lehrer, Ph.D.

From Cure: A Journey into the Science of Mind over Body

I often feel crazy talking about all the benefits of slow breathing. But, here’s a pioneer in slow breathing and HRVB research expressing the same sentiment.

It’s cheap, easy to learn, and has “very powerful effects.”

Indeed, why isn’t everyone doing it?

4. Thich Nhat Hanh on Finding the Best Practice for You

“Only by using your intelligence and putting the teachings into practice can they bring you happiness. Please base your practice on your own life and your own experiences, your successes and your failures.”*

- Thich Nhat Hanh, The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching

Although this passage is about applying the Buddha’s teachings, I think it’s perfect advice for breathing, too.

Of course, we have to learn from others. But no one recipe fits everyone. So it’s ultimately up to us to base our practice on our own lives and experiences. 🙏

Extra: Breathing for Diabetes Workshop

I’m hosting my first-ever Breathing for Diabetes Workshop. I’m super excited, as it distilled 4 years of research and application into about 2 hours of fun : )

It’s happening virtually on March 5, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. eastern, and it’s $99.

  • If you can’t make this time, no worries, you get full access to the recording plus audio downloads of everything after the workshop.

  • As a bonus, you also get immediate access to a pre-recorded 40-minute Wim Hof and Diabetes Mini Masterclass when you sign up now.

You can learn about everything you’ll get below. I hope to see you there!

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

“Bearing all this in mind, welcome present circumstances and accept the things whose time has arrived. Be happy when you find that doctrines you have learned and analyzed are being tested by real events.”

- Epictetus

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Category: Breathing Muscles

Answer: Humans are the only mammals to keep this parallel to the ground, even during walking and running.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is the diaphragm?

In good breath,

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

P.S. LinkedIn contact requests be like

 
 
 

* 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.