Haemin Sunim

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Better Results, Seeds of Joy, and What it Truly Means to be Alive

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Reading Time: 1 min 35 sec

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


4 THOUGHTS

1. Breathing & Mindfulness Work Together for Better Results

Slow breathing promotes optimal blood circulation, and mindfulness promotes optimal psyche circulation. Used together, they restore each of us to better physical and mental health and well-being.

2. A Short Period of Quiet Inspiration

“Even a short period of quiet inspiration in the morning will anchor the rest of your day; and at night, particularly after a hectic day, there can be no better preparation for sleep.”

– Eknath Easwaran, Take Your Time

Easwaran is referring to reading uplifting material. But, I think a more literal interpretation works too: A short period of quiet, mindful inspiration (aka a breath practice 😊) each morning will anchor the rest of your day, and “there can be no better preparation for sleep.”

3. Watering Your Seeds of Happiness

“So, I planted in myself a number of seeds of happiness. I know that this is very important because if I do not have enough happiness within myself, I shall not be able to help other people, other living beings. So that is why every day to practice in order to water the seed of your happiness, of your joy, is very important.”

– Thich Nhat Hanh, The Art of Mindful Living Talk​

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Make sure you’re taking time to water the seeds of your own joy and happiness. Without it, you will not be able to help anyone else 🙏

4. This Always Brings Openness and Joy

“To be happy, it’s not necessary to expend great effort so we get somewhere else.

Instead, relax into the present moment while finding humor in your life.

With humor, life becomes light and leisurely.

And laughter always brings people to experience openness and joy.”

- Haemin Sunim, The Things You Can See…

As I like to say, laughter is the most therapeutic breathing exercise. Don’t forget to get your daily dose of healing this week 😊

1 Quote

“What if we consider breath not only as a biological marker of being alive but also as a reflector of what it truly means to be alive?””
— Eddie Stern

1 Answer

Category: The Lungs

Answer: Lung function is generally assessed by these three categories of measurements.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

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Question: What are dynamic flow rates, static lung volumes, and gas exchange efficiency? (source)

In good breath,

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

P.S. what the Buddha meant by mindful listening

Breath Learning Center: Breathing, Wisdom Meditations, and Workshops

The Breath Learning Center helps you become the person you want to be through three resources:

  1. Breathing and Meditation Practice

  2. Wisdom Meditations

  3. Workshops for Deeper Learning

Learn more about it 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.

Amazon Associate Disclosure

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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Life, Humor, and a Great Truth You Should Know about Yourself

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Reading Time: 1 min 43 sec

I hope the next 26’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.


4 THOUGHTS

1. An Affirmation of Life

“Breath is life. It sustains us and it is an expression of the life force within us. The fact that we are breathing is an affirmation of life.”

- Yogani, Spinal Breathing Pranayama

This is just a beautiful reminder: “The fact that we are breathing is an affirmation of life.” 👏

2. Not You: A Great Truth You Should Know about Yourself

“The first thing to remember is that the truth about anxiety and worry, even about panic, is that they are not you. They are actually only conditions that flow in and out of the present moment. Confusion arises when the intensity of these conditions leads you to begin to identify with them and become lost in a reaction to them.”

- Jeffrey Brantley, MD, Calming Your Anxious Mind

This is a primary goal of living mindfully: To recognize that emotions aren’t us, only conditions flowing in & out of the present moment.

Of course, we’ll never be perfect, but even small steps in recognizing this truth will significantly improve our well-being.

3. Kryptonite & Why Slow Breathing Complements Mindfulness Perfectly

“Attention is fragile. It can be rapidly depleted under certain circumstances…When we experience stress, threat, or poor mood—the three main things I call ‘kryptonite’ for attention—this valuable resource is drained.”

- Amishi Jha, Ph.D., Peak Mind

This is why combining slow breathing with mindfulness, or doing it just before meditation, is so powerful.

It counteracts these “attention kryptonites:” It reduces stress, improves mood, and quiets the threat regions of the brain. These changes make mindfulness more accessible physiologically.

4. Humor is an Essential Part of Life

“Humor opens closed hearts.
Humor can free us from the grip of our thoughts.
When we smile, we feel we can accept things we previously could not.
We feel we can forgive those who have wronged us.
Humor is an essential part of life.”

- Haemin Sunim, The Things You Can See Only…

Just a reminder to seek out humor this week, as laughing will always be the most therapeutic breathing exercise.

1 Quote

“The one important thing I have learned over the years is the difference between taking one’s work seriously and taking one’s self seriously. The first is imperative and the second is disastrous.””
— Margot Fonteyn

1 Answer

Category: Breathing Muscles

Answer: Although the diaphragm is thought to be primarily a breathing muscle, there is evidence that it plays a critical role in preventing this.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is acid reflux?

In good breath,

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


P.S. “flight sacramento receipt 2023”

Upcoming Workshops

Saturday, December 16:

Saturday, December 30:

Coaching

Breathing & Mindfulness 1-on-1

Amazon Associate Disclosure

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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A Helpful Breathing Tip, Two Ways, and How to Build a Stronger Mind

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4 THOUGHTS


1. The Most Helpful Breathing Tip I’ve Found (it’s embarrassingly cliché & simple)

Don’t take ten breaths. Take one breath, ten times.

Don’t do 5 minutes of breathing. Consciously take one breath, over and over, until your 5-minute timer goes off.

Sounds silly, but it works 👏

2. How to Build a Stronger Mind

In Peak Mind, Dr. Jha describes a “mindfulness push-up” as the following:

  1. You shine your attention on your breath.

  2. Your mind wanders, and you notice it.

  3. You redirect your mind to your breath.

“This is what we might call the ‘push-up’ of a mindfulness breathing exercise.”

I love this analogy because it conveys the most crucial aspect of mindfulness: Just like repeated physical push-ups make our muscles stronger, repeated “mindfulness push-ups” make our minds stronger.

Meaning we need our minds to wander so we can notice it and come back to the breath. It’s how our minds get stronger.

3. Breathing Must Be Practiced Not Just in Solitude

“Spirituality must be practiced not just in solitude but also among people. Open up to people around you and feel connected. This is the true challenge of spiritual practice.”

- Haemin Sunim, The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down

The same is true for our breathing (or any contemplative) practice. It must be performed not only in solitude, but in real life:

  • How we do (or do not) reply to comments on social media is our practice.

  • How we do (or do not) reply to emails that provoke us is our practice.

  • How we do (or do not) interact with friends & family is our practice.

  • And on and on for every aspect of our lives…

So, this is the true challenge: To use our favorite contemplative practice to fundamentally change who we are and how we interact with the world for the better.

4. Two Ways to Keep Your Practice Interesting

  1. Switch up your routine or exercises every 15-30 days to continuously create novelty.

  2. Cultivate mindfulness so the same old boring exercises continuously create novelty.

P.S. There’s no right or wrong, and you can use both approaches simultaneously 😊

1 Quote

“Practicing to walk and breathe mindfully helps you dwell more in the real world, so you can get in touch with the wonders of life in the present moment, and nourish and heal your body and mind.””
— Thich Nhat Hanh

1 Answer

Category: Breathing Basics

Answer: The way your breathing responds to high carbon dioxide or low oxygen is generally referred to as this.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is chemoreflex sensitivity?

In good breath,

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


P.S. Every single morning

* 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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How to (actually) Live Longer, Point A to B, and Breathing for Spirit

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4 Thoughts



1. How to Get from Point A to Point B

“This is the deepest paradox in all of meditation: we want to get somewhere—we wouldn’t have taken up the practice if we didn’t—but the way to get there is just to be fully here. The way to get from point A to point B is really to be at A.” (my emphasis)

- Larry Rosenberg, Breath by Breath

To get from point A to point B, we just have to be fully at A.

Although that reframe is life-changing by itself, here’s another mind-blower:

Point A is the breath.

2. How Long Should You Practice Breathwork Each Day?

“I think the amount of time that you spend on this work is not that important. …[W]hat is important here is the regularity of doing this work. You want to do this every day without fail because you are attempting to change rhythms in your nervous system, and it's the constancy of the input, it's the regularity of the input, that is going to produce these changes over time.”

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

Of course, we can use scientific findings to find a reasonable dose (which is about 10 min/day for slow breathing).

But, an even better approach is what Dr. Weil says here. Simply focus on consistency. We’re trying to rewire our nervous systems, and “it’s the regularity of the input that is going to produce these changes over time.”

Amen to that 🙏

3. How to Live Longer (regardless of your age, lifespan, or health span)

“Harvard researchers found that 47 percent of the time, people are thinking about something other than what they're doing. That's nearly half of our day.”

- Laurie J Cameron, The Mindful Day

We’re not present about half the time. That’s nuts. It made me think, what’s the point of trying to live a long, healthy life if we’re not actually experiencing it?

Enter the power of the breath. By learning to come back to our breath—back to Point A—we learn presence. And we instantly (and truly) live longer.

As Cameron says, “It amounts to having a longer, richer life, because you’re present for much more of it. And we can all do this.” <— Let’s do that 👏

4. Breathing for the Spirit

The foods we eat influence our bodies.

The thoughts we think influence our minds.

The breaths we breathe influence our spirits.

Let’s feed them all well, this week 🙏

1 QUOTE

“From time to time we should take a breath and notice the silence between sounds.”
— Haemin Sunim
 

1 ANSWER

Category: Breathing Mechanics

Answer: These organs are actually passive during breathing—they don’t create any movement associated with inhalation and exhalation.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What are the lungs?

In good breath,

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

P.S. Did a little self-diagnosing over the weekend

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.

 
 

18 "Inspiring" Quotes on Breath as Life & Spirit

Here are 18 interesting quotes referring to the breath as life or spirit. It’s by no means comprehensive—just some that have stuck out to me over the years.

Enjoy!

1.  “Man was created of the Earth, and lives by virtue of the air; for there is in the air a secret food of life…whose invisible congealed spirit is better than the whole earth.”

- Michael Sendivogius

 

2.  “Of course, the word spirit itself, despite all of its incorporeal and non-sensuous connotations, is directly related to the very bodily term respiration through their common root in the Latin word “spiritus”, which signified both breath and wind.”

– David Abram, The Spell of the Sensuous

 

3.  “My words come from an upright heart; my lips sincerely speak what I know. The spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.”

– Job 33:3-4 

4.  “The fact is that when we focus on the breath, we are focusing on the life force. Life begins with our first breath and will end after our last. To contemplate breathing is to contemplate life itself.”

– Larry Rosenberg, Breath by Breath

 

5.  “Among the Creek Indians of the southwest, for instance, the creator God, the only divinity equal to or exceeding the Earth and the sun in its power, is called the Master of Breath.”

–David Abram, The Spell of the Sensuous

 

6.  “Interestingly, the Greek word psyche, which we often use to indicate our mind or the emotional state of our mind, actually means soul or spirit, or most tellingly, the breath of life.”

– Eddie Stern, One Simple Thing

 

7.  “That oxygen, life, and lungs all came into our world in relatively close succession is no coincidence.  Only with oxygen and some means of extracting it are all things possible—thinking, moving, eating, speaking, and loving.  Life and the breath are synonymous.”

- Michael J. Stephen, MD, Breath Taking

 

8.  “Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.”

– Genesis 2:7

 

9.  “The air I inhale enters my body and becomes part of me. The air I exhale moves into someone else and becomes part of her. Just by looking at how the air moves, we realize we are all connected to one another, not just figuratively, but also literally.”

– Haemin Sunim, The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down

 

10.  “For breath is life, and if you breathe well you will live long on earth.”

- Sanskrit Proverb

 

11.  “Thus spirit = breath = life, the aliveness and power of your life, and to speak of your spirit (or soul) is to speak of the power of life that is in you.”

- Frederick Buechner

 

12.  “Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts.”

– Thich Nhat Hanh

 

13.  "Ancient Egyptian cultures also recognized the importance of the breath, the evidence of which we see today in the many ancient statues that had their noses broken off but otherwise were left untouched. This defacement was no accident, but a deliberate act by conquering groups to take the life, in this case the breath of life, away from these icons."

- Michael J. Stephen, MD, Breath Taking

 

14.  “Thus a great many terms that now refer to the air as a purely passive and insensate medium are clearly derived from words that once identified the air with life and awareness. And words that now seemed to designate a strictly immaterial mind or spirit are derived from terms that once named the breath as the very substance of that mystery.”

–David Abram, The Spell of the Sensuous

 

15.  “Zen Master Hogan said that the whole universe is in the breath. If you really pay attention to it, it takes you to its immaculate source.”

– Larry Rosenberg, Breath by Breath

 

16.  “Arise! the breath, the life, again hath reached us: darkness hath passed away and light approacheth.”

– Rig Veda 1:113:16

 

17.  “The breath of life is in the sunlight and the hand of life is in the wind.”

– Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

 

18. “Life and respiration are complementary. There is nothing living which does not breathe nor anything breathing which does not live.”

- William Harvey, 1653, Lectures on the Whole of Anatomy

Breathing & Love, Rising Above the Clouds, and 4 Years in 4 Points

 
 

Listen Instead of Reading

 
 
 

4 Thoughts


1. Demonstrations of Breathing & Love

“Demonstrations of love are small, compared with the great thing that is hidden behind them.”

- Khalil Gibran

Call it what you’d like, prana, qi, & so on, but the same is true: Demonstrations of breathing are small compared with the great thing that is hidden behind them.

2. Breathing for Diabetes: 4 Years in 4 Bullet Points

Based on about 4 years of research and self-practice, the 4 key ways that regular breathing practices help diabetes are by:

3. Breathing for (non) Diabetics: “Raising Our Heads Above the Clouds”

“But many of the same interventions that can help us get our heads above water can just as effectively be devoted to raising our heads above the clouds.”

- Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal, Stealing Fire

This is unquestionably true for breathing. Although everything I read, practice, and share is focused on keeping my “head above the water” as a diabetic, they can also “raise your head above the clouds” if you’re not diabetic.

Interesting side note: it’s typically broken people that find supplemental modalities like breathing—I guess because we need them the most : ) But if you’re not broken, all the benefits of breathing will be even more helpful.

So here’s to using our breathing to stay afloat, or rise above the clouds, today.

4. The Buddha, 20 Years after Enlightenment

Did you know that the Buddha was still meditating 20 years after his enlightenment? (I guess it never ends, folks 😄)

What kind of meditation, you might wonder? “Mindfulness of breathing.”

Extra Thought: Take High Altitude Yoga Alongside Me One Last Time

My wife is moving on to a new yoga adventure 🎉. But, she’ll be teaching the High Altitude Yoga class we designed together one last time.

The class incorporates slow breathing, breath holds, and yoga into a challenging but fun 45-min flow.

It’s $8 and happening tomorrow morning (Tuesday, Dec 14) at 6:15 a.m. EST. I’ll be there, and I hope you’ll join me in taking it!

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

“Relaxing the breath, breathe in. Relaxing the breath, breathe out. Then joy arises naturally.”

- Bhante Gunarantana

The Four Foundations of Mindfulness in Plain English

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Category: The Diaphragm

Answer: This organ rests on the top of the diaphragm.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is the heart?

P.S. This was inspired by Jill Miller’s amazing line: “Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Which is of course, my diaphragm.” (Makes me laugh every time.)

In good breath,

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

P.S. and I’ve never respected anything more

 
 
 

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.

 
 

Effortless Inhales, Deepak on Smiling, and Maybe Loud Breathing is OK?

 
 

Listen Instead of Reading

 
 
 

4 Thoughts


1. The Breath Should Enter Very Subtly

“‘Very subtly’ means that when the nose draws in the outside air, it should draw it very subtly so that the ear should not hear it.  Being subtle and fine is the gate to life. … The inhalation should, therefore, be done in a subtle and fine way.”

- The Primordial Breath, Volume I

This is always my #1 tip for breathing: make it quiet and subtle. Remember, “Being subtle and fine is the gate to life…”

***

Related: How Breathing Boosts Creativity, Why We Sigh, and Where Rumi’s Soul Lives (see #4 and the 1 quote)

2. Effort Leads to Effortless

“It takes a lot of effort for our fitness to appear natural and effortless. But just because it appears effortless does not mean that no effort was made.”

- Haemin Sunim, The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down

The same is true for breathing. To breathe in a “subtle and fine way” takes deliberate practice and effort. I’m still working on it. I hope you are too : )

3. Maybe Loud Breathing is OK in Modern Yoga Classes?

I’m clearly a big fan of quiet breathing : ) Traditional yoga practices are too.

However, if you go to a modern group yoga class, you’ll hear a lot of loud breathing. Physiologically, I’ve always thought it was wrong…

But maybe there’s more to that loud breathing than just physiology?

In The Joy of Movement, Kelly McGonigal tells us that loud breathing during yoga is a critical component of social bonding and group flow:

“Studies show that yoga, like dancing, can create social bonds. … The breath becomes the beat that drives the flow of poses, and the sound of the group inhaling and exhaling in unison provides a satisfying sensory feedback.”

Of course, you’re not going to hear me breathing loudly in class now (I’m an introvert, anyways 😂). But let’s not overlook the social and emotional bonding that it might bring. Perhaps they are most critical in today’s world.

***

P.S. Maybe we even naturally began loud breathing during group yoga classes out of a deep yearning for more social connection? Just a thought…

4. Smiling and Breathing, Part II

“Stop. Take three deep breaths and smile everywhere in your body, observing what’s happening in your body. Proceed now with kindness and understanding.”

- Deepak Chopra

To complement last week’s thought on smiling, I was searching for info on the Buddha’s half-smile, when I stumbled across this quote.

At first, it might seem cliché. But, like most great teachers, Deepak simply distilled the science of smiling and breathing into a practical exercise.

Remember what we learned last week:

The act of smiling makes you happier.

Slow deep breathing makes you happier.

So set your breathing timer, put a slight smile on your face (Buddha-style), and “proceed with kindness and understanding.”

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

“Can it really be so simple? Just breathing deeply? Is that it? The answer, friends, is yes.”

- Wim Hof

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Category: Breathing 101

Answer: This is the volume of air remaining in the lungs after a maximum forceful exhale.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is residual volume?

In good breath,

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

P.S. which I’m about to elaborate on

 
 
 

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.