Meditation for Optimum Health

,

Free 5-Star Resort, Transferring Passion, and Breathing in the Rain

,

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 37 sec

I hope the next 25’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.


4 THOUGHTS

4 THOUGHTS

1. A Rainy, Effortless Breathing Exercise

“Importantly, rain washes away the vestiges of pollution. Air is always cleaner during and immediately after a downpour…As rain tumbles through the atmosphere, each drop attracts hundreds of pollutant particles…Leaving the air bracingly fresh, scrubbed clean.”

- Annabel Streets, 52 Ways to Walk

Next time it rains, go out and breathe some freshly cleaned air. It’s the most effective & effortless “breathing exercise” you can do 😊

2. What Can Be Transferred is Passion

“That's really where the power of meditation lies, and it's not something that can be transferred from one person to another. What can be transferred is the passion for it.”

- Jon Kabat-Zinn, Meditation for Optimum Health

This made me think if I could sit down and do slow, mindful breathing for you, I would. But alas, our bodies don’t work that way…

However, I hope these newsletters and my workshops & coaching can at least transfer some of my passion for these practices to you 🙏

3. The Spiritual Essence of Human Beings

“I think that really is the power of breath. It is the spiritual essence of human beings; when we look in that direction, we are doing spiritual work.”

- Andrew Weil, MD, Breathing: The Master Key

Of course, doing breathing exercises doesn’t require any spirituality.

But because breathing is “the spiritual essence of human beings,” just focusing on it can become a spiritual practice if we so choose 👏

4. Checking Into a Free 5-star Resort

“When you focus for a short time, gently brushing aside any intrusive thoughts, your mind and body suddenly become a five-star resort in which all the service personnel make your restoration and health their priority and are especially concerned with alleviating the harmful effects of stress.”

– Herbert Benson, MD, Timeless Healing

Sitting or lying down, slowing down, and focusing on your breath is like checking into a five-star healing resort: “all the service personnel make your restoration and health their priority.”

Make sure you check in a few times this week.

1 Quote

“You should keep your mind on your breathing until you are not aware of your breathing.””
— Shunryu Suzuki

1 Answer

Category: Receptors & Nerves

Answer: Pulmonary stretch receptors respond to excess lung stretching by sending a signal through this nerve to stop inhalation.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is the vagus nerve?

In good breath,

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


P.S. feeling visited enough

Is Your Advice Being Ignored?

Consider giving the gift of calm to someone you care about (maybe that person you’ve tried to convince to do breathing exercises, but they just won’t listen 😉):

Use discount code NICK20 for 20% off.

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.

 
,

Mindful Sauna, Focus on You, and Singing for Better Breathing

,

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 15 sec

I hope the next 34ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.


4 THOUGHTS

1. How Jon Kabat-Zinn Got Introduced to Mindfulness (it’s not what you might think)

“I would actually say that the sauna at MIT was probably my first and most powerful meditation teacher. And I used to go with some of my graduate student friends and sit in the sauna and crank the heat up as far as it would go. And you'd have to breathe more slowly in the sauna because it was so hot to just not burn your nostrils. And it was helpful if you didn't move around too much because even that took a lot of energy. And it was also helpful if you didn't think all that much.”

- Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., Meditation for Optimum Health

This is a neat story for sauna lovers and a nice metaphorical reminder that sometimes stressors help us most in cultivating peace.

2. Sing More for More Efficient Breathing

“Singing provides our lungs with a workout, resulting in enhanced respiratory muscles and more efficient breathing. Researchers call this optimized breathing, and arguably, it’s exactly what we need as we walk, particularly if we sing in rhythm with our feet.”

– Annabel Streets, 52 Ways to Walk

As an overly self-conscious person, I can’t bring myself to sing while walking. But this passage has inspired me to sing more (when no one is listening, of course 😂). I hope it does the same for you.

3. Focus on You: What Sets Breathing Apart from Traditional Diabetes Approaches

Traditional approaches to diabetes often forget that we’re people (with diabetes), not diabetic people. They seem to only focus on our disease, not on us.

Breathing and mindfulness are different. They are about bringing awareness to what’s right with you—what’s already whole.

They build resilience, compassion, and agency despite your condition, enhancing you as a person rather than only focusing on your diabetes.

Sometimes, they do end up helping your diabetes, and sometimes, they don’t. But either way, you have peace of mind and a better life.

4. What Matters is That We’re in the Water

Here’s a memorable passage from Tsoknye Rinpoche on how to deal with the ups and downs of our contemplative practice:

“Remember that meditation experiences keep rising and falling, like our moods or the stock market. Sometimes we feel clear, light, and elated, like we’re making rapid progress. Other times we feel sluggish or agitated, like we’re not getting anywhere, like anything but meditation would be better. Just keep going without getting too caught up in our shifting experiences. … In the end, our experiences are like waves in the ocean, but despite their ups and downs, what matters is that we're still in the water.”

👏👏👏

1 Quote

“I think that working with the breath can be a very powerful technique to center the mind. To help you work more effectively. To help you deal with all of the challenges that life throws in your way, every day. And to really turn your direction away from the material world toward the non-physical world.””
— Andrew Weil, MD

1 Answer

Category: The Nose

Answer: Nasal congestion is generally caused by this, which makes breathing more challenging and reduces the nose’s ability to clear mucous (which exacerbates the congestion further).

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is inflammation of the nasal mucosal?

In good breath,

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


P.S. No just that one thing

iCalm for Focused Relaxation

I know I’m a broken record, but I can’t recommend iCalm enough. I take 1/2 shot before my coffee and absolutely love it. Give it a try!

Use discount code NICK20 for 20% off.

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.