March 11, 2024

Aging, Wonderful Outcomes, and the Secret of an Unhurried Mind

March 11, 2024

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Reading Time: 1 min 48 sec

I hope the next 27’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.

4 THOUGHTS

1. The Secret of an Unhurried Mind

Since achieving a calmer mind and living more in the moment are almost universal outcomes of breathing and meditation, here’s a beautiful passage to contemplate as more motivation to practice:

“But gradually I understood that living completely in the present is the secret of an unhurried mind. When the mind is not rushing about in a hurry, it is calm, alert, and ready for anything. And a calm mind sees deeply, which opens the door to tremendous discoveries: rich relationships, excellence in work, a quiet sense of joy. It was a revelation. There was a door to the discovery of peace and meaning in every moment! All I needed to open it was a quiet mind.”
– Eknath Easwaran, Take Your Time

2. How Mindfulness Helps with Aging: An Alternative to Eternal Youth

“An alternative to seeking eternal youth was suggested by the famous baseball pitcher Satchel Paige: ‘Age isn’t a problem. It’s a question of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.’ Mindfulness practice helps us not mind so much.”
– Ronald Siegel, Psy.D., The Mindfulness Solution

Dr. Siegel says mindfulness helps us “not mind so much” by teaching us that everything changes, all we have is the present moment, our thoughts aren’t reality, and we’re all connected.

So, here’s to living more mindfully to (somewhat paradoxically) not mind the aging process 🙏

3. Bound to Have Wonderful Outcomes

“As I’m fond of saying, small tweaks lead to big changes, and a little attention goes a long way. A few minutes of slow breathing is a small tweak—perhaps just one percent of our day—and that little bit of attention to the very thing that sustains our life is bound to have wonderful outcomes.”
– Eddie Stern, Healing Through Breathing

Here’s an excellent reminder to occasionally slow down and pay attention to the very thing that sustains life—your breath. As Eddie says, it’s “bound to have wonderful outcomes.”

4. How to Infuse with Life Force

“On a very basic level, when we're consciously aware of the in-breath and the out-breath we infuse ourselves with that life force and anchor ourselves in our own deep center space.”
- George Mumford, The Mindful Athlete

So. Good.

Here’s to infusing with our life force a little more this week 👏

1 Quote

“The body is solid material wrapped around the breath.””

— Ida Rolf

P.S. Thanks to Nerissa for sharing. It’s one of my new favorite quotes.

1 Answer

Category: Lung Alveoli

Answer: Surfactant reduces this within lung alveoli, which prevents them (especially smaller alveoli) from collapsing during exhalation.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is surface tension?

In good breath,

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

P.S. They’re my new hero, too

Breath Learning Center

The goal of the breath learning center is to help you use breathing and mindfulness to become a better person. To experience more joy, love, laughter, and wholeness.

If that sounds good to you, you can learn more here.

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!

Learn more here.

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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.

Nicholas Heath

January 8, 2024

weekly email, Batch 9

Catch & Shoot, 20 or 50 Years, and Slow Breathing Doesn’t Work Now

Nicholas Heath

January 8, 2024

weekly email, Batch 9

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Reading Time: 1 min 49 sec

I hope the next 27’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.

4 THOUGHTS

1. Slow Breathing Doesn’t Work?

A paper recently published in Nature may seem to suggest that slow breathing doesn’t work over a “placebo.” However, when analyzed carefully, it actually showed that controlled, nasal, diaphragmatic breathing works wonderfully (whether it’s slow or not).

I created a 10-minute video breaking down the study for those breath nerds who are interested : ) Watch it here.

2. Take a Walk and Breathe Through Your Nose

“Walking is the perfect time to hone your breathing. So take a stroll—and breathe through your nose.”
- Annabel Streets, 52 Ways to Walk

Want to get even more benefits from walking (as if there aren’t enough already)? It’s simple: just breathe nasally. As Streets says:

“As you walk, close your mouth; relax the jaw, tongue, and face; and breathe slowly in through the nose and out through the mouth or nose. You'll find this more challenging as your pace picks up. But stay focused and you might—possibly—have fewer colds, more energy, and greater serenity.”

Sounds good to me 🙏

3. Catch Before Shooting: The Power of Breath Awareness

“I once saw a player trying to shoot before he caught the ball; he was moving so fast that when he finally was able to reach for the ball, he hit it and of course it flew out of bounds. Well, why does that happen? It's because he wasn't in the present moment; he wasn't in the flow.”
- George Mumford, The Mindful Athlete

This same thing happens in life. In high-stress situations, we often try to shoot before we’ve even caught the ball (guilty here). This is where breath awareness comes in.

When we come back to our breath before reacting to a stressor—even for one breath—it’s like catching the ball before we shoot. Just that simple act allows us to make a better play going forward.

4. Two Choices: 20 or 50 Years?

“A disciple asks a Zen master: ‘How long does it take to be able to experience Awakening?’ ‘Maybe 20 years,’ answers the master. ‘And if I am in a hurry?’ asks the disciple again. ‘In that case, it is 50 years,’ concludes the master.”
- Steven Laureys, MD, The No-Nonsense Meditation Book

This passage made me laugh out loud. It’s a perfect reminder that trying to hurry often takes more time.

1 Quote

“For the lungs to draw in air, they must first be emptied. For the mind to draw inspiration, it wants space to welcome the new.””

— Rick Rubin

1 Answer

Category: Breath Condition

Answer: Halitosis refers to this “breathing condition,” which can often be helped by switching to primarily nasal breathing.

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(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

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Question: What is bad breath?

In good breath,

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

P.S. a new year resolution I can get behind

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Nicholas Heath

December 25, 2023

weekly email, Batch 9

Love, the Gift of Giving, and How Life Gets Measured

Nicholas Heath

December 25, 2023

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Sorry, no audio this week. I got sick on Saturday and couldn’t record. I hope to have it up by Tuesday or Wednesday.

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Reading Time: 1 min 38 sec

I hope the next 24’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.

4 THOUGHTS

1. Any Effort We Put Toward Love

“Just as our bodies are born to breathe air, we are born to love. That's why although it's good to address our fear, it's even better to focus on our love. Any effort we put toward love—truly, any effort at all—will self-perpetuate, bringing joy, health, and well-being into our lives.”
– Gladys McGarey, MD, The Well-Lived Life

One more time: “Any effort we put toward love…will self-perpetuate, bringing joy, health, and well-being into our lives.”

Sounds good to me 🙏

2. How to Practice Right Effort (hint: start with love & joy)

“Without love and joy motivating your efforts, you're not practicing right effort.”
- George Mumford, The Mindful Athlete

You can apply breathing & mindfulness for the wrong reasons: to rob a bank, manipulate people, and so on. That’s why right effort is critical.

There are several elements of “right effort,” but Mumford provides a simple starting point: make sure love & joy are motivating your efforts. If they are, you’re likely on the right track 🙏

3. Why Healing Hurts (at first)

Here’s David Goggins discussing a race where he had to take a break to let his thyroid reset:

“I decided to rest with no idea how long that process might take. I’d already run 120 miles. Predictably, within an hour, my body reacted as if the race was over. I started to swell and tighten up as my muscles shifted into recovery mode. … This would be a problem.”

It’s a nice reminder that swelling & tightness usually occur when we stop to rest & recover. Not only in endurance events, but in life in general. Just remember that feeling this pain is part of the process.

4. The Gift of Giving: Two Breathing Metaphors to Apply to Life

Reverse Breath Cycle

Think of the breath cycle starting an exhale, not an inhale. Use this as a reminder to give before you receive.

Extended Exhales

Make your exhale slightly longer than your inhale. Use this as a reminder to always give more than you receive.

1 Quote

“Ultimately, your life will be measured by what you gave, not what you received. Don’t hold out on the rest of us—we need you to contribute.””

— Todd Henry

1 Answer

Category: Oxygen Absorption

Answer: Humans only absorb about this percentage of the oxygen they inhale with each breath.

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(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is 5%?

In good breath,

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

P.S. Start off your new year right

Upcoming Workshops

Saturday, Dec 30: Breathing for Better Brain Health

Coaching

Breathing & Mindfulness 1-on-1

Support this Newsletter

If you enjoy getting these each week, consider donating to keep me breathing. Anything helps and is appreciated 🙏

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Nicholas Heath

December 18, 2023

weekly email, Batch 9

Health & Happiness, and How to Align with Your Life Force

Nicholas Heath

December 18, 2023

weekly email, Batch 9

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 33 sec

I hope the next 23’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.

4 THOUGHTS

1. You Will Receive All Benefits in Due Course

“If we commit to a twice-daily practice and give it some time to work, the benefits will be there. The beauty in this is that no matter which of the benefits we have come looking for, we will receive all of the benefits in due course – relaxation, good health and, eventually, enlightenment too.”
- Yogani, Spinal Breathing Pranayama

I love that. And although it’s referring to spinal breathing pranayama, I think it applies to any slow breathing practice: We start with the benefits we’re after and let the others come naturally with time and persistence.

2. Playing an Infinite Game

“More to the point, Richie’s lab finds that even among the meditation adepts—all of whom have put in at least 10,000 hours of practice—expertise continues to increase steadily with the number of lifetime hours.”
- Goleman and Davidson, Altered Traits

Translation: there’s no end to contemplative practice. The more you do, the more you grow.

3. Three One-Sentence Thoughts

Meditation is about stopping thinking as much as breathwork is about stopping breathing.
Breathing saves your life 20,000 times a day; mindfulness helps you appreciate this truth.
The greatest skill in breathing (like in life) is knowing when to go with the flow, and when to deliberately change it.

4. How to Align with Your Life Force

“On a very basic level, when we’re consciously aware of the in-breath and the out-breath—or in other words, the act of inhaling and exhaling—we infuse ourselves with that life force and anchor ourselves in our own deep center space.”
- George Mumford, The Mindful Athlete

I have nothing useful to add, except for a few of these 👏👏👏

1 Quote

“Health and happiness are about being so connected to our own life force that we feel we fit into the world around us.””

— Gladys McGarey, MD

P.S. This came from The Well-Lived Life. I’m only about a third way through, but I must say it’s incredible—an absolute must-read.

1 Answer

Category: Breath and Focus

Answer: This state (often achieved through conscious breathing) involves being wholly immersed in an activity, cultivating intense focus and creativity, and losing awareness of time and self.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is flow?

In good breath,

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

P.S. Nice book. Too bad it was…

Upcoming Workshops

Saturday, December 23:

Philosophy of Breath

Saturday, December 30:

Breathing for Better Brain Health

Coaching

Breathing & Mindfulness 1-on-1

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