Full Catastrophe Living

,

3 Simple Lessons, Why We Practice, and the Most Important Determinant

,

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 😊

Reading Time: 1 min 57 sec

I hope the next 30ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.


4 THOUGHTS

1. Breathing Exercises Reduce Oxidative Stress: 2023 Meta-Analysis

“Breathing exercises can improve the main biological indicators of OS [oxidative stress] toward the direction of antioxidation and improve the OS state by increasing the levels of antioxidants and reducing those of oxidative markers.”

– Li et al. (2023), Frontiers in Medicine

This 2023 meta-analysis examined 10 studies, finding that breathing exercises of all kinds (fast, slow, inspiratory muscle training, and so on) significantly reduce biomarkers of oxidative stress. Breath practices also increase the body’s antioxidant capacity, which may benefit both healthy and disease states 👏

2. The Most Important Determinant & the Mother of Mindfulness

Ellen Langer, Ph.D., put the word mindfulness on the map in western psychology (she’s even referred to as the “mother of mindfulness”).

I’m reading her latest book (she’s one of my favorite authors), The Mindful Body, and I felt obliged to share this passage because it’s so good. Enjoy:

“But my use of the word “mindfulness” also, importantly, refers to a condition of the body. Indeed, I believe our psychology may be the most important determinant of our health. I’m not just speaking of harmony between mind and body. I believe the mind and body comprise a single system, and every change in the human being is essentially simultaneously a change at the level of the mind (that is, a cognitive change) as well as the body (a hormonal, neural, and/or behavioral change). When we open our minds to this idea of mind-body unity, new possibilities for controlling our health become real.” (my emphasis)

3. Three Simple Lessons about Breathing

  1. The best morning breathing exercise is a good night’s sleep.

  2. The best healing breathing exercise is a good dose of laughter.

  3. And the best time of day for breathing exercises is always right now.

4. Experiencing Wholeness: Why We Practice

“Through ongoing practice, we can come to live in a more integrated way from day to day and from moment to moment, in touch with our own wholeness and connectedness and aware of our interconnectedness with others, with the larger world in which we find ourselves, and with life itself. Feeling whole, even for brief moments, nourishes us on a deep level.”

– Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D, Full Catastrophe Living

That’s why we practice: it brings us wholeness. And even if we only experience wholeness briefly, it still “nourishes us on a deep level” 🙏

1 Quote

“The silence around us may contain a lot, but the most interesting kind of silence is the one that lies within. A silence which each of us must create.””
— Erling Kagge

1 Answer

Category: Breathing 101

Answer: This is the clinical name for shortness of breath.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is dyspnea?

In good breath,

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


P.S. how to make parties more interesting

iCalm for Focused Relaxation

If you haven’t already, try iCalm, an awesome product made by a mindful and loving company (use discount code NICK20 for 20% off).

* 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.

 
,

A Smile, Perfect Advice on Methods, and I Was Happy Until this Moment

,

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 😊

Reading Time: 2 min 1 sec

I hope the next 30ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.


4 THOUGHTS

1. Science of Breath: A Practical Guide

“There is no such thing as an involuntary system if the student learns to regulate the motion of the lungs. For by doing so, a vast portion of that system is brought under his voluntary control.”

– Swami Rama, Science of Breath

That is, in a nutshell, the science of breath. By controlling the breath, we gain control of involuntary processes (via our autonomic nervous system), giving us access to better physical, mental, and spiritual health 👏

***

P.S. Of course, there’s a lot more to the science of breathing. So, if you’re interested, I can’t recommend this book enough (I’m ashamed it’s taken me this long to read it). If you don’t have time to read all day, you can also sign up at BreathLearning.com to get my 6-page and 21-minute podcast summary of this one (and many others).

2. That’s a Smile of Enlightenment

“The moment you wake up, right away, you can smile. That’s a smile of enlightenment. You are aware that a new day is beginning, that life is offering you twenty-four brand-new hours to live, and that that’s the most precious of gifts.”

– Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace is Every Breath

I began doing this after reading the book, and it’s genuinely life-changing (even if it’s an awkward smile with my mouth tape, lol).

Try it tomorrow morning (or anytime, really) and see how you feel 🙏

3. Perfect Advice on Methods and Teachers

“While you practice a particular method, it can be helpful to believe that your technique—or your teacher or lineage or meditation center—is the best. You feel fortunate. This mobilizes energy and often inspires strong practice. But as you grow on the path, more ingenuity is called for. You have to become self-reliant and see what you need from moment to moment.”

- Larry Rosenberg, Three Steps to Awakening

This is so good. I love how Rosenberg acknowledges the power of believing your approach is the best…“This mobilizes energy and often inspires strong practice”…while simultaneously recognizing that it will eventually change 👏

I hope it helps you wherever you are on your path, too.

4. Our Intrinsic Wholeness is Still Here

“Wholeness and connectedness are what are most fundamental in our nature as living beings. No matter how many scars we carry from what we have gone through and suffered in the past, our intrinsic wholeness is still here…”

- Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D, Full Catastrophe Living

That is all 🙏

1 Quote

“It’s a mistake to think too much about the goal and to ask too often about it. I was happy on those hikes with my parents. ... Happy until the moment when I started asking how much farther it was.””
— Erling Kagge

1 Answer

Category: Cellular Respiration

Answer: This is defined as the volume of CO2 produced divided by the volume of O2 absorbed during cellular respiration.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is the respiratory quotient?

In good breath,

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


P.S. I will not be awkward today

Get Calm & Focused w/o Meditating

I take 1/2 a bottle of iCalm every morning, just before my first sip of coffee. It’s amazing.

In fact, although I don’t have much disposable income right now, I prioritize these each month because they’re so helpful.

If you’d like to try them, use the code NICK20 to get 20% off 🙏

Get the iCalm Relaxation Shot

 
 

* 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.

 
,

The Best Morning Breathing Exercise, Air Candy, and Greater Calmness

,

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. Air Candy

Gratitude turns an ordinary breath into air candy.

2. The Best Morning Breathing Exercise

The best morning breathing exercise is a good night’s sleep.

P.S. I had a few nights of poorer-than-normal sleep and noticed that my morning breathing was nowhere near as enjoyable or effective. Which inspired this purposefully playful sentence : )

3. Greater Calmness: How to Choose Effective Responses in Stressful Situations

“When we are mindful of our breathing, it automatically helps us to establish greater calmness in both the body and the mind. Then we are better able to be aware of our thoughts and feelings…And with this awareness comes a feeling of having more room to move, of having more options, of being free to choose effective and appropriate responses in stressful situations rather than losing our equilibrium and sense of self as a result of feeling overwhelmed, thrown off balance by our own knee-jerk reactions.”

- Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., Full Catastrophe Living

Beautifully said 👏👏👏

So the next time we need to choose an effective & appropriate response in a stressful situation, let’s first tune into our breath to “establish greater calmness in both the body and the mind,” allowing us to move forward with clarity.

4. This Will Help You in Anything You Set Out to Do

“Working memory is where you hold a goal in mind so you can move toward it. By goal…I mean the micro-intentions and deliberate aim of having a desired outcome for each and every task you engage in—all the decisions, planning, thinking, actions, and behaviors you do over the course of a day: anything you set out to do.”

– Amishi P. Jha, Ph.D., Peak Mind

Based on this description, having good working memory is pretty crucial since it plays a role in “anything you set out to do.”

But it’s relevant here because a 2022 study found that slow breathing significantly improves working memory.

Putting it together: By improving working memory, slow breathing may potentially help you with anything you set out to do 👏

1 Quote

“At this very moment, whether you know it or not, each breath happens right here and right now. Little by little the question becomes, Are you intimate with this breath just as it is?””
— Larry Rosenberg

1 Answer

Category: Breath-Heart Connections

Answer: The heart is connected to this muscle via the pericardium, which is a fluid-filled sac surrounding the heart.

…

(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. It’s a common problem.

The Garlic Breath of the Week

Here is the most-liked post this past week.

* 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.

 
,

5 Great Apps, Less Work, and a Simple Way to Laugh More

,

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 😊

A New Breath-Based Stress-Reduction Protocol

A reminder that I’m leading a 4-week course starting May 7th called Breathing for Better Mental and Emotional Health.

Learn more about the course and enroll here.

The course is centered around a super simple yet extremely powerful protocol combining breathing, mindfulness, and remembered wellness.

4 THOUGHTS


1. Leading Mindfulness Researcher: Less Work, More Breathing

“[I]f you come away from this book with anything, I want it to be a clear sense of how important this is. We’re busy. We’re time-pressured. We are always under the gun. But twelve more minutes of work is simply not going to catch you up as much as sitting quietly, and on purpose, with your breath.”

– Amishi P. Jha, Ph.D., Peak Mind

 

I’ll repeat: “But twelve more minutes of work is simply not going to catch you up as much as sitting quietly, and on purpose, with your breath.” 👏👏👏

2. A Simple Way to Laugh More

“Laughing is the most therapeutic breathing exercise.”

I’ve been telling my wife I should make a self-deprecating breathing humor account on Instagram for like a year.

Well, I finally did it. Introducing: The Garlic Breath.

My wife thought of the name and made me a silly icon in like 30 seconds on Canva.

Go follow and share so we can make laughing a part of everyone’s day : )

3. Five Great Breathing Apps

Breathe: This is my current favorite because it lets you set breaths down to the 1/10th of a second. I’m weird and enjoy that kind of control. I use it to do 6-sec inhale and 8.6-sec exhale, which gets me to 4.11 breaths a minute. I’m kind of obsessed : ) (Apple) (Android)

Insight Timer: I use this one for background noise (I use the “Nature’s Melody” track based on what I learned about the power of water sounds in Blue Mind). I also use this app to insert bells periodically throughout my session so I know when to switch exercises without opening my eyes. (Apple) (Android)

The Breathing App: This one has my favorite sound on the planet. It’s so good. And it’s the easiest app to get started with. No emails, no nothing. Just download and start breathing. (Apple) (Android)

The Oxygen Advantage: Tons and tons of exercises and wisdom, all as a gift to the breathing community from Patrick 🙏 (Apple) (Android)

The Breath Source: This is a new one I haven’t used too often because I don’t like guided sessions that much. But if you do, it looks like one of the best ones out there. (Apple) (Android)

4. The Metaphorical Benefits of Belly Breathing for Emotional Stability

“Similarly, when we focus on our breathing down in the belly, we are tuning in to a region of the body that is far from the head and thus far below the agitations of our thinking mind. It is intrinsically calmer. So tuning in to the breath at the belly is a valuable way of reestablishing inner calmness and balance in the face of emotional upset or when you have a lot on your mind.”

- Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., Full Catastrophe Living

Although this analogy certainly isn’t true for everyone, I think it’s a neat way of framing the psychological benefits of belly breathing. We focus on the abdomen area because it’s “far from the head and thus far below the agitations of our thinking mind.”

1 Quote

“The next step is crucial: you give relaxed, careful attention to respiration and to the obvious, often neglected fact that each one of us is breathing. In other words, you are alive! Did you know that?””
— Larry Rosenberg

1 Answer

Category: Breathing Reflex

Answer: This breathing reflex typically has a deep inhale, a wide open jaw, and a shorter, more rapid exhale.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is a yawn?

In good breath,

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


P.S. Fellow introverts, try 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.